Improved appetite, better digestion
All that makes sense, because amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and the amino acid glutamate is found in foods with the umami taste. Not all umami foods are meat or poultry, however; cheese, mushrooms, miso and soy sauce have it too.
Studies show that taste, it turns out, is critical to the healing properties of chicken soup. When I see patients with upper respiratory illnesses, I notice many of them are suddenly eating less or not eating at all. This is because acute illnesses ignite an inflammatory response that can decrease your appetite. Not feeling like eating means you’re unlikely to get the nutrition you need, which is hardly an optimal recipe for immune health and recovery from illness.
But evidence suggests that the umami taste in chicken soup may help spur a bigger appetite. Participants in one study said they felt hungrier after their first taste of a soup with umami flavor added in by researchers.
Other studies say umami may also improve nutrient digestion. Once our brains sense umami through the taste receptors on our tongues, our bodies prime our digestive tracts to absorb protein more easily.
This can reduce gastrointestinal symptoms, which many people experience when they’re under the weather. Although most people don’t associate upper respiratory infections with gastrointestinal symptoms, research in children has found that the flu virus increased abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea symptoms.
Jewish scholars have praised chicken soup’s healing properties for a range of illnesses, including the common cold, since the 12th century. Even now, when you’re sick in bed, someone has brought you a steaming hot bowl of soup or reminded you of its benefits. Do folktales about the health benefits of chicken soup truly exist, or is there a more plausible way to treat a cold?
There are numerous theories of how chicken soup helps ward off the sniffles. One study found that sipping on hot chicken soup helped clear stuffy noses, but the study found it was effective only for a few minutes and that it wasn’t any more effective than sipping on hot water.
Another comfort food that’s frequently given to sick children is chicken soup. Both adults and children may benefit emotionally and psychologically from a steaming bowl of soup.
According to a few scientific studies, zinc can help shorten the length of a cold. Nevertheless, you must begin taking more zinc within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. It’s difficult to determine whether chicken soup contains enough zinc to be beneficial because many of these studies were conducted with lozenges or supplements.
Various vegetables and stock or broth are used to make chicken soup. The chicken bones are cooked for several hours in a stock. This allows minerals like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and seepage into the liquid stock. Since a broth is usually made solely of meat, these same minerals won’t be present in it. However, don’t undervalue broth’s nutritional value; it’s still packed with minerals like phosphorus and selenium. Naturally, a range of vegetables are used to make stocks and soups, including celery, onions, carrots, leeks, parsnips, and turnips; all of these vegetables’ minerals seep into the liquid.
