Grandmothers around the world tout their chicken soup as being good for what ails you. Chicken soup has been hailed as a cure for the common cold and an antihistamine (and even nicknamed “Jewish penicillin” – a nod to moms who have served it up to their sick kids.) Grandma may be on to something - the fabled healing properties of old-fashioned chicken soup has garnered a growing body of scientific evidence:

•    Pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School for Medicine, Irwin Ziment, M.D.,  has shown an amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems and found in some cold medications.

•    Spices such as garlic and pepper - ancient treatments for respiratory diseases - work by thinning mucus and make breathing easier.

•    The steam itself may be the real benefit - sipping the hot soup and breathing in the steam helps to temporarily clear congestion. 

While there is no conclusive evidence of a cure-all, it does seem probable that chicken soup helps alleviate annoying symptoms. At the very least, chicken soup provides a hot comforting meal and re-hydration. So as Grandma told you  -  slurp up when you're feeling under the weather.

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Read more: Colds and the flu: Symptoms and treatment