Just a century ago, various vegetable and meat soups and broths played a key role in daily diet of people. Soups were valued for their nutritional properties and especially for their warming effects (in those times there were no effective heating systems). Nowadays, soups lost their popularity in favor of steaks, sandwiches, pizzas and other foods. At the same time, there are lots of healthy homemade soup fans, who know and understand all the benefits of eating this light and very nutritious food. Check out the information below, and maybe you’ll decide to introduce good old soups into your daily diet.

1. Soup is a really priceless nutritional food packed with lots of useful elements and minerals. Chicken soups and broths have a unique property to protect against many respiratory diseases as they contain the components with very strong anti-inflammatory powers. Fish soups are rich in useful micro-elements and can be easily digested. Mushroom soups can provide us with vitamin D and other nutrients. However, these types of soups are not recommended to the people with such problems as urolithiasis and metabolic disease. They should go for light vegetable soups, which stimulate detoxification and cholesterol lowering.

2.  Vegetable soups are excellent sources of vitamins we need throughout the year. Most of veggies are very rich in vitamins, but when we boil these veggies, the vitamins go into the water. Therefore, cooking vegetables in soups allows keeping the water and preserving all the vitamins and nutrients. Many specialists recommend placing the vegetables for soups into boiling water, this way preserving water soluble vitamin C. Also, do not keep the soup which is cooked than 2 days ago: after 2 days there will be no more useful elements left in the soup.

3. Healthy homemade soups are absolutely essential elements of daily diet for those who want to lose weight. Broths and all types of soups contain great amounts of water and are low-caloric foods which can assist in cutting your food intake very effectively. In other words, soups have much lower energy density and can help in losing pounds. In addition, eating soups is linked to consuming more calories with every meal (according to the specialists at Penn State University, up to 20% fewer calories) as after eating soup we have less free space in our stomach for other heavy foods.  That is why soups are considered a very valuable part of any healthy nutrition plan and weight management program.

4. If you want to improve your digestion, soups can be the best solution for you! They are effective for those people, who suffer from increased acidity and problems with gastric juice production. Vegetable soups are perfect sources of fiber, which has positive effects on digestion and peristalsis. Broths are also useful to those eaters who have acidity problems, but those who suffer from gastritis and peptic ulcers should avoid eating too fatty soups as they stimulate acid production.

5. Soups are economic, convenient and very healthy foods, which can be cooked fast and easily. Also, they can satisfy the needs and the tastes of the whole family! Finally, cooking soups is a great space for you to improvise and use your imagination as to the combination of the ingredients. Use fresh zucchinis, broccoli, cabbage, peas, pumpkin, spinach, paprika, celery, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, rise, mushrooms, eggs, beans, cream and spices – whatever you have in the kitchen – and create new exclusive recipes for healthy homemade soups! Enjoy these soups and their benefits for your health and well-being.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

2 Responses to “Top 5 Reasons To Love Healthy Homemade Soups”

1. Serena Norr Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

   Hi Carla,

   I love your article and love how you gave a clear run-down of the health benefits of homemade soup. A soup creator, this was very exciting and engaging to read, so much so that I featured it on my site for our week in review section.

   http://seriouslysoupy.blogspot.com/2009/12/linkin-it-upa-weekly-rundown-of-soup-in.html

2. Fit Human Says:
   December 22nd, 2009 at 5:56 pm

   This is a great Guide to Fitness and nutrition