Chicken feet mainly consist of connective tissue i’e skin, cartilage, tendons, and bones. However, they’re yet quite nutritious and provide a fair amount of vitamins and minerals.
A serving of 2 chicken feet (70 grams) gives:
• Calories: 150
• Protein: 14 grams
• Fat: 10 grams
• Carbs: 0.14 grams
• Calcium: 5% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Phosphorous: 5% of the DV
• Vitamin A: 2% of the DV
• Folate (vitamin B9): 15% of the DV
About 70% of their entire protein content is collagen, a structural protein that gives shape, strength, and protection to your skin, tendons, muscles, bones, and ligaments.
Chicken feet are also a great source of folate (vitamin B9), which helps DNA synthesis and helps prevent childbirth abnormalities.
Their fat content essentially comes from the skin, which is removed for cooking. Chicken feet provide a fair amount of protein in the form of collagen and fat and some vitamins and minerals.
Does chicken feet have any health benefits?
The inherent health benefits of chicken feet are primarily tied to their high collagen content.
• May improve skin health and appearance
Data suggests that collagen consumption may enhance your skin’s hydration, roughness, elasticity, and density. Women with moderate cellulite found that regular collagen ingestion significantly decreased cellulite and skin waviness compared with the control group.
Additionally, animal studies note that collagen may boost skin hydration and reduce wrinkle formation caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation, a type of ultraviolet ray that causes sunburns.
Collagen works by boosting levels of hyaluronic acid, a water-retaining molecule that’s supposed to help prevent skin aging.
• It May help reduce joint pain.
• The collagen in chicken feet may reduce joint pain.
Research suggests that collagen may stimulate tissue restoration to reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis wears or breaks down your cartilage, leaving bones to rub against each other and causing pain, swelling, and trouble moving. Those who consumed 5 grams of collagen daily experienced significant improvements in pain intensity during activity and a reduced need for additional treatment.
• It May help prevent bone loss.
Collagen consumption may improve bone structure and mass in postmenopausal women. Women taking 5 grams of collagen peptides — a form of degraded collagen — per day increased bone mineral density and synthesis while reducing bone degradation, compared with a control group.
Similarly, those who took a collagen supplement showed significantly less loss of bone mineral density than the control group.
Researchers believe that collagen may provide these effects because it’s a principal constituent of bone mass.
Other benefits
Due to their high collagen content, chicken feet are also associated with the subsequent benefits:
• Aids blood sugar control. An animal study concluded that chicken feet proteins might support improvising blood sugar levels by stimulating glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that helps in insulin production.
• Improves heart health. Collagen is a necessary component of arteries and veins along with elastin. Research suggests that good elastin to collagen ratio is essential for preventing heart disease.