Chicken soup has long been the #1 recommended comfort food when you're stricken with a cold. But how effective is it really? Are there actual cold-fighting ingredients to be had in chicken soup, or is it mostly just the warmth and flavor that helps soothe our uncomfortable cold symptoms? Well, it turns out there IS some scientific support for chicken soup!
Healthline's infographic on The Truth About Natural Cold Remedies says that chicken soup is probably ineffective for actually preventing a cold, but once you have a cold, it's pretty effective for treating the symptoms - which of course we already knew:
Science has begun to support what mothers have understood for centuries. The heat, salt, and hydration provided by chicken soup may actually fight the cold virus (NIH, 2012). Laboratory studies have shown that ingredients of a chicken soup with vegetables could kill viral cells and prevent the growth of new ones (Rennard, et al., 2000). The soup may also provide an anti-inflammatory effect in the upper respiratory tract that helps soothe symptoms (Rennard, et al., 2000). Unfortunately, the benefits of chicken soup appear to be limited by how quickly the soup leaves the body (Babizhayev, et al., 2012). There is no indication that chicken soup would help in the prevention of colds, but its use as a remedy for symptoms is common. It is largely a safe remedy with no ill side effects, and scientific evidence points more in favor of its cold-fighting properties than against it.
Read More: The Truth About Natural Cold Remedies at Healthline
Related: What Was Your Mom's Home Remedy for a Cold?
(Images: 1. Emma Christensen; 2. Healthline)
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It's never been how effective the soup is for a cold, but how comforting the soup is while you have chills, aches, and possibly a headache or sinus pressure.
I've always turned to chicken soup because the warm broth helped steam my sinuses and give me some relief, while the warmth of the soup really helped with my chills. The kicker is that the soft noodles and vegetables are great for a queasy stomach along with some saltines.
Give me some chicken soup and a green tea with honey and leave me along while I'm sick.
But the real research question should be: how does chicken soup stand up to, say, tomato soup? Can't heat, salt and hydration be provided by any kind of soup?
Doesn't the effect come from the antibiotics the chickens are fed with??
The big difference between those two examples is the mildness. The acidity of the tomatoes might not sit well when your stomach is sensitive. French onion soup would also provide warmth, salt/electrolytes, and hydration, but your GI tract probably wouldn't thank you for it.
not necessarily...though i would love to see a comparison study of free range organic vs all-shot-up-with-nasty chickens.
In Chinese culture it is a HUGE no-no to have chicken when you are sick. We are brought up eating plain rice congee (porridge), which always seemed to do the trick. I think the main thread in all these remedies is that it is hot, steamy liquid with easily digested ingredients.
I read in Martha Stewart that the most comforting part of chicken soup when you're sick is knowing that someone cared about you made the soup for you. Aww..
"In Chinese culture it is a HUGE no-no to have chicken when you are sick." Really? I have never heard that before. Is it a regional thing? That said, it was far more likely to find plain rice congee in my house to begin with.
My mother in law has a great chicken soup recipe for fighting colds. Other than the regular ingredients she uses corn meal and a whole head of garlic.
Thank you for the outstanding references in the gray box. I didn't realize it prevented certain types of migration, that's amazing. I thought I heard St Johns Wort was being studied as an anti viral as well.
The benefits come from two different things — the steamy hot soup, and the nutrients in the actual ingredients! Chicken contains an amino acid called cysteine, which helps thin mucus in the lungs (making it easier to cough up all that gunk, etc.). The warm broth can help fight inflammation when your throat starts to swell up. THere's also an antioxidant called quercetin found in onions and garlic, plus the beta carotene, vitamin A, and potassium in the other veggies that can help. (All of these facts came from studies cited in this article: http://greatist.com/health/can-chicken-soup-cure-the-common-cold/ !)