Chicken Feet

Description

Chicken feet consist of skin, cartilage, tendons, and bones. Even without providing much meat, they’re high in collagen — the most abundant protein in your body. This collagen content may help relieve joint pain, aid skin health, and prevent bone loss.

Healthy Benefits of Eating Chicken Feet

1. Maintains healthy body weight
The collagen in chicken feet can help to maintain muscle mass and healthy body weight. Of course, this will only occur in conjunction with eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting regular exercise. Collagen is a natural protein that is carb free and, so it is ideal for including in a healthy diet. Collagen can also help to raise energy levels and boost metabolism.

Collagen has an unusual amino acid profile that helps to suppress appetite. This results in a decreased energy intake which in turn can result in weight loss. Eating chicken feet can provide a greater feeling of fullness than other protein types in the same quantity. One clinical trial found that collagen was 40% more filling than the same amount of casein, soy or whey.

Another study conducted on older women found that supplementing their diets with collagen helped them to retain their muscle mass and nitrogen balance. The amino acid called glycine in the collagen helps with the transfer of sugar to the tissue which boosts muscle development. Muscles burn far more calories than fat, and a higher muscle mass means the body burns calories faster.

Not many studies are available researching collagen and weight loss, but it makes sense that when appetite gets reduced, you feel full for longer and your metabolism increases, it should naturally be more comfortable to lose weight.

2. Reduces inflammation

Collagen is not only crucial for local inflammation, but it may minimize system levels of inflammation. This is more serious that localized inflammation because it results in tissue damage all over the body and contributes to many health conditions. Dysfunction of the thyroid is just one of the problems which can cause other issues such as fatigue and weight gain.

The gelatin in cooked chicken feet has excellent anti-inflammatory qualities. It helps to balance the amino acid (building blocks of proteins) intake. Standard Western diets tend to be high in muscle meats like beef, chicken, and lamb. Muscle meats contain high levels of certain amino acids. Gelatin includes two anti-inflammatory amino acids, arginine, and glycine that help to create a complete balance of proteins in the diet.

The amino acids in collagen include glycine, hydroxyproline, glutamic acid, proline, and alanine. The high levels of glycine and proline get associated with many health benefits. Your body can make these amino acids, so they are non-essential. Howeve, when the liver is overstressed and undernourished, it is not able to manufacture all the non-essential amino acids in the amounts the body needs. The body is unable to detoxify properly, and inflammation can occur.

Inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis or eczema will benefit from more collagen in the diet as its anti-inflammatory amino acids may help to reduce the severity, frequency, and pain of flare-ups.

3. Improves blood circulation

Blood circulation is an essential function in the body because it’s necessary for supplying all parts of the body with oxygen and nutrients. Poor circulation can be caused by various factors such as lack of exercise, sitting in one place for too long, smoking and blood clots.

The arginine in collagen helps to produce nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a tiny molecule that can move in and between cells, and one of its essential functions is to cause the smooth muscle cells to relax. These smooth muscle cells are found all over the body in the blood vessels. When the blood vessels relax, blood pressure drops and better circulation can take place. When more blood reaches the tissues, they are better nourished.

The collagen found in chicken feet also helps to strengthen the blood vessels. The proline found in the collagen protects their integrity and improves their elasticity. The proline helps the body to break down the proteins that are needed for building healthy cells.
Proline is important because it can prevent hardening of the arteries. This occurs when the arteries carrying oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the rest of the body become stiff and thick from the fact that builds up on the walls. Proline helps the walls to release this fat buildup into the bloodstream so that blockages decreases and the arteries can expand and contract properly.

4. Accelerates healing of wounds

Collagen appears to play a vital role in all the phase of healing wounds, including helping to reduce the associated inflammation and pain. The proline in collagen is an essential compound when it comes to healing of wounds. A lack of proline in the body can result in healing being slower than average.
The production of proline in the body increases when injuries occur. Medical dressings often contain proline fragments that help to stimulate the healing of wounds. Muscle or tendon injuries, severe burns and soft tissue injuries all heal quicker when there is enough proline in the body.
Eating chicken feet introduces more proline into the body speeds up your recovery from any traumatic injury. Skin injuries in particular, such as severe burns, benefit from the proline which breaks down the protein that’s vital for cells to regenerate.

A lack of proline in the body not only results in slow healing but may even be responsible for tears and strains in soft tissue. Poor healing of wounds that often attributes to a lack of vitamin C but underlying this is a lack of collagen because vitamin C is necessary to synthesize collagen. Vitamin C and collagen are both essential when it comes to healing of wounds.

5. Improves digestive function

Modern medicine is just beginning to discover how much the gut influences health. Many serious health conditions can be traced back to problems in the gut. Gelatin has been found to help heal the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract. These membranes become chronically inflamed in conditions such as ‘leaky gut’ syndrome or irritable bowel syndrome “.

A ‘leaky gut’ occurs when germs and toxins leak through the lining of the gut and into the bloodstream. They travel all over the body and cause all kinds of damage. The leakage occurs because the intestinal walls have become compromised. The tiny folds in the intestinal ‘villi’ are made of collagen. Collagen can help to prevent and reverse the weakness by building up the collagen in the intestinal walls.

A chicken feet broth can help to aid digestion, reduce stomach pain and discomfort. People suffering from celiac disease (gluten intolerance) who have various digestive problems often find that a chicken broth is tolerated and can help to heal the gut. The damaged intestinal lining can be repaired by eating the food without causing digestive discomfort and resulting in their immune system going on the attack.

Various studies made of gelatin show that it can increase digestion and utilization of dietary proteins such milk, milk products and meat. The glycine in collagen stimulates the production of stomach acids. Increasing stomach acid production helps to protect against many illnesses.

6. Maintains hormonal balance

To live a long and healthy life, it is very important for our hormones to be balanced and functioning well. Many factors can affect hormonal balance such as stress, lack of sleep and the medications we take. When our hormones are out of whack, they can wreak havoc on our health, causing issues such as weight gain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, digestive problems, insomnia and much more. They are chemical messengers that control processes such as growth, metabolism, and reproduction.

Collagen helps to balance the hormones such as insulin, estrogen, cortisol, melatonin, and progesterone. The body needs the amino acids found in collagen to balance these hormones. The equilibrium of amino acids in the body plays a large part in controlling function of the thyroid, metabolic rate as well as hormone production.

Consuming the gelatin found in chicken feet gives your body a protein that contains no tryptophan. Eating other types of proteins that contain tryptophan can result indirectly in the increase in cortisol, the stress hormone. Tryptophan itself can contribute to the suppression of thyroid function. If you eat a large serving of meat, it probably helps to take in gelatin at the same time, so that a healthy balance of amino acids enters the body.

7. Good for your heart

Hardening of the arteries is one of the significant risks when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Narrowing of the arteries is believed to be due to excess cholesterol which forms plaque inside the artery. The heart has to work harder to pump the blood which raises the blood pressure and increases the risk of a heart attack. It also causes the blood vessels to become stiffer.

The good news is that eating chicken feet can boost your cardiovascular health and help manage your heart rate. The proline in collagen breaks down protein needed for cell regeneration and repair.

Proline also helps the walls of the artery to release the build-up of fats and prevent it from accumulating in the arteries and causing blockages. When blockages take place, blood flow is restricted, and the necessary oxygen and nutrients are unable to reach the parts of the body where they are needed.

The arginine in gelatin also helps to control blood pressure, another factor which is very important for cardiovascular health. It produces nitric oxide which causes smooth muscles to relax. When the smooth muscles in the blood vessels relax (vasodilation), this causes the blood pressure to drop and circulation to improve.

8. Improves liver health

Our livers take a beating when they try to get rid of all the toxins we put into our bodies. Over-processed foods, pesticides on fruits and vegetables and alcohol are some of the toxins that can put a strain on the liver. The liver has the job of processing whatever you drink or eat, preparing it for use or getting rid of it.

When the body is able to detoxify properly, overall health improves. When it is not functioning well, toxins are not broken down and eliminated. When excessive toxins build up, this causes inflammation to occur, and this can manifest in many ways. The liver needs an abundance of amino acids to keep it functioning at a high level.

The glycine in collagen can help to reduce liver damage and minimize the damage caused by any toxic substances. Many experts recommend eating a 3-day bone broth diet to detoxify the body. Adding some chicken feet to the bone broth will help to build up your health and help your body to detoxify.

Studies related to Glycine takes place in many animal trials as a potential compound for decreasing liver damage caused by alcohol and other factors. It has been found to help repair liver damage and is even able to lower the effects of alcohol on the liver. It does this by increasing the metabolism of the alcohol in the stomach.

9. Reduces cellulite and prevents stretch marks

Genetics play a part in the onset of stretch marks and cellulite, but collagen levels also have a role. When collagen levels drop, the skin becomes thinner and loses its elasticity. Stretch marks and cellulite can happen as a result of genetics, your age, the fluctuations of your hormones but also because of the decline of collagen production in your body. When skin contains a healthy amount of collagen, it is firm and less prone to cellulite.

Cleanliness and choking hazards
When buying chicken feet, be sure to inspect them carefully. Those that appear dirty or have ammonia-burned skin indicate poor hygiene management.
You should discard or avoid those with ammonia burns, which look like overgrown calluses and are often caused by the chicken standing on their own droppings.
If the feet you buy look unclean, thoroughly wash them to remove the dirt.
Lastly, chicken feet consist of multiple small bones, which pose a choking hazard for both children and adults.

Chicken feet are a favorite treat around the world

Chicken feet are a favorite treat around the world. Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and many other countries all have their own classic preparations of chicken feet. If there’s eaten everywhere from formal banquet halls to hole-in-the-wall lunch counters.
Paul Aho, a poultry economist and consultant, estimates that up to 75 percent of China’s annual chicken imports are made up solely of feet (or paws, as they’re known in the poultry industry). Most of those chicken feet once came from the world’s biggest chicken producer: the United States. But despite the massive demand, fraught international trade politics means that the epic flow of chicken feet to China has slowed to a trickle.
In addition to their tastiness, Chinese people are also fans of chicken feet for their health benefits. The collagen-rich snack is said to be good for the skin. Since they’re often served cold, the demand rises sharply in the warmer months of the year, between April and October. Chicken feet are eaten so frequently that they’re often more expensive than actual chicken meat. In fact, the domestic poultry industry can’t keep up with demand.
China imports nearly a billion dollars worth of poultry every year. A significant amount of that once came from the United States. “We sent a lot of paws to China, about 400,000 metric tons per year,” Aho says. American paws were particularly popular for their large size. Economists love to point to this as a classic example of gains from trade: What would otherwise be a useless leftover is a billion-dollar product in another market. American companies get extra profit from each chicken, and Chinese consumers get more of a prized delicacy.
The chicken paw case is an interesting example of how international trade affects prices. While China does produce lots of poultry, many of their chicken paws are exported to richer East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. This lets them command higher prices, writes researcher Xiaosi Yang. Meanwhile, billions of American chicken paws are worth next to nothing in their country of origin. Yet they can be sold in China, where even a low price means the seller can extract profit from an otherwise worthless byproduct.

Foods with chicken feet

Hot and Spicy Chicken Feet
Rub the cleaned chicken feet with kosher salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
Rinse the salted chicken feet under cold water.
Rinse the salted chicken feet under cold water.
Place a 14-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add the chicken and dry-sear until lightly brown.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
Uncover and simmer until the sauce has become thick and cooked down, tossing frequently to coat the feet as the sauce reduces.
Garnish with minced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy.

Chicken Feet Soup Recipe
First up, we need to do some prep to make chicken feet broth. For the best results, make sure to start this recipe the night before you want soup.
Most of the time, the yellow outer layer of the feet has been peeled by the butcher. If this has not been done, you will need to do this.
Put the trimmed chicken feet in your slow cooker and cover with water. Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and give it a stir. Now cover the crock pot, put it on low, and let it cook overnight.

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