March 21, 2006
FlyLady.net Food For Thought Column
by Leanne Ely

Dear Friends,

What is it about chicken soup that is so wonderful? This is the stuff that your mother made for you, the stuff that makes a cold go away and grants instantaneous health if we all believed our grandmothers.

There is, believe it or not, some science behind the goodness of chicken soup. Seriously! Researchers at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha found this out via the kitchen first, not the laboratory. Here's how it played out: they made up a big batch of chicken soup, gathered up some volunteers, collected the neutrophils from their blood (neutrophils are a type of white blood cell important to the immune system for fighting infection; neutrophils actually seek out germs and kill them) and mixed them together with the chicken soup. No eating allowed; this was science in action.

Guess what? The experiment was a success and they found that the soup does help stop inflammation — even when chicken soup is in a test tube! Grandma was right all along; soup is good for whatever ails you.

FlyLady has the not been feeling well and as we say in the South, is feeling puny. Rather than bombard her with get well wishes and crash her mail system, how about making a nice pot of chicken soup in her
honor and saying a prayer for a quick recovery? Here's a chicken soup recipe that is as good for the soul as it is for whatever ails you. You've seen this recipe before—it's my Basic Veggie Soup, but what it is, is basic chicken soup. The liquid is chicken broth and that is the "medicinal" part of this recipe; the veggies and their phytochemical properties will help boost your immune system as well.

Love,
Leanne

Basic Veggie Soup

(NOTE: serving suggestion of Grilled Cheese sandwiches are for those who are NOT sick!)