What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Chicken Noodle Soup While You’re Sick

Eating chicken noodle soup when you have a cold or flu won’t cure your ailments, but it can help support your body with hydration, nutrients, and mild, potentially anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting effects. These effects can help your body’s healing process and reduce the length of your illness.

1. Sustained hydration

You may have a reduced appetite when you are sick, making it difficult to absorb the nutrients and fluids you need to recover. A serving of chicken noodle soup helps your body get nutrients and fluids in a form it can easily process.

Hot chicken noodle soup is an easily digestible food that provides water and electrolytes such as sodium, magnesium and potassium. These nutrients promote hydration and help maintain electrolyte balance during fever or illness.

2. Faster Healing and Recovery

Chicken is an excellent source of lean, low-fat protein. Protein provides essential amino acids that support your immune system and are needed to make antibodies, proteins that help defend your body against infections.

Adding vegetables to chicken noodle soup supports a healthy immune system in fighting infections. Typical ingredients, like carrots, celery and onions, can provide vitamins like vitamin A, which helps regulate immune activity, and vitamin C, which can help reduce inflammation.

Consumption of chicken-based soups is associated with a slight reduction in symptom severity, according to some research. It can also shorten the duration of symptoms by approximately 1 to 2.5 days. You may feel less sick and for less time. However, not all studies have found this same benefit.

3. Less coughing, congestion and pain

Chicken noodle soup can provide noticeable relief from symptoms such as:

• Congested nose: The steam and heat from chicken noodle soup helps open the airways and reduce nasal congestion, allowing you to breathe more freely and comfortably.
• Cough and sore throat: In addition to their heat, the liquids in the soup help thin mucus and moisten your throat, which may relieve coughing or itching.
• Stress: If you find chicken noodle soup comforting, it may indirectly aid recovery by reducing stress and allowing your body to rest.

4. More energy

The carbohydrates in noodles and the fiber in vegetables promote satiety (a feeling of fullness) and provide energy, which is especially helpful when your body is working hard to fight off illness.

How to make soup healthier

• Opt for homemade: Making soup at home can help you control ingredients and salt content, which can be high in canned soups.
• Reduce sodium: The hot broth in the soup is essential for some of its healing benefits, but some store-bought broths can be high in sodium. Many people need to be careful to limit their salt intake. When making chicken noodle soup, choose a low-sodium broth or dilute a high-sodium broth with water.
• Diversify your vegetables: Include a variety of vegetables, such as carrots, celery, onions, and others that you like, to increase the vitamin and antioxidant content of your soup. More nutrients can provide more benefits.
• Consider your carbs and fiber: Regular noodles can provide a quick energy boost. To improve satiety, you may consider using whole-grain or high-fiber noodles or adding legumes or grains.
• Add the ingredients: Modify your soup or recipe to include other ingredients with known health and healing benefits, such as fresh ginger, garlic, lemon juice, herbs and leafy greens.