Pamela Durkin
The aroma of homemade soup on a chilly day lifts your spirit when you walk into a room. And it's not as time consuming to make as you might think.
Grandmothers around the globe have been extolling the comforting, healing properties of homemade soup for millennia. It seems modern science concurs with their collective and enduring wisdom. Recent evidence suggests consuming soup regularly can indeed optimize your health in several ways.
Of course, when you consider the composition of most homemade soups—stock from calcium- and collagen-rich boiled bones, nutrient-dense vegetables, and, often, heart-healthy legumes—it’s hardly surprising they are being “officially” acknowledged as health-enhancing bowls of goodness.
What is surprising, perhaps, is the intriguing ways supping soups can help us stay well.
Immune enhancers
It isn’t just an old wives’ tale—research confirms chicken soup can help alleviate the symptoms of the common cold. Recent studies suggest it does this by slowing the migration of certain white blood cells to the lung area and by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory conditions associated with viral infections and the common cold. What’s more, chicken soup bests other hot beverages when it comes to thinning pesky nasal mucus.
Weight managers
Staving off the sniffles isn’t the only reason to put homemade soup on the menu. Several studies have shown that serving vegetable-rich soups as a first course is an effective strategy to help maintain a healthy weight. It seems eating soup with meals helps enhance satiety and can reduce overall calorie intake at meals by as much as 20 percent. This effect was witnessed in both adults and children, with the added benefit of significantly increasing overall vegetable consumption in both groups.
Clearly, soup isn’t just good for the soul. Why not fend off the increasingly chilly weather and more by whipping up one of the following nutritious soups? Your nasal passages and your palate will be delighted.
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