All About Food: For flu, nothing beats hot chicken soup

T’is the season to feel fluish,

Help may come from something Jewish.

Long called Jewish penicillin, chicken soup’s power to heal has mainly been viewed as folklore but in fact, recent scientific studies have proven that it has genuine health benefits, so much so that research doctors in Israel have asked the World Health Organization to add chicken soup to the List of Essential Drugs for Infections. Flu, colds, coughs, chest infections “” forget pills, sprays and prescriptions, what you really need is hot chicken soup.

About the 12th century, healers started to prescribe “ the broth of fowl” for their ill patients.

Egyptian Jewish physician and philosopher Rabbi Moses Maimonides started to write extensively about the benefits of chicken soup.

“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.”

He used this fowl brew to treat such things as constipation, hemorrhoids and even leprosy, but he especially praised its healing power for respiratory illnesses. Inhaling the steam from the hot soup made breathing easier.

In the 1990s Dr. Stephen Renard at the University of Nebraska wanted to test his mother-in-law’s theory that chicken soup is good for colds. His wife suggested that it might actually have some anti-inflammatory effects. So he conducted many tests, using a recipe he titled Grandma’s Soup, which included: chicken, onions, sweet potatoes parsnips, turnips, carrots and celery plus salt and pepper.

The results demonstrated that chicken soup is a good anti-inflammatory. In other words, chemicals in the soup clear a stuffy nose by inhibiting inflammation of the cells in the nasal passages.

Researchers agree that chicken soup breaks up congestion and eases the flow of nasal secretions and many say it inhibits the white blood cells that trigger the inflammatory response causing sore throats and the production of phlegm.

Chicken soup also contains a sulphur compound called cystine, which protects against infections of the throat, sinuses and chest. It helps by thinning the mucus in the nose and lungs, making it much easier for the body to eliminate.

The protein in this soup is very easy to absorb, making it rapidly available so it’s a perfect food if you are recovering from any illness. As a bonus it is great for warding off a hangover after a night of worshiping the porcelain god.

A bowl of this golden goodness provides 50% of a day’s protein, 25% of potassium, 20% of selenium and 30% of vitamin B6.

One cannot fully discuss the benefits of chicken soup without discussing the psychological rewards. At a National Institute of Health seminar, Dr. Sheldon Cohen, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon who has been studying the effects of social support on immunity for 10 years, believes that it plays an important role in determining our resistance to upper respiratory illness.

“Chicken soup may provide soothing relief for a cold, but it’s the friend who brings it to you who may help ward off the virus.”

We’ve included two recipes, one Eastern and one Western, for this magic elixir.

Remember, no matter its provenance, it must be served hot. Scientists have proven that hot chicken vapors are more effective than hot water vapors in clearing out your nose.

Also, take the time to make it yourself from all natural ingredients.

Soup from cans, boxes or packets has been proven to be less beneficial.

ELLE HARROW AND TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].