Luton Town winger Andros Townsend recently shocked fans after revealing he eats chicken feet every night for dinner - but what is the science behind his unusual culinary habits?
Speaking on a recent episode of Ben Foster’s Fozcast, Townsend insisted that the protein he gained from the bones had helped his performances on the pitch.
The 32-year-old said: “Every night for dinner I eat chicken feet. Steamed chicken feet.
“I swear to you. Because the collagen in the chicken feet, there's the cartilage.”
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Townsend continued: “There's basically so much goodness that now they put it into pills and put it into shots.
“The daily pills you take at training is mainly from chicken feet and random stuff like that.”
Collagen is a protein found in the body's various connective tissues, making up between 25% and 35% of the whole-body protein content.
Animal skin and ligaments are rich in collagen which has led to people consuming such products as food.
But why is it good for you, and how does the diet help athletes stay at the top of their game?
To find out more, we spoke to owner of nutritional company Dr Gus, Paul Sumners, who specialises in producing collagen-boosting products.
Explaining how eating a more ancestral diet could help Premier League footballers recover from injury and extend their careers, he told SPORTbible: "When younger footballers get injured, they generally recover quicker. As a footballer ages and gets into his thirties, he will recover far slower.
"Andros Townsend is starting to use chicken feet which is mostly collagen. There are very small amounts of bone in there, and the rest is all skin, connective tissue and gristle. All the collagen can be found in the gristle."
Sumners added: "From the age of 25, our bodies dramatically slow down the production of collagen. So by getting back to an ancestral diet, especially after the age of 25, for a sportsperson is important.
"Let's get back to having big doses of collagen in your diet which will aid recovery, tissue regeneration and help with joint problems."
So, maybe Townsend does have a point, after all. Will you be trying out chicken feet in 2024?
Topics: Premier League, Football, Luton Town
Joe Adams