Chicken soup and Illness's

General Brown · #1 01/06/13, 01:50 PM

All of my life, whenever someone gets ill with a cold or flu, someone will mention chicken soup. What is it about the soup that supposedly helps with the sickness?

Alice In TX/MO · #2 01/06/13, 02:02 PM

Onions, garlic, protein, liquid. All necessary and supportive of healing.

Annsni · #3 01/06/13, 02:13 PM

There is actual scientific evidence that chicken soup is good for you during illness. It's usually easy to eat when you're not feeling well, is high in fluids and protein and if it's made right (lots of garlic and veggies) it will have some antibiotic properties. Also, the heat often loosens chest and nasal congestion.

I posted this on another thread but here's what I do to always have fresh homemade chicken soup on hand for illnessses:

1. Serve a nice roast chicken for dinner.

2. In cleaning up, I take the carcass, break it up, toss it in the crockpot. Add 3-4 carrots cut in chunks, 3-4 pieces of celery cut in chunks with the leaves, 2 onions cut in quarters, at least 5-8 cloves of garlic cut in half, 1 Tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. rosemary, 1/2 tsp. sage then cover it all with water. Set to low and let it cook 12 hours overnight.

3. In the morning, strain off the stock into a large bowl or pot and pick through the solids to find any useable meat. You will usually find a lot more than you thought. Discard bones and veggies

4. Add the chicken to the stock and then put into 2 cup containers - as many as you can. Freeze.

5. When needed, put the frozen stock/chicken into a pot and slowly heat. As it's thawing, chop a carrot, one stalk celery and add to soup. Cook 10 minutes until veggies are softened. Add in some cooked rice or noodles and taste to see if you need to adjust the seasoning.

6. Serve to your sickie and welcome the grateful smile they give you when they say "You are the best mommy in the whole wide world".

haypoint · #4 01/06/13, 02:22 PM

Liquids aid in recovery. As a Dr once explained, "the solution to the pollution is dilution."

uncle Will in In. · #5 01/06/13, 02:54 PM

Tonto fed the Lone Ranger hot broth whenever he got shot or something life threatning. They didn't have to many old hens scratching around out yonder, so Prarie chickens done the trick for them. I am sure they were free range birds however.

MJsLady · #6 01/07/13, 09:25 AM

No clue why it works but here is a rundown of a recent event.
Beloved contracted bronchitis. He got meds from the doc and has seen not much improvement. (Though he did go to work today, first day in 10 days!)
His reaction to the coughing fits, anger and salty language and general bad attitude.

Thursday afternoon I began to feel myself getting sick as well. I made a big pot of chicken soup. (He scoffed and ate microwaved stuff and then made some sloppy joe type things when I was not up to cooking. When he was first sick i tried to get him to let me make him soup and he refused.)
I made sure it was good and peppery too.

I had a fever on Friday. My diet for 3 days was dry toast, tea or oj or water and chicken soup.
I am still sick, and have no energy but the fever broke Friday night and my coughing fits are not as bad nor do I seem to have the gunkiness in my lungs I hear in Beloveds. (Mine feels more like breathing through a straw with a kind of whistle when I cough)

I have been able to care for him and keep up small tasks. My energy is easily spent and once I get home from town I will need to rest before attempting supper. He has not been able to do anything but sit and watch tv.

Was it the soup or just me refusing to give in to illness? I have no clue but I will go with the soup!

Annsni · #7 01/07/13, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJsLady

No clue why it works but here is a rundown of a recent event.
Beloved contracted bronchitis. He got meds from the doc and has seen not much improvement. (Though he did go to work today, first day in 10 days!)
His reaction to the coughing fits, anger and salty language and general bad attitude.

Thursday afternoon I began to feel myself getting sick as well. I made a big pot of chicken soup. (He scoffed and ate microwaved stuff and then made some sloppy joe type things when I was not up to cooking. When he was first sick i tried to get him to let me make him soup and he refused.)
I made sure it was good and peppery too.

I had a fever on Friday. My diet for 3 days was dry toast, tea or oj or water and chicken soup.
I am still sick, and have no energy but the fever broke Friday night and my coughing fits are not as bad nor do I seem to have the gunkiness in my lungs I hear in Beloveds. (Mine feels more like breathing through a straw with a kind of whistle when I cough)

I have been able to care for him and keep up small tasks. My energy is easily spent and once I get home from town I will need to rest before attempting supper. He has not been able to do anything but sit and watch tv.

Was it the soup or just me refusing to give in to illness? I have no clue but I will go with the soup!

It's because you're a woman, M!!!

MJsLady · #8 01/07/13, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annsni

It's because you're a woman, M!!!

PrettyPaisley · #9 01/07/13, 10:10 AM

Actually, bone broth/stock is good for you all the time, not just when you are sick. I keep a pot of stock going frequently and can what stock we don't use immediately, as my freezer is full. I try to always cook veggies and grains in it as well as make lots of soups (my girls don't resist different vegetables when they are in the soup pot like they do when I serve them on a plate).

BUT-since you are leaching minerals and vitamins out of the bones of the animal you want to try to make sure it's as healthy as it can be. Pastured, not grain-fed, no corn, soy, no GMOs, not caged ... you know the drill. You can actually see the difference in the stock when you use a bird from the store vs one from the back yard, just like you can with an egg.

When the flu started around here I stepped up the stock with things like burdock root and other herbs and when 6 kids in DDs class were out with the flu she never even got a runny nose. Sadly, I slacked off over the Christmas "break" and she went back to school last Wednesday. As of yesterday she was in bed with a high fever and still here today...so I'm pumping her full of stock now. Totally my fault - no doubt.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/the-chicken-soup-cure/

http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-bro...s-bones-teeth/

MJsLady · #10 01/07/13, 03:19 PM

LOL Ann, when I told the doc and nurse about this they both said "men" and rolled their eyes!

starlady · #11 01/07/13, 04:13 PM

The salt and heat help soothe a sore throat. I always keep some cheapo ramen noodle packets in the house in case I get sick - I hate hate hate gargling with warm salt water (as my mom used to make me do when I got sick as a kid) so I'll just make up a bit of ramen if I get a sore throat/cough. Not the healthiest option, but it helps!

RonM · #12 01/07/13, 06:03 PM

Dr Oz says the Chicken Noodle soup is not so healthy as it contains so much sodium......

MJsLady · #13 01/07/13, 06:24 PM

Ron that is why mine was homemade!

Annsni · #14 01/07/13, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonM

Dr Oz says the Chicken Noodle soup is not so healthy as it contains so much sodium......

When it's completely made at home, you can control the sodium in it. I do find in a large pot of soup, you need up to a tablespoon of salt for it to be "just right". But I start with less and move up as I taste it. Sometimes the seasoning from the carcass helps a lot to make me need less.

Alice In TX/MO · #15 01/07/13, 08:32 PM

Dr. Oz isn't so smart if he's eating Campbells pseudo soup.

**Shrek** · #16 01/08/13, 12:43 AM

The Doctor's talk show addressed the " Mother's Penicillin" reputation of made from scratch chicken soup and as I recall they mentioned that the onion and garlic aided respitory issues and the protein and fat in fresh chicken broth benefited the digestive tract while providing sufficient light nutrition for someone who was ill.

As all doctor's they did advise to go low sodium.

Maura · #17 01/08/13, 11:18 AM

The fat in the chicken has omega 3, 6 and 9, that's why it has to be chicken and not beef or other soup. The garlic and onion just improves it's healing power.

rockhound · #18 01/08/13, 02:50 PM

I like to add a good dose of rubbed sage to my chicken soup, seems to help with the stuffy-ness.

**Terri** · #19 01/08/13, 06:21 PM

General Brown, we covered this in nursing school, 25 years ago.

Yes, chicken soup helps cold symptoms, and does it better than hot water. And, no, they did NOT! know why!

mamita · #20 01/09/13, 06:35 AM

cause my Grannie says so. chicken soup with her hot tea with a shot of whiskey, lemon, & honey worked wonders. don't argue...she'll hunt you down and bop you with her itty bitty purse that must have an anvil hidden inside.

I agree it's great for something light, yet packed with good nutrition. only homemade, as I want to always control sodium. and I put lots of garlic in for it's antibiotic properties. (or to keep you a bit stinky so others will stay clear therefore lessening the sharing of the cootie) I can't stand the mere smell of any whiskey, so it's a good thing I'm stuffed up with a cold when I go to this measure. you must drink the tea while very hot and then cover up.