The magic of chicken soup

My latest batch of chicken soup

It is cold and flu season and it is time to make a big batch of nourishing chicken soup and then broth. I recommend to have some chicken soup or broth in your freezer so it is handy when you feel run down and sick. Because who has the energy to make some soup when you are already sick?

Chicken soup has a long tradition to be used to alleviate upper respiratory symptoms. I remember my mum making me chicken soup every time I was sick and every time I felt better afterwards. Sure, the caring and loving part of my mum definitely helped my recovery too.

Studies have shown that chicken soup induces reduced inflammatory responses, which in turn helps to improve any upper respiratory symptoms. It was demonstrated in vitro (meaning petri dish) that some parts of chicken soup block the migration of neutrophils and in turn acts as an anti-inflammatory and reduces the upper respiratory symptoms. Though this is a theory only. When looking at anecdotal evidence, chicken soup & broths has been used for hundred of years. It is even referred to as “Jewish penicillin” and has been used to treat and prevent illness.

Another benefit of the warming and steamy soup is that it helps to move and clear nasal mucous. (That’s why drinking hot drink when you are sick is also a good idea!). Often when you are sick, your appetite is low so drinking soup helps to get to nutrients whilst resting the digestive system. If the digestive system is at a rested state, the body can focus on fighting the infection, rather than focusing on eating. Digesting food takes up energy. That's why it is a good idea to consume easily digestible foods when you are sick.

Back to the chicken soup. Cooking with bones also ensures that we get a balanced amino acids profile as it provides us with collagen. Collagen is required for our connective tissue like cartilage, bones, tendon, ligaments, skin. Bone broths are rich in the amino acids such as glycine, proline and glutamine which are not present in muscle meat. Since our diet consists of predominately muscle meat, it is recommended to balance it out with things like bone broths to provide us with collagen, which is not found in muscle meat. 

Glycine is also an inhibiting neurotransmitter, which has a calming effect on the nervous system. Bone Broth helps to support gut health due to its gelatin, glycine and glutamine content. They assist in helping with inflammation. Glutamine helps to repair and maintain the integrity of the intestinal gut lining. Other health benefits are skin, hair and nail health and grow (due to its collagen content) and reduced joint pain. And many more. 

I cook chicken soup on low heat for a few hours, then I added in vegetables like celery, carrots, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms and some leafy greens like collard greens, kale, swiss chard. Always lots of vegetables because you can never have too many vegetables in your diet. I also add some astragalus root, an Chinese herb that boosts the immune system. Note: Do not take astragalus when you have an acute infection as it will make it worse. 

Once the chicken is cooked, I remove the meat and keep the carcass for the bone broth. I put the carcass in a slow cooker, sometimes I add chicken feet to boost the collagen content of the broth, together with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, salt and pepper and let it cook for 12-16 hours. Once this is done, I strain the soup and voila you got yourself your chicken broth. The broth can be used as the basis for vegetable soups, curries, even add to bolognese sauce or just drink a cup per day.

Making your own is easy and also a lot cheaper. So let's get cooking, peeps.

References:

Rennard, Barbara O. et al., Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In VitroCHEST , Volume 118 , Issue 4 , 1150 - 1157, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.118.4.1150