"Let Food be Your Medicine and Medicine be Your Food," Hippocrates, Greek physician, also known as the "Father of Medicine."

The use of chicken soup as a cold remedy dates back to the 12th Century when a doctor named Moses Maimonides first prescribed its use.

It has been long recognized that the steam from the soup is beneficial, but recently science is uncovering some other properties that may explain the efficacy of this food.

Irwin Ziment, M.D., pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School for Medicine, says chicken soup contains an amino acid that is released from chicken during cooking . This resembles the N-Acetyl cysteine (NAC), which is prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. He also states that the pungent aromatics and spices used in the soup are anti-inflammatory.

Another theory is that chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory. Stephen Rennard, MD, chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omah tested his wife's grandmother's chicken soup recipe in his laboratory, finding it did have medicinal value because it limited the movement of neutrophils, the white cells in the blood that fight infection. Neutrophils actually remove bacteria from the body, but in the process they stimulate the production of mucus -- one of the irritating symptoms of colds and the flu. The Nebraska study, published in the October 2000 issue of Chest, did not clarify what in the soup produced the health benefit. But it suggested the ingredients -- which included chicken, onions, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery, parsley, salt and pepper somehow worked together to create a beneficial brew.

Jo's Warm Spiced Chicken Soup

I love this recipe because it is the perfect blend of spices and flavors. I make it often in the winter and like to give it to friends who are in need of TLC.

Ingredients

• 1 tbspn olive oil, butter or a combination of both
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove (optional)
• 3 chicken thighs
• 2 carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 parsnip cut into 1 inch pieces
• 6 cups chicken stock (preferably home-made)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tspn paprika
• 2 egg yolks
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tbspns of chopped cilantro
• 2 tbspns chopped parsley
• Pinch saffron threads soaked for 10 mins. in boiled water
• 5 ounces of egg noodles
• Seasoning- to your taste

Directions

1. Heat oil and butter in large saucepan and saute onions and garlic over a low heat until the onion is soft. Add chicken pieces and brown them.
2. Transfer chicken to a plate and add carrot & parsnip to the pan. Cook over low heat for 5 mins.
3. Return chicken to pan. Stir in stock, cinnamon, and paprika. Season well. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour until the vegetables are tender.
4. Remove chicken from the soup. Skim off the fat (best if done after the soup is left overnight in the refrigerator).
5. Re-boil the soup and add the noodles; cook until they are al-dente.
6. Beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice. Add cilantro and parsley and stir in the saffron water.
7. Skin and chop the chicken and add back to the soup along with the egg mixture. Cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes.
8. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Soup ingredients and their properties that support the body during cold & flu season

Cinnamon

Chinese medicine has long used cinnamon as a natural remedy for coughs and the common cold. It is also known to be anti-bacterial.

Paprika

Rich in the antioxidant vitamin C, this spice is known to be helpful in cold and flu season.

Cilantro

This pungent herb has anti-microbial properties and is being studied for its detoxifying properties.

Parsley

This is an extremely powerful antioxidant. It also has immune boosting properties.

Saffron

This is used in ayurvedic medicine, as a cough and cold remedy. It is diaphoretic (promotes sweating) and has anti-microbial properties.

Onions and Garlic

Both onions and garlic contain compounds that modulate the inflammation pathway. Onions' anti-inflammatory effects are due to their vitamin C and quercitin, but to other active components called isothiocyanates. In addition, quercitin and other flavonoids found in onions work with vitamin C to help combat bacteria.

Stock (Skip this paragraph if you're vegetarian!)

Perhaps it is because I grew up in England that I always make stock from a left-over roast chicken. I think this goes back to the fact my parents grew up in the war during extreme food rations. I just think that home-made stock is so much richer and better for you than the store versions. Since the discovery of fire, man has been boiling up bones to obtain a soup and my instinct tells me that this wholesome food is something I should eat, especially in the winter!! Stock contains many minerals and trace minerals in a readily absorbable form. I am sure that the cartilage and tendons break down to form chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine - which are effective for joint health.

I use a pressure cooker to make the stock in about 1 ½ hours rather than having it boil all day long.