Why can chicken soup help when we have colds and flu?

THAT'S THE WHY:This time of year turkeys with any sense should be getting nervous.

But maybe onlooking chickens shouldn’t be too smug either – after all, it’s cold virus season and chicken soup has long been considered a help in easing the symptoms.

But why? The misery and congestion we suffer when plagued with a cold can be, in part, down to our body’s own immune response to the infection. And it turns out that chicken soup may have a mild anti-inflammatory effect, which could dampen down the very processes that contribute to us feeling so unwell.

In the lab, a traditional chicken soup containing pureed root vegetables (prepared according to a family recipe and referred to rather quaintly as “Grandma’s soup”) has been shown to inhibit the usual movement of immune cells called neutrophils.

Generally, the more concentrated Grandma’s soup was, the more it halted the cells. Many commercial chicken soups had a similar effect and, in some cases, were even more potent than Grandma’s finest.

“The current study, therefore, presents evidence that chicken soup might have an anti-inflammatory activity, namely, the inhibition of neutrophil migration,” wrote the study authors in Chest in 2000.

However, they said that there was probably plenty more going on too, noting the benefits of warmth and nutrition: “Undoubtedly, the in vivo effects of chicken soup include more than the effects on neutrophils. The warm liquid, particularly when sipped, can stimulate nasal clearance and may improve upper respiratory tract symptoms.”