Autumn is here now and as the days get chillier and we are cooped up indoors more, cold & flu season is on it's way. I was doing some reading and I discovered that the old wive's tale about chicken soup actually does have truth to it..
Quote:
According to food historians chicken soup was prescribed as a cure for the common cold in Ancient Egypt. The 10th century Persian physician Avicenna referred to the curative powers of chicken soup in his writings. In the 12th century the Jewish sage Maimonides wrote that chicken soup ?has virtue in rectifying corrupted humours?, and recommended it as nutrition for convalescents; Maimonides also particularly recommended chicken soup for people suffering from hemorrhoids and the early stages of leprosy.
Modern research conducted by Dr. Stephen Rennard, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine, and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha suggests that there might be some scientific basis for the belief in the curative powers of chicken soup. They found that the particular blend of nutrients and vitamins in traditional chicken soup can slow the activity of certain white blood cells. This may have an anti-inflammatory effect that could hypothetically lead to temporary ease from symptoms of illness. Their research was published in 2000 in the scientific journal Chest. This was not, however, an in vivo clinical trial, and did not demonstrate that chicken soup was the best foodstuff for this purpose.
Because it is simple to prepare, relatively cheap, nutritious, and easily digested, chicken soup is a good food for winter convalescents. Sipping warm soup can also clear the sinuses because of the steam ventilating into the nasal passages, serving as a natural decongestant, which also relieves cold and flu symptoms. Last, but not least, chicken soup can be beneficial due to the placebo effect of comfort foods.
|
Apparently in Greece, they eat it with eggs and use it widely as a cure for hangovers!!
To increase the calcium of your chicken soup, cook the soup for a prolonged period of time with the chicken bones left in. This only works if the pH of the soup if acidic, not neutral. So add some tomatoes and you'll get extra vitamin C too!!
Here's a whole list of chicken soup recipes for you to try:
http://homecooking.about.com/library...ksoupindex.htm
Share some of your own too
Chicken Soup
Linear Mode
