Autumn time is a cold season. These five soups will help you beat the common cold and get back on your feet quickly.
As soon as autumn is here, you can hear sniffling and coughing everywhere. When you have a cold, wrap up warm, go to bed, and sweat! These five soups will help you get over the cold quickly – because their ingredients work wonders!
1) Chicken Soup
Even our grandparents relied on the healing power of chicken soup for a cold: rightly so, because as researchers from the University of Nebraska found out, chicken soup inhibits very specific white blood cells that are jointly responsible for inflammatory processes in the body. Inflammation and swelling of the mucous membranes can be alleviated in this way.
In addition, a hot chicken soup eaten helps to fight the viruses that are responsible for a cold. The steam that rises from the broth also moisturizes the mucous membranes and loosens mucus in the airways.
An all-around healthy thing is chicken soup. It is important to prepare the soup freshly – instant soups do not have the same effect! If you don’t want to use a whole chicken, you can use chicken thighs.
2) Tom Kha Gai Soup
The spicy coconut soup from the Thai kitchen combines several cold killers: Fresh chili peppers contain capsaicin, which activates the blood circulation in the mucous membranes and helps against a stuffy nose, for example. The spiciness of the chilies also warms the organism weakened by colds.
The ginger contained in Tom-Kha-Gai also warms and has a preventive and healing effect. The essential oils found in ginger, called gingerols, are considered “nature’s aspirin” because they share a similar chemical structure. Ginger also has an anti-inflammatory effect. You can also easily prepare tom ka gai soup yourself; you can get exotic ingredients like lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves in the Asian supermarket.
3) Lilacberry Soup
Lilac berry soup with semolina dumplings, freshly cooked by grandma, is one of the most beautiful childhood memories for many of us. The sweet, intensely tasting soup is not only balm for the soul, but also heats up the cold: Hippocrates is said to have used elderberries as a remedy, and Hildegard von Bingen also had them in her medicine chest.
The blue-black fruits, also called lilac berries depending on the region, have proven to be particularly effective home remedies for colds and flu, because the juice from elderberries has a sweat-inducing and fever-reducing effect.
For a concentrate, boil the ripe black-purple berries with water and sugar, continue to simmer for 15 minutes, and strain through a cloth. Suitable for juice or lilac berry soup. You can also buy ready-made elderberry juice. Drink warm lilac juice, especially if you have a fever. It is also ideal for a sweat cure. So wrap up warm, rest, and support the body’s immune system. Additional health bonus: Elderberries have a healing effect on coughs.
4) Kim Chi Soup
Hot, sour, hot as hell: The kimchi soup from your favorite Asian snack bar is a good ally when you are about to catch a cold. It not only contains plenty of chili but also kimchi (fermented Chinese cabbage).
Cabbage vegetables, such as broccoli, savoy cabbage, and green or Brussels sprouts, contain a lot of vitamin C and vitamin E, which support the body’s immune system. In addition, there are many minerals, B vitamins, and fiber in the cabbage heads.
5) Onion Soup
Onions are a true wonder weapon for the immune system: they contain substances that inhibit inflammation and loosen tough mucus – indispensable for coughs and colds. If you can’t manage onion juice – grandma’s home remedy for coughs and hoarseness – you can cook a nice onion soup.
