The Chicken Soup Myth

Those of you who see me every day will know that at the moment my blazer pocket is filled with tissues and lozenges. My voice is deeper and croaky and my nose is so red Rudolph is jealous. Yup, it’s that time of year again and I’m sick. Again. So, whilst I cuddle my blankets and eat yet another bowl of chicken soup I’ve decided to do some research. It turns out, our grandmothers and great grandmothers were right.

Why is Chicken Soup a medicine?

Believe it or not chicken soup might be better than cough medicine. You probably think I’m making this up but I’m not. In fact, scientists have shown that this is the case. The most commonly cited study was conducted by Dr Stephen Rennard of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the year 2000. After conducting various tests using his wife’s Lithuanian chicken soup recipe he concluded that the soup inhibited the movement of the infection-fighting cells in the body, in turn this reduced upper respiratory cold symptoms. Rennard and his team were unable to determine which ingredient prompted this effect on colds and so they concluded that it was the combination of the chicken and the vegetables in the soup. They also tested a variety of chicken soups bought from the supermarket and they were able to achieve the same results. Another study was carried out by researches in Miami and here they concluded that chicken soup improved the function of the cilia (these tiny hair-like projections in the nose prevent infections from entering the body).

At the same time chicken soup contains the vitamins and proteins we need, it’s warm so it soothes our sore throats and it still tastes good.

Here is the Dr Stephen Rennard’s wife’s chicken soup recipe:

Ingredients:

1   stewing hen or baking chicken weighing approximately 2.5 kg

1 package of chicken wings

3 large onions

1 large sweet potato

3 parsnips

2 turnips

11 to 12 large carrots

5 to 6 celery stems

1 bunch of parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Clean the chicken, put it in a large pot and cover it with cold water. Bring the water to boil.

2. Add the chicken wings, onions, sweet potato, parsnips, turnips and carrots. Boil about 1 and a half hours. Remove fat from the surface as it accumulates.

3. Add the parsley and celery. Cook the mixture about 45 min. longer.

4. Remove the chicken. The chicken is not used further for the soup. (The meat makes excellent chicken parmesan.)

5. Put the vegetables in a food processor until they are chopped fine or pass through a strainer. Both were performed in the present study.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

(Note: This soup freezes well).

If you don't believe me or just want to read more about this then click on the links to the websites I found most helpful:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/the-science-of-chicken-soup/?_r=0

http://www.unmc.edu/publicrelations/media/press-kits/chicken-soup/recipe.html