For centuries, mothers have been cooking chicken soup whenever their children have come down with colds. Even doctors have recommended chicken soup to patients with colds.
But does this old remedy really work? Or does it just make you feel a little better while you’re eating it? Most people agree that warm soup can feel good on a sore throat. And soup’s steam may help unclog a stuffy nose. But couldn’t any hot drink—tea, cider, or even cocoa—do that? Actually, some scientists say the ingredients in chicken soup make it good medicine.
nose, throat, or chest. Special white blood cells rush around those areas attacking the virus. These cells are called neutrophils. But while neutrophils are rushing around fighting the virus, they’re also doing something else. All their rushing makes mucus grow.
Mucus is the stuff that clogs your nose during a cold. A scientist at the University of Nebraska wanted to see if chicken soup had any effect on neutrophils. He added some chicken soup to the white blood cells. He found that the soup actually slowed down the movement of the cells.
This in turn slowed down the growth of mucus. There it was: scientific evidence that chicken soup could slow down cold symptoms.
So what exactly is in chicken soup that helps it fight a cold? The scientist couldn’t tell. But he guessed it might be a combination of ingredients: the veggies, the fat from the chicken, and even the salt. Scientists need to do more research to answer that question. Meanwhile, next time you feel a cold coming on, reach for some chicken soup!