Myth Or Fact: Chicken Soup Cures What Ails You?

 By DR JULIANE SCHLAG FOR THE CONVERSATION, DailyMail, Dec. 27, 2015 – Chicken noodle soup is regarded as a therapeutic dish in several cultures, including Jewish-American and Chinese communities where traditional medicine is practiced.

Although researchers have not been able to determine what causes the alleged positive effects of the comforting broth, several studies have confirmed it helps to unblock congested noses and throats.

Here, writing for The Conversation, Dr Juliane Schlag, of the University of Hull, describes the broth’s rich history, and the efforts to prove it really can ease illness and warm the soul.

Archaeological evidence shows people started using poultry to make soups soon after they discovered how to boil water.

The earliest recorded evidence of chicken soup being used as a therapeutic dish dates back to Chinese antiquity.

In the second century BC, the Chinese medical text, Huangdi Neijing, declared chicken soup is a ‘yang food’ – a warming dish – to which different therapeutic herbs can be added to cure various diseases.

In China, chicken soup is given to women after pregnancy and to elderly people.

Both groups are considered to be in need of energy-giving yang food, which is believed to transport ‘energy’ around the body and have an invigorating effect.

One of the earliest recipes for Chinese noodles, ‘lamian’, dates back to the second century AD.

In Chinese culture, noodles represent a long life. Traditionally they were combined with chicken soup to emphasise the well-being of the family.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), noodle shops became widespread and chicken noodle soup was a popular dish. Recipes for chicken noodle soup were also exchanged with other parts of Asia.