Can soup cure the sniffles?

Going as far back as the 12th century, Jewish scholars have touted the effectiveness of chicken soup for a variety of ailments, including the common cold. Even today, when you’re in bed with a cold, someone has either reminded you of its goodness or brought you a piping hot bowl. Are the wonders of chicken soup just cultural myths passed down from generation to generation, or can soup really cure a cold?

What’s In It?
Chicken soup is made from a stock or broth and a variety of veggies. In a stock, the chicken bones are cooked for a few hours. This gives enough time for minerals like zinc, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium to seep into the liquid stock. These same minerals won’t be in a broth since a broth is typically made from the meat only. Don’t discount out the nutritional goodness of broth though,  it’s still brimming with minerals like selenium and phosphorus. Of course both soups and stocks are made from a variety of veggies like celery, onion, carrots, leeks, parsnips, or turnips —  all of their minerals seep into the liquid too.

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Baked Fish and Chips - Photo by Andrew Mccaul, Food Network Magazine

Drown fish in oil and serve it with a side of greasy fries and you’ve got yourself a quadruple bypass waiting to happen. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but you get my drift.  The funny thing is, potatoes and fish are naturally healthy foods. Here’s how to make this English staple tasty and delicious.

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I once learned to remember the antioxidant vitamins and minerals with the acronym “A.C.E.S.” – vitamins A, C, E , and the “S” is for the mineral, selenium. Find out what makes this nutrient worth remembering and how much might be too much.

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