There's something about chicken soup that makes you feel better when you're sneezing and sniffling through a winter cold.
Is it the loving care grandma provides along with the soup? Could it be the steamy aroma and nutrient-rich broth? Could it be something else?
Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center studied "Grandma's soup" – prepared by the lead researcher's wife, Barbara, from a family recipe – in the laboratory under carefully controlled conditions.
Although colds are not completely understood, it is believed that the inflammation caused when the body defends itself against infection could be blocked by the chicken soup. And that is indeed what Stephen Rennard, MD, and his colleagues found – in test tubes.
If soup can reduce inflammation, which researchers measured in the lab, it might reduce the symptoms of a cold. Even if it doesn't, soup rehydrates the body and is just plain good for you, especially when you're feeling ill.
Results were published by the American College of Chest Physicians in the journal Chest and supports what some might see as a food-as-medicine theory. Make your own medicine from the recipe supplied here by the researchers. Some store brands of chicken soup also worked, but broth alone did not.
"All vegetables and the soup had activity," Dr. Rennard observed. "I think it's the concoction [including vegetables]." Here's the Rennard family recipe – the only lab experiment you can eat. Try this at home. You'll like it.
Grandma's Chicken Soup
- 1 5- to 6-pound stewing hen or baking chicken
- 1 package of chicken wings
- 3 large onions
- 1 large sweet potato
- 3 parsnips
- 2 turnips
- 11-12 large carrots
- 5-6 celery stems
- 1 bunch of parsley salt and pepper to taste
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