I love the fall and the colors of the seasonal changes. The kids are actually able to enjoy a little more time outdoors with the cooler temperatures. I’m not crazy however, about the onset of stuffy noses and coughing that usually accompanies their activities. This is no doubt brought on by more frequent exposure to germs at school as well as the body’s adjustment to temperature differences while going in and out-of-doors.

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While I typically use teas and the like for standard treatment, my usual stand-by comfort food would be chicken soup.  As it was and continues to be reported time and again, the origin of this food therapy can be found as far back as 800 years ago when the  Jewish physician Maimonides recommended the use of  chicken soup as a remedy for upper respiratory congestion which explains the cliche ‘jewish penicillin’ that persists today.

Why this particular remedy is so effective as a folk remedy for generations is substantiated by Dr. Stephen Rennard out of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  He discovered after testing multiple samples of his wife’s old-world chicken soup recipe revealed a decrease in inflammation of the mucous-membranes as a result of the slowing of certain white blood cells called neutrophils to the resperatory areas.  This inflammatory response results in a cascade of other symptoms from swollen airways and nasal passages to increased mucous that results in the obvious unpleasantness of a cold. The soup brings with it this decreased inflammation as well as increased hydration and increased air flow from the nasal passages from the heat of the liquids and the broth itself.

Similarly, another study showing further benefits from other substances such as curcumin (the key to the yellow color in turmeric) and black pepper, ingredient particular to the soup.  Black pepper was also found to decrease inflammation due to Caryophyllene, a substance that gives the pepper the distinctive ‘kick’.  Additionally, turmeric, which I’ve found makes the soup golden and all the more appealing, was found to stop melanoma by Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal during a study done at MD Anderson Cancer Center  in 2005.

The benefits of various food additives and the combination of ingredients in familiar favorites comfort foods turn out to be some of the best medicine. Kids are less likely to turn up their noses to a warm bowl of comfort food than the typical over-the-counter and prescription remedies available.  If you have any favorite family recipes that have brought relief and comfort, please share them in the comments below.  Good health to you and yours!