Many people believe in the health benefits of chicken soup for a cold. And you might be one of them. But is it scientifically proven? Or is it just a myth? Well actually, if you think that chicken soup is able to cure common cold, it might be a myth. But the fact that chicken soup along with its spices in a bowl of warm chicken soup is able to alleviate the symptom of cold.
Are you still wondering how a medicine could be that delicious? Isn’t medicine usually taste awful? Let see the further explanation down on this page. You will get the information about health benefits of chicken soup for a cold along with its cooking recommendation.
The Nutritional Information of Chicken Soup for a Cold
The health benefits of chicken soup for a cold are not come from magic. It is scientifically proven come from the ingredients composed a bowl of delicious chicken soup. The ingredients are full of nutrition for health. For example, from a cup of chicken soup, we will not only get a cup of chicken and broth. At least, we will also have carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger. Therefore, here is the nutritional information from a cup of chicken soup:
- Calories 193 (from fat 126)
- Total fat 14g
- Cholesterol 55mg
- Sodium 799mg
- Potassium 389mg
- Total carbohydrates 3g
- Dietary fiber 1g
- Sugars 1g
- Protein 12g
- Vitamin A 14.4%
- Vitamin C 20.2%
- Calcium 4.8%
- Iron 6.6%
The Health Benefits of Chicken Soup for A Cold
As mentioned before, the main and supporting ingredients of chicken soup form the excellent health benefits of chicken soup for a cold. Here are the health benefits you can get from consuming chicken soup during cold.
- Alleviate nasal congestion
Nasal congestion during cold is mainly caused by the infection within the respiratory tract. Although chicken soup would not perfectly heal the infection, it is able to alleviate nasal congestion as one of the symptom of respiratory tract infection.
As we know, we always consume chicken soup when it is warm. Drinking or eating something warm during cold will also warm the upper respiratory track. This way, the warmness will help alleviate nasal congestion by opening the airway in the nasal passage. This health benefit can also be obtained from Benefits of Drinking Warm Water with Lemon and Honey .
- Improve immune system
It is common to cook chicken soup with onion and garlic. The addition of onion and garlic into chicken soup is not merely a matter of taste. Those natural ingredients will also boost up the health benefits of chicken soup for a cold. Garlic and onions is known to be a powerful immune system booster.
It is possible since onion and garlic contain an organic chemical which is able to stimulate the formation of macrophage, the body’s immune cells. You can also get this benefit from the Health Benefits of Onion Tea . The enhanced immune system is also supported by vitamin E and A which are provided by the vegetables in chicken soup.
- Reduce inflammation
Chicken soup along with its supporting ingredients will also help you to reduce inflammation. It is especially when you cook the soup by including the chicken bones along with its joints tissue. As we know, the infection during cold will cause some problems such as sore throat.
In this case, consuming chicken soup with a good amount of protein will help you to reduce inflammation and recover from the sore throat. This health benefit is published on medical h=journal Chest.Â
- Recharge energy
By consuming chicken soup during cold, you are able to obtain good amount of protein, carbohydrate, and fats. This way, you are able to recharge energy. As we know, when we are sick, the energy recharge is significantly needed to help you recover and build your fitness in an instant. Besides chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup is also good for health. You can get the Health Benefits of Cream of Mushroom Soup  to recharge your energy after an illness.
- Contain healthy calories
During the early stage of cold, our body will fight off the infection. This process takes a lot of energy. And on this stage, we need a lot of energy supply. But on the other hand, we will lose appetite. In this case, chicken soup is able to provide you with the energy you need by providing the healthy calories mainly from fats and protein. In addition, chicken soup is quite simple and appetizing.
- Support digestion
The healthy digestion is important for cold recovery. In this case, chicken soup is able to aid your digestion. Chicken soup owns gelatin from the chicken broth with is able to protect the digestive tract by form a protective lining. This way, the digestive tract is able to run its function to let the nutrition metabolized and fight the illness.
- Give the placebo effect
For ages, many people believe that chicken soup is able to heal cold. It is something that people are suggested that chicken soup is ‘that powerful’ to heal cold without knowing the fact whether it is true or not. This way, consuming chicken soup may give placebo effect which suggest and further motivate people to recover from cold after consuming the chicken soup.Â
- Warm your body
Ginger is added into chicken soup for some reasons. One of the reason is that it will give excellent aroma to the soup which help clear the nasal congestion when you sipping on the broth. Besides, ginger also actively takes part in warming your body. During cold, the inflammation will raise body temperature.
As the result, you will feel extremely cold. In this case, ginger is able to bring the warmness when you eat the warm chicken soup. You know that ginger is excellent for its Benefits of Ginger Tea for Cold and Cough.
The Recommendation in Cooking Healthy Chicken Soup
The homemade chicken soup might be a best remedy for your common cold. Cooking chicken soup by yourself enable you to customize the ingredients by yourself. In addition, it is quite simple to cook and serve a bowl of health benefits of chicken soup for a cold. First, you can prepare the ingredients such as chopped chicken, chicken stock, onions, garlics, ginger, celery, carrot.
When everything is prepared, pour olive oil to the pan and stir fry the garlic, onion, and ginger. The olive oil will perform Health Benefits of Olive Oil  in enhancing the vitamins from the ingredients. After that, add the diced or sliced carrots on the fried spices. Once it is soften, you can add water, chicken, and the stock. Pour a few of salt on it. When it is set, you can add diced fresh celery leave on the top of it. Eat it while it warm and you will get the health benefits of chicken soup for a cold.