Chicken noodle soup: does it heal like Jesus?

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2006-02-21 02:47pm

Do you think that this old wives' tale has any basis in fact?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2006-02-21 02:59pm

It undoubtedly works as a natural decongestant, but you could say that of any hot soup. Plus the placebo effect is pretty strong - when I'm sick, I always feel better after eating chicken soup.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2006-02-21 03:06pm

And it goes without saying that nutrition and fluids (of which soup has both) can give your body that little boost it needs to combat a viral infection.

Justforfun000 · Post by **Justforfun000** » 2006-02-21 05:34pm

Actually there is some evidence that Chicken noodle soup is a boost to the immune system and also heart health. Let me find the sources...

http://www.worldhealth.net/p/272,815.html

Chicken Soup Helps to Keep Heart Healthy
Last year researchers reported that chicken soup had the power to combat symptoms of the cold and flu - this year scientists are reporting the heart benefits of the nutritious broth. A study carried out at the National University of Singapore, has found evidence suggesting that chicken extract, a concentrated form of chicken soup, can help to keep the heart in shape. Researchers who fed rats bred to develop hypertension with a commercially bottled chicken extract found that compared to control animals the rats demonstrated a 40-50% decrease in heart swelling and a 60% reduction in blood-vessel thickening over the year-long study period. The team believe that a naturally occurring peptide found in human blood and produced by the majority of body tissues, is responsible for the heart friendly benefits of the concentrated chicken extract. Similar studies carried out with pork failed to demonstrate virtually any positive effects upon the cardiovascular system.

http://preventdisease.com/home/weeklywellness149.shtml

Chicken Soup Does Soothe a Cold

A cure for the common cold may still be out of reach, but temporary relief could be right in your kitchen cupboard.

Chicken soup apparently does more than work wonders on the soul. Some doctors and researchers -- not to mention grandma -- say chicken soup actually helps reduce the inflammation and mucus production so characteristic of a cold.

They think it may help flu sufferers, too.

"Does it cure you? No. But it makes you feel a lot better, and that's the bottom line," says Dr. Jordan S. Josephson, an otolaryngologist and sinus specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "As anyone who's ever had the flu will tell you, you sit there praying to God [for] anything that will make you feel a little bit better."

This winter, that message may pique the interest of more people as the "flu season" has gotten an early start, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the past two decades, CDC data show, February has been the peak month for flu cases, but outbreaks began this year in October.

And with 36 states reporting flu activity, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding on Dec. 19 formally declared this year's outbreak an "epidemic."

The flu -- which actually is a contagious, respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses -- strikes the nose, throat and lungs just like the common cold. However, medical experts say it comes on more quickly and severely, usually accompanied by more intense aches, fever and tiredness. Both ailments feature coughing, nasal congestion and sore throat.

And that's where chicken soup can help, Josephson says.

"Colds and the flu naturally make you produce mucus," he says, "but research showed that chicken soup inhibits the mucus production."

"That means my nose will be less stuffy, my throat won't be as sore, I won't be coughing as much, I won't be as congested and I will feel better," Josephson says.

Indeed, a doctor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center tested his wife's grandmother's chicken soup recipe in his laboratory, finding it did have medicinal value because it limited the movement of neutrophils, the white cells in the blood that fight infection. Neutrophils actually remove bacteria from the body, but in the process they stimulate the production of mucus -- one of the irritating symptoms of colds and the flu.

The Nebraska study, published in the October 2000 issue of Chest, did not clarify what in the soup produced the health benefit. But it suggested the ingredients -- which included chicken, onions, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery, parsley, salt and pepper -- somehow worked together to create a beneficial brew.

Josephson speculates it's a combination of things, from the vitamins and minerals in the ingredients to the heat of the soup -- although the study found hot water didn't produce the same results, he says. Even the soup's fat content, which "has a soothing effect on the throat," could play a role, he says.

And, of course, soup is a liquid, and medical experts always recommend fluids for cold and flu sufferers to stave off dehydration.

"The take-home message when you have a cold or the flu is to bundle up, stay warm and drink plenty of fluids, and chicken soup is a real good one," Josephson says. "It tastes good and it hydrates you."

Jay Parker, who owns Ben's Best Kosher Deli in the Rego Park area of New York City, calls it the "Jewish penicillin."

It's what you always take people who are sick, he explains.

His deli offers a "get-well flu basket" -- two quarts of chicken soup, with four matzo balls on the side, a mug to drink it from and a box of tissues, all in a basket. "We've been doing it for years," he says, "but this year the need is just a little bit greater."

It's fun, Parker says, and of course there's the nutritional value. But chicken soup has something more to offer as well, he says, touting a psychological connection that makes it a true comfort food.

"When mom gave you chicken soup, she felt like she was helping you," Parker says. "You felt the love that came through the soup."

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2006-02-21 05:38pm

Indeed, a doctor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center tested his wife's grandmother's chicken soup recipe in his laboratory, finding it did have medicinal value because it limited the movement of neutrophils, the white cells in the blood that fight infection. Neutrophils actually remove bacteria from the body, but in the process they stimulate the production of mucus -- one of the irritating symptoms of colds and the flu.

Isn't that a bad thing? I'd rather have a congested nose than an over-all prolonged infection.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-02-21 07:18pm

wolveraptor wrote:
Indeed, a doctor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center tested his wife's grandmother's chicken soup recipe in his laboratory, finding it did have medicinal value because it limited the movement of neutrophils, the white cells in the blood that fight infection. Neutrophils actually remove bacteria from the body, but in the process they stimulate the production of mucus -- one of the irritating symptoms of colds and the flu.
Isn't that a bad thing? I'd rather have a congested nose than an over-all prolonged infection.

You've never been so stopped up you can't breathe, have you.

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2006-02-21 09:13pm

Actually, I do suffer from asthma, so yes I have. I just didn't make that connection immediately. I retract my early statement.