The Virtues of Chicken Soup
I’ve I’ve not heard any mention of chicken soup as a COVID remedy, but it does do wonders for the common cold, ailing sinuses, a sore throat, and other traditional flu symptoms. “Feed a cold; starve a fever,” they say, or was it the other way around?
An old, family doctor once told me that chicken soup was a better remedy for treating a cold than over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. I scanned the Internet to see why that might be the case.
Discovery
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center claimed that homemade chicken soup helped reduce upper respiratory cold symptoms by inhibiting the migration of infection-fighting cells in the body.
Even commercial soups were effective. Chicken soup may work for a few simple reasons known by mothers for centuries. Breathing steam relieves congestion. Soup increases the body’s liquid intake, soothes the throat, is easy to digest, and being high in carbohydrates, makes you feel full and satisfied.
Soup Remedies
My mother was especially fond of the chicken soup treatment, as were most care givers of my youth. The warm, flavorful broth isn’t an instant cure, but it does make discomfort more tolerable.
Comedian and self-proclaimed foodie Dom DeLuise wrote: “When I was a kid, if I had a fever, had a cold, had a fight, had a fall, had a cut, was depressed, had a disappointment, fell off a truck, woke up with a headache . . . no matter what the situation, my (Italian) mother’s solution was always, ‘Eat this, it’ll make you feel better.’”
He didn’t say whether the magic food was pasta or chicken soup, but I think either would work.
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