Does chicken soup really help a cold?
Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro
Lung scientists tested a traditional homemade chicken soup in the lab to see if it really helps colds.
Chicken soup has been a cold remedy for centuries. To see if there was anything to it, researchers made a traditional chicken soup and tested whether it slowed down neutrophils, the white blood cells that rush in and cause inflammation.
In the lab dish, the soup did hold back the neutrophils, and the more concentrated the soup, the stronger the effect. Shop-bought soups varied wildly. Not proof of a cure, but a nice scientific nod to every grandparent with a ladle.
Grandma’s remedy has a lab report now.