Chicken soup for the flu 

Having a warming, delicious chicken soup when sick is probably one of the most well-known folk remedies for colds and flus. The Weston A. Price Foundation often cites a South American proverb that proclaims, "Good broth resurrects the dead.” A hearty bowl of chicken soup has brought me back from feeling like I’m on the brink of death more than once, so there’s probably some truth to it.

The effectiveness of chicken soup in relieving cold and flu symptoms isn’t just anecdotal. Research agrees.

In one mouse study, animals’ immune systems were first suppressed with a chemotherapy drug. The mice were then divided into control groups and groups fed chicken soup made from different varieties of chicken. The study found that mice fed chicken soup were better able to preserve their thymus glands. The thymus is a vital organ in the immune response, as it is where immune cells are created and mature. Mice fed chicken soup also regained their ability to produce immunoglobulins, alleviating the drug-induced immunosuppression. Since the soups tested consisted only of water and chicken, the effect couldn’t be attributed to herbs. The study also found that soup made from free-range chicken was better at supporting immunity than soup made from factory-farmed chicken, which should come as no surprise.

In the 1970s, a separate group of researchers discovered that chicken soup effectively relieves congestion. They concluded that chicken soup’s ability to ease congestion and thin out mucus is likely attributed to the sulfur compounds that give chicken soup its distinct smell.