Both grandma and scientists agree on the healing powers of soup. They boost your immunity, warm your soul and fill your belly.
The therapeutic value of soup is derived from the ease with which our bodies can absorb the nutrients from the ingredients, which have been broken down by simmering. Nutritious low-salt soups will nourish you as they flush excess wastes from your body. It has been found that people who eat one serving of soup/day lose more weight than those who eat the same calories, but don't eat soup. The protein in hearty soups helps satisfy hunger, and the nutrient rich liquid is digested rapidly and signals your brain that you're full.
A healing soup can be your first step in maintaining your health and preventing illness. According to Chinese medicine, a good doctor uses food first, then resorts to medicine.
Vegetable soups are best because of their stimulating and health qualities, but soups in general are good because they help restore the necessary water balance, which in turn helps keep our blood pressure under control.
Homemade soup is best because many canned soups tend to be loaded with salt and chemicals. Eating soup is a great way to add healthy vegetables to your meals. Adding chopped spinach or kale at the end of cooking boosts your soup's vitamin, mineral and antioxidant content to help ward off colds. Making your own soup is so simple and enables you to know exactly what is in it! (see our links to recipes below) Soups freeze beautifully – so put them in portion size containers, freeze and you will always have a "go to" meal/snack –healthy & fast.
When you are sick, there is no better healing food than soup. The reason for this is that soups and stews don't require as much energy to digest, allowing your body to fight the infection.
It would be impossible to talk about soup's healing abilities without putting the spotlight on homemade chicken soup. Studies show that chicken soup relieves the common cold by inhibiting inflammation -- helping to break up congestion and ease the flow of nasal secretions. While chicken soup may not cure a cold outright, it alleviates some of the symptoms and can help as a preventative measure.
Soup Recipes:
Hearty Soups from Food411's Chef Silvia
Comfort Soups from Chef Silvia
Wonderful Soups from Elisa Bauer of Simply Recipes (a wonderful blog)
12 Simple Soup Recipes from fitness Magazine
