Health Benefits of Chicken Soup

 

As Fall approaches and the weather gets cooler, we can all agree that soup season is here!  What is more comforting than a bowl of soup on a winter or fall day?  Although I have many delicious soup recipes I call my favorites, I wanted to focus on one particular soup that contains a myriad of health benefits.  Did you ever read the book, "Chicken Soup for the Soul?"  Chicken soup is not only comfort food, but has some important health benefits that should not be overlooked! 

Chicken soup is an excellent source of the minerals calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.  These minerals are important for bone growth and repair.  If you have osteoporosis which is common as you age, you should be making chicken soup a part of your diet.  Chicken soup restores gut health and promotes healthy digestion.  The gelatin in chicken soup heals the mucosal layer in the gut, resealing it and restoring gut health.  This is really important for individuals with leaky gut.  Our gut is so important as the gut lining prevents "intruders" from entering our system.  When you have a leaky gut, all sorts of different issues arise: migraines, auto-immune disease, digestive issues, and depression can occur.

Chicken soup helps reduce joint pain and inflammation by containing high levels of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs).  Glycosaminoglycans stimulate collagen production, repair joints, reduce pain, and inflammation.  Inflammation is a huge contributing factor to pain and disease so we always need to figure out ways to reduce our bodies' inflammatory state.  Thank God for chicken soup!

Chicken soup is an anti-inflammatory powerhouse containing the amino acid glycine, the building block for protein.  Glycine helps with eliminating toxins, breaking down fat, and is an important structural component for many different amino acids that keep your body healthy.  Did you get enough glycine today?  You can skip the supplement, just make yourself a bowl of chicken soup.

Chicken soup is a beauty food that improves skin, hair, and nails through its proline-rich gelatin.  Proline is the cornerstone of collagen that helps build skin and muscle tissue and helps in wound healing.  You shouldn't rely only on what you put on the outside of your body to keep your skin, hair, and nails beautiful...because what you put inside your body is just as important!  

And to be honest, making chicken soup is so fun and easy!  Although I have a few recipes for chicken soup, one of my favorites is this Mexican Chicken Soup that is absolutely delicious and fun to make!

Mexican Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (remove gizzards)

4 carrots, halved crosswise

1 large onion

kosher salt and black pepper

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 avocadoes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

3 limes, halved

Directions:

1. Place the chicken, carrots, onion, and salt in a large pot.  Add enough cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Skim off any foam that appears.

2. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool.  Remove the carrots and onion with a slotted spoon and discard.  Add the rice to the broth and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.  Shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones.  Add the meat and 1/4 tsp pepper to the broth and heat for 3 minutes.

4.  Scoop the avocado halves from the peels and divide between the bowls.  Ladle the soup over the top.  Sprinkle with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Although my tip is to let the chicken, carrots, and onion simmer for half a day on low heat covered to get the maximum amount of nutrients out of the chicken and vegetables!  You can add a little more water if needed.  Enjoy!