James Blunt once contracted scurvy after only eating chicken and mince for two months.

The 46-year-old singer admitted he made the defiant diet decision out of ''principle'' because he was surrounded by vegetarians and vegans at university, but he ended up suffering from the disease which can cause weakness, sore limbs and fatigue.

Reflecting on his time studying aerospace manufacturing engineering and sociology at the University of Bristol, on Jessie Ware's 'Table Manners' podcast, he said: ''On the engineering side [of my course] there were 170 men - and only three girls.

''And then on the sociology side of things there were 170 girls and only three boys, of which all the girls were vegetarian or vegans.

''So out of principle I decided I'd become a carnivore and just lived on mince, some chicken, maybe with some mayonnaise.

''And it took me about six to eight weeks to get very unhealthy and see a doctor, who then said 'I think you've got the symptoms of scurvy'.

''He said 'You are really lacking in vitamin C' so I took it upon myself to drink orange juice every night - then I nearly developed acid reflux.''

The 'You're Beautiful' hitmaker also opened up on his living arrangements at uni, and how the layout of his accommodation made it impossible to take someone home.

He added: ''I wasn't in halls, I went straight into a flat - three boys in a tiny little L shaped flat. It had one bedroom and a sitting room - so two boys were in this L shaped room with a mirror in the corner.

''So you couldn't even get anyone round in your bed because then you were too close and could see everything and what everyone was doing in your room - there was no privacy.''