The flu is something we battle every year with the arrival of colder weather.
Chicken soup is so powerful that many call it “a homemade remedy for the flu.”
The medical world is beginning to confirm the health benefits of eating chicken soup.
Back in the 12th century, a physician named Moses Maimonides first prescribed chicken soup as a cold and asthma remedy.
Medical experts say chicken soup contains drug-like agents something like those in modern cold medicines.
There's an amino acid released from chicken during cooking which chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems.
The seasonings and spices that are used in chicken soup, such as garlic and pepper are also ancient treatments for respiratory diseases and they work the same way as modern cough medicines, thinning mucus and making breathing easier.
Stephen Rennard, M.D., chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says that chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory. The soup, he says, keeps a check on inflammatory white blood cells.
Cold symptoms, such as coughs and congestion, are often caused by inflammation produced when neutrophils migrate to the bronchial tubes and accumulate there.
With the studies revealing that chicken soup has medicinal qualities,we have reason to be encouraged. But further research discovered that some store bought soups were even better.
The benefits of chicken soup
- Opens up the sinuses.
- Helps you to breathe when your nose is blocked.
- Reduces coughing.
- Soothes joint pain.
- Helps rid the body of aches.
Here's the list of brand name soups used in the study.
They are placed in order of how effective they were in slowing he progress of colds and flu.
- Knorr's Chicken Flavor Chicken Noodle
- Campbell's Home Cookin' Chicken Vegetable
- Campbell's Healthy Request Chicken Noodle
- Lipton Cup-O-Soup, Chicken Noodle
- Progresso Chicken Noodle
- Grandma's Soup
- Health Valley 100% Natural Chicken Broth
