Does Chicken Soup Have Healing Powers? (fwd)

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Cheryl A SixWise.com Feature

The Old Wives' Tale Club Answers ... ©

Does Chicken Soup Have Healing Powers?

by www.SixWise.com

You've likely heard it proclaimed throughout your entire life: chicken

soup is good medicine.

Whether it was your mother, grandmother, or a 's soup

commercial handing out the advice, a steaming bowl of chicken soup has been

touted as the cure for just about every ailment, from the common cold to a

nasty scrape on the knee.

But is chicken soup, in and of itself, really a " medicine " of sorts?

Does it actually possess healing capabilities, or is its magic all in our

heads?

Before there was soup, there was broth, which people used to

pour over a piece of bread in a bowl. That bread was known as " sop. " From

sop came the word used for today's winter favorite, soup.

Back in the Day

Around the 12th century trusted healers started to prescribe " the

broth of fowl " for their ill patients. It was during that time that Egyptian

Jewish physician and philosopher, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimonides, started to

write extensively about the benefits of chicken soup.

The ancient healer wrote, " The meat taken should be that of hens or

roosters and their broth should also be taken because this sort of fowl has

virtue in rectifying corrupted humours. "

Maimonides used his 'fowl brew' to treat such things like hemorrhoids,

constipation, and even leprosy. He strongly believed and especially praised

the brew's healing power for respiratory illnesses like the common cold.

Since then, many researchers and scientists have pondered the question

of whether or not chicken soup has any real health benefits to patients

suffering from a cold. Some have even done experiments to see if there is

such proof.

Is the Proof in the Soup?

Dr. Rennard, MD at the University of Nebraska Medical Center,

thought his family's chicken soup really did work, but as a scientist, he

wanted proof.

" One day we were discussing chicken soup, " Rennard explains. " My wife

says that grandma says this is good for colds, and I said maybe it has some

anti-inflammatory action. "

Rennard tested his theory and added his wife's home made chicken soup

to white blood cells, called neutrophils. To his surprise, the soup did slow

the neutrophils. In fact, he claims that chemicals in the broth-based elixir

clears a stuffy nose by inhibiting inflammation of the cells in the nasal

passages.

Dr. Rennard did admit that there needed to be more studies conducted,

but believes his findings are one more piece to complete the puzzle.

Since Dr. Rennard's findings in the early 1990's, several studies have

since agreed with his results, and show chicken soup as a " relief " for the

common cold, not a " cure. " All research agrees that the soup helps break up

congestion and eases the flow of nasal secretions. In addition, many say it

also inhibits the white blood cells that trigger the inflammatory response

(causing sore throats and the production of phlegm.)

Chicken soup is a soup made by boiling chicken parts or bones in

water, with various vegetables and flavorings. The classic chicken soup

consists of a clear broth, often served with small pieces of chicken or

vegetables, or with noodles or dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley.

In the United States chicken soup is considered a classic comfort food.

The " Guts " of Chicken Soup

When you are feeling under the weather, it seems that everything hot

helps to make you feel better. However, the good thing about chicken soup is

that - properly prepared such as the recipes below - it is loaded with

valuable nutrients. This includes:

Chicken: Chicken contains an amino acid called cysteine, a substance

released when you make the soup. This amino acid is similar to the drug

acetylcysteine, which is prescribed by doctors to patients with bronchitis.

It thins the mucus in the lungs, making it easier to cough out. And hot

chicken vapors have been proven more effective than hot water vapors in

clearing out the cold in your nose.

Carrots: Carrots, one of the routine vegetable ingredients found in

chicken soup, are the best natural source of beta-carotene. The body takes

that beta-carotene and converts it to vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevent and

fight off infections by enhancing the actions of white blood cells that

destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.

Onions: Onions, another chicken soup regular, contains quercetin, a

powerful anti-oxidant that is also a natural anti-histamine, and

anti-inflammatory.

Final Note

While chicken soup isn't a cure for a cold, it does help alleviate

some of the annoying symptoms that come with it. And, if nothing else, it

definitely is a delicious, comforting meal that helps keep your body

hydrated.

To get the full benefits, of course, we recommend homemade chicken

soup using only natural ingredients.

The next time the cold bug has you down, stay warm, get a lot of rest,

and try slurping away on one of these three chicken soup recipes (maybe you

can coax someone else into making one of them for you!)

Dr. Rennard's Chicken Soup

1 large roasting chicken or baking hen (6 to 7 pounds)

1 package chicken wings or drumsticks (10 to 12 pieces)

10 medium carrots, peeled

3 large onions, peeled and quartered

3 parsnips, peeled

1 large sweet potato, peeled

2 turnips, peeled

6 stalks celery

1 bunch parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1.. Wash the whole chicken and chicken parts. Place in 8-quart soup

pot, fill three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil. Add carrots,

onion, parsnips, sweet potato and turnips.

2.. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours. Add celery and parsley and cook

for another 45 minutes. Spoon out the chicken and bones.

3.. Remove the vegetables along with a small amount of the broth;

puree, then stir back into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

Rennard, M.D., is chief of pulmonary medicine at the

University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The recipe actually is a

time-tested family recipe, handed down by his wife's grandmother.