PHIL TAYLOR TURNS TO TV DIET EXPERT
Power wants to keep the juice flowing unitl he is 60
PHIL TAYLOR has called on the help of TV health expert Amanda Hamilton to keep The Power switched on until he is 60.
The arrows legend this week begins a campaign to win a record-breaking 15th Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship at London's Alexandra Palace.
Taylor is already undisputably the greatest player of all time.
But he knows he won't stay at the very top unless he makes lifestyle changes that will help him cut out alcohol and junk food and keep his weight down.
The Power believes that by staying in shape there are plenty more £200,000 winner's cheques for him to bank before he packs away his tungsten tips.
Taylor, 49, met GMTV presenter and leading nutritionist Hamilton at a West End hotel on Wednesday night to discuss prolonging his career.
And the Stoke thrower hopes her insight will help him move darts away from its "fags and booze" image and into a new era where only the fittest, and not the fattest, can thrive at the oche.
He said: "Amanda and I had a chat and she told me to get hold of a kit where I give saliva samples. I then send them off to a lab and when the results come back we can analyse them together.
"It will tell her exactly how my body is working. It will reveal everything about my liver, kidney and my heart and then we can sort out an eating plan around that.
"There is still more I can do to prolong my career. My throwing is perfect, my flights are good and I have the right footwear and the right shirts.
"I just need to stick to a diet that makes me feel 100 per cent. If I can eat properly then I can go on being successful until I'm over 60.
"Darts has rapidly moved into a new era recently and the changes will keep coming. I still get the stereotypes where people who don't know the sport ask me why I'm not drinking 15 pints and getting through 30 cigarettes a day.
"But the fags and booze image is fading and to a professional, that label really p****s you off. I have friends who are big sports stars and they drink much more than me".
Taylor is beginning to enjoy the millionaire lifestyle that darts has given him.
He recently sold his modest home in Stoke and moved a few miles down the road to a five-bedroom house in upmarket Nantwich.
"If I quit tomorrow, I'd have a lovely life in retirement," said Taylor, who begins his title defence against Colin Monk on Friday.
"We don't live a rich lifestyle. I've got a big house but money isn't everything to me."
* Sky Sports is showing the Ladbrokes.com world championship exclusively live and in HD from Friday
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