Chicken Soup: Medicine or Myth?

A brief look at what the science says.

Ah, the fresh cold air of the transitional autumn/winter season is upon us! Some of us relish the orange glow of lights in the windows of houses, trailing chimney smoke into the darkness of the night sky (even when it’s only four o’clock in the afternoon), the cosy crackling fires and hot steaming mugs of liquids steeped with cloves warming our icy fingers! Ahhh…

Others of us despair by mid October, seeing it only as the season of damp fallen leaves blocking the drains, bleeding fingers as we attempt to scrape ice off of car windscreens with the expired Costco Club Card and, oh yes, the bone shaking rattle of the common cold. It comes complete with feverish sweats, piercing shards of glass at the back of the throat and the what’s-that-I’ve-just-hacked-up-look of horror on our faces while others on the commuter train move away from us in disgust. Hmph…

Whether you are a lover or a loather of the season, there is one seasonal dish that is sure to bring a contented sigh out of even the most fervent of loathers: a steaming hot bowl of soup. Like a hot drink in a bowl, soup is calming, warming, hydrating and, in the case of chicken soup, could it be even more than that? Can chicken soup actually heal us when we are unwell?

Controversial claims about the healing powers of chicken soup have been banded around our world since the first poor chicken thawed from the ice (or cracked from the egg or appeared from a burning bush — whichever camp you’re in). Centuries later, we are all still eating chicken soup when we feel unwell, but why?

The hot liquid warms us when we’re shivering with fever. Breathing the steam clears the sinuses. The liquid hydrates us just when we need it most. We all know it’s what to eat when gripped by a seasonal virus. Despite this deep-rooted tradition, it seems there is little robust evidence supporting any claims that slurping chicken soup will actually help fight off the cold or flu virus. So what does the science really tell us?

Chicken soup has been used for medicinal purposes long before the middle ages. Maimonides, born around 1135 in Spain, was a medieval Jewish Rabbi, philosopher, astronomer and physician (crikey!). Maimonides wrote extensively about the benefits of chicken soup on bodily constitutions. He suggests that chicken soup is efficacious in ‘rectifying corrupted humours’ in the body, particularly the black bile, an excess of which was thought to cause melancholy. He also mentions its use in treatments of leprosy.

Maimonides even writes in detail about the best way to breed the chickens and prepare the soup! He concludes that ‘these procedures have been verified and their usefulness clear.’ He does not, however, indicate whether or not his procedures were verified through a double-blind randomised control study!

Fast forward to the modern era. A study carried out by Mount Sinai researchers in Miami in 1978 showed that participants who consumed a homemade chicken soup showed increased velocity of mucus and airflow through the nose compared to those who drank only cold or hot water. Today, on their website, Mount Sinai state that while ‘chicken noodle soup may have a mild medicinal effect on colds,’ it will not cure your cold.

A report published in 1998 in the journal Coping With Allergies and Asthma, reported that chicken soup may improve the ability of the tiny hairlike projections in the nose, called cilia, to prevent infectious particles from entering the body. This implies it could be used preventatively!

Another more recent study, carried out in 2000, concluded that substances in chicken soup inhibited migration of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that defends against inflammation, and that it is this anti-inflammatory effect that may be beneficial in reducing the effects of upper respiratory tract infections. Both of these studies were published in CHEST, the medical journal for pulmonary and critical care medicine.

So the science is telling us that, while it may not cure the common cold or flu virus, the properties of chicken soup can ease the symptoms caused by the virus.

Interestingly, it seems the combination of ingredients working together is what makes the magic. The soup used during the 2000 study mentioned above, contained onions, carrots, celery and sweet potato. Sweet potato contains a high concentration of choline which is known to reduce inflammation in the body. Onions contain a flavenoid called querciten which also reduces inflammation in the body. Celery contains chemicals with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Carrots are rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene, both components known to — you can probably guess — reduce inflammation in the body. Don’t forget the poor chicken, which is packed with protein good for boosting the immune system!

I carried out my own extremely unscientific study in my own home with two willing participants. Participant number one was suffering from a virulent strain of flu, miserable and unable to sleep due to shivers, aches and coughing. Participant number two was perfectly well and healthy, but the Little Dish doesn’t ever want to be left out of anything!

I wrapped them both up in blankets and left them lounging on the sofa while I cooked up my own homemade chicken soup, the aroma of which filled the house with warm fuzzy atmosphere. I lit the fire and served up the steaming soup; one in a Peppa Pig bowl and the other in mug with giraffe’s head for a handle. Both participants enjoyed the soup. Both participants asked for more. Both participants smiled and dozed all afternoon on the sofa, contently, not really watching Toy Story 4 on Amazon.

Whether it was the soup, the atmosphere or the TLC, I can’t be sure, but I concluded that chicken soup made both participants feel better!

The science certainly confirms that all the goodness of nutrition and anti-inflammatory properties of the foods combined can ease the symptoms of the cold or flu virus. Also true: two mugs full of chicken noodle soup did not rid participant number one of his flu virus, but certainly made him feel less beastly for a while!

So there it is! it seems that a hot steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup really does work, especially when it’s served up in front of roaring fire in the dead of night at 4 PM, in a mug with a giraffe’s head for a handle, knowing that all of the drains are clear and that there are four cans of de-icer bought from Costco, half price in the August sales, lined up under the stairs. Ahhh…

If you want to feel better, here is my own chicken noodle soup recipe that I am certain will do the job:

Chicken Noodle Soup

You will need:

1 tblspn of olive oil

Two chicken thighs with skin on (organic, free range if you can!)

1/2 of a yellow onion, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 stick of celery, finely diced

1 litre of good quality chicken stock

200g Linguini pasta, uncooked, or egg noodles, uncooked

A handful of chopped parsley to serve, optional

To make the soup:

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the chicken thighs skin side down and cook over a medium heat, turning occasionally until golden on both sides. Then add the onions, celery and carrots and continue to cook until soft.

Add the chicken stock and simmer uncovered for a few minutes then add the uncooked pasta or noodles. Cover and simmer until the pasta is cooked.

Remove the chicken thighs. Discard the skin and bones. Chop the chicken into small pieces and return to the pot. Add more water if needed. Simmer until ready to serve.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve topped with chopped parsley.

Makes about 6 mugs of soup, but easily doubles.