When you were younger, chances are that whenever you started to feel under the weather, your mother or grandmother would give you a big bowl of chicken noodle soup and tell you to rest. You would be skeptical about the soup helping you feel better, but before you knew it you were feeling like yourself again. However, for centuries it has been prescribed by mothers, grandmothers, and doctors alike and has been served with and without noodles.
Chicken soup gets its “medicinal” components from the chicken itself. As the chicken cooks, it releases an amino acid resembling properties in medicine used to fight infections, such as upper respiratory tract infections, like a cold or the flu. In 2000, a study found chicken soup may also reduce inflammation, which equals fewer symptoms with an infection. With fewer symptoms, the infection is easier for our immune systems to defend against, allowing us to get better and back to our normal lives quicker.
Our mothers, grandmothers, and even our great-grandmothers were not the inventors of chicken soup though. Chicken soup, also known as “Jewish Penicillin”, was not invented by the Jewish culture either, but no one seems to be sure as to when or where the first chicken soup was made. Some believe that the soup originated in the Far East, as they are believed to have invented the noodle. But others believe that it was in Ancient Greece that noodles were first seen floating in chicken broth and served.
Chicken soup has definitely stood the test of time, but the addition of noodles has been something more recent. It is noted that the company 'Campbells' was the first to commercially combine chicken soup and noodles, thus changing the landscape of the chicken soup forever. Campbells Soup describes the soup as a “soul-warming, trusted soup that brings a smile with every spoonful.” As we know, Campbells Soups are M’m! M’m! Good!®.
Our affection for chicken soup is definitely universal, but the recipe is not. If you were to Google ‘chicken noodle soup recipes’, you would get 140,000,000 results! There are also many variations, such as in Greece, they add lemon and egg to the broth, in Thailand, they add lots of lime juice and coconut, and in the US, we usually add plenty of carrots, celery, and other various root vegetables to the broth. No matter what, whenever you feel under the weather or the weather is gloomy, be sure to grab a nice warm bowl of chicken noodle soup with a little hot sauce for an added source of several vitamins and minerals and you’ll feel better in no time!
If you'd like to learn more about easy, everyday ways we can support our wellness, check out my Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/easyeverydaywellness.
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