Rinse With Salt Water
A warm water and salt rinse can soothe a sore throat. It can also help to clear mucous. Heres how to rinse with salt water:
Do not swallow the salt water. Do not allow children to gargle until they can safely gargle with plain water.
How To Make Chicken Soup:
When I went hunting for a real-deal homemade chicken soup for the flu, I only found recipe after recipe that called for adding pre-cooked chicken meat to boxed prepared chicken stock. Those recipes are easy and better than canned soup because they involve fresh vegetables but they don’t have the same benefits as chicken soup from scratch offers.
To make the kind of chicken soups that really work as home remedies for colds and flu, you need a few crucial ingredients:
- a whole raw chicken
- a big pot of water
- fresh vegetables
- herbs and spices
This recipe is the best home remedy for cold and flu because it also adds fresh roasted garlic, lemon juice, spicy cayenne pepper to the broth. Garlic, lemon, and spicy seasonings are each known home remedies for cold and flu.
Homemade Chicken Soup For Flu Season
Published: by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.
This homemade chicken soup for cold and flu season will get you feeling better in no time. If you’re wondering how to make chicken soup, you’ll find that it is much easier than you think. Prep a batch now and stash it in your freezer so you don’t have to cook when you are under the weather.
The flu season is never any fun. Last year, the Peanut came down with it and I haven’t seen her that sick ever. She was honestly delirious and didn’t know what day it was or even what time of day.
Our pediatrician sent us home from our visit with an order to make homemade chicken soup:
“The REAL kind, homemade from chicken bones.”
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Is Canned Chicken Soup Good For Flu
It is unlikely to cure a cold or flu, but chicken noodle soup will actually help to relieve symptoms as the body fights the virus. Soup with chicken helps you fight the flu in several ways when it promotes hydration of your body, reducing congestion, and allowing you to gain nutrients needed for healthy digestion.
Home Flu Treatments: What Are The Best Flu Remedies

So youre one of the unlucky ones to come down with the flu: Now what? Most people with the flu dont need to see a doctor unless they are very unwell or in a risk group .
The key is to help your body heal itself from the flu. When you have flu symptoms, your body is battling the virus itself along with the inflammation caused by it. The following seven flu treatments should help you get past the symptoms in a few days.
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Best Soups When Sick: Try These Soothing Soups
So imagine a situation in which you or a loved one is already sick, or you have a sick friend. It happens and often!
Believe it or not, certain types of soups are just better when it comes to nourishing your body toward a speedy recovery. Next time youre under the weather, take out your crock pot slow cooker, an instant pot, or a big pot, and give one of these soothing soups a try!
Flu Treatment #: Take Over
Your options among medications designed to relieve symptoms include:
- Pain and fever reducers, like ibuprofen and acetaminophen , which will reduce fever and inflammation and aches and pains. Children under 19 should not take aspirin.
- , which may help open your nasal passages, so you can breathe easier
- Cough medicines. Try cough suppressants for a dry cough and an expectorant if your cough is wet and productive .
Those are The Big Four flu treatments. But there are other research-backed natural flu remedies that may help you get back on your feet promptly, so well continue with our list.
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What Is The Best Medicine For The Flu
The best flu medicine would be to rest and get plenty of fluids. Most symptoms of flu such as a fever, a runny nose, and blocked sinuses can be managed by acetaminophen and antihistamine medications. However, if the patient has a severe infection or is at a higher risk of complications, the physician may prescribe the following antivirals:
- Peramivir
- Baloxavir
Antiviral drugs can shorten the patients illness by about a day. They also prevent severe complications of flu such as pneumonia. However, these have a higher incidence of side effects than other antibiotics. Therefore, take them only if really required.
Antiviral drugs should be started within 2 days of getting sick to be effective.
Benefits of taking antiviral drugs include:
- Antiviral drugs shorten the time of being sick by about 1 day if a patient takes them within 2 days.
- They reduce the risk of ear infection, respiratory complications, and hospitalization.
- They reduce the risk of severe flu complications such as pneumonia.
- Early antiviral treatment can reduce the risk of death in a patient who is hospitalized.
What Is The Best Soup To Eat When Sick
This soup came about after years of watching my mom make it. She would ALWAYS make this soup when she didn’t feel well.
It wasn’t until I was an adult and had kids that I decided I should try it. Now I am wondering why I waited so long!
I personally feel this is the best soup for when you are feeling sick. Often we think chicken noodle soup when sick is the best, but this soup gives you something special too!
Obviously being vegetarian, I dont eat chicken noodle soup – this vegetarian sick soup is perfect for me.
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Helping Your Child Stay Nourished
As an adult with the flu, when you have no appetite or energy, it can be difficult to eat nutritious foods and make sure youre drinking enough fluids. This can be even more challenging for children.
A child is also more likely than an adult to become dehydrated because of their lower body mass. Children are also more likely to lose fluids from a high fever. Make sure you offer fluids to your child often. You can also offer popsicles to soothe a sore throat and help with hydration.
Eating healthfully year-round is a great way to boost immunity which may in turn help prevent flu. While theres no one exact immune-boosting diet, it may help to eat foods rich in various nutrients and antioxidants, such as:
- vitamin C, such as oranges, peppers, and grapefruit
- vitamin D, such as salmon, mushrooms, and fortified milk
- zinc, such as oysters, red meat, and fortified cereals
- selenium, such as seafood, eggs, and dairy
- iron, such as lean meat, white beans, and nuts
- protein, such as beans, nuts, and poultry
- probiotics, such as kefir, yogurt, and kimchi
- prebiotics, such as garlic, onions, and leeks
Quick And Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
You can’t mess with a classic home remedy like mom’s chicken noodle soup. Unfortunately, mom isn’t always around to take care of us when we’re sick. If that’s the case for you, then this Quick and Easy Chicken Soup recipe is the comfort food you need for cold-fighting season.
Find the recipe here.
Spices not only make food taste better, they also have potent health benefits the body is in desperate need of – especially when sick. That’s why if have the sniffles, you need to make this yummy Simple Spiced Carrot Soup.
Find the recipe here.
When you’re sick, the last thing you want to do is get off the couch to make food. Luckily, this comforting Easy Tomato Basil Blender Soup practically does all the work for you. Toss the tomatoes and onions in the oven, then blend your ingredients for an easy, satisfying tomato soup.
Find the recipe here.
Sometimes, the best way to get better is to sweat it out. This Spicy Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup is exactly what you need!
In less than 20 minutes, you will be perspiring your way to better health in the most delicious way.
Find the recipe here.
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Chicken And Rice Soup
At last! The chicken soup trifecta is complete. 🙂 We mentioned chicken noodle soup and chicken bone broth above, but if you want delicious rice in the mix, chicken and rice soup is a great choice!
Chicken and rice soup have many of the same benefits as chicken soup and bone broth.
But in addition, chicken and wild rice soup helps in strengthening your immune system, provides relief from sore throat, is nutrient-rich, is an amazing option for weight loss, and even decreases the risk of chronic diseases.
This chicken and rice soup recipe couldnt possibly be easier for busy nightsits even packed with vegetables like carrots, celery, and spinach! Yum!
Not Your Soup Next Door

Youll find a few different ingredients in this soup, like the hot sauce, soy sauce and herbs de Provence but trust me when I say you will not want to skip those ingredients. Its what makes this soup special and gives it that wonderful flavor. A bowl of this soup and youll feel so much better! I used some egg noodles I had, but feel free to use the pasta of your choice.
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How To Roast The Garlic For The Chicken Soup:
The whole process for roasting the garlic maybe adds on 5 minutes of work to your soup.
Kale Spinach Or Other Leafy Greens
Leafy greens have a number of benefits, and are nutrient-dense foods that can aid in healing. They are rich in folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, and contain a variety of phytochemicals, all of which can help boost your immune system. They are also a good source of beta carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A and has been shown to improve immune function. Kale, spinach, or bok choy are all options.
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Best Chicken Soup Recipe For Colds And Flu
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September 27, 2019 By Judd Handler
An easy chicken soup recipe for colds and flu that helps relieve common symptoms. Keep some chicken broth handy to make this low carb chicken soup any time.
Natural methods for relieving cold and flu symptoms have been around for centuries. Echinacea, elderflower tea, and elderberry syrup are just a few of the ones Ive tried. But when I feel a cold coming on, I always make a batch of my best chicken soup recipe for colds and flu.
Do I Have To Make The Roasted Garlic For This Soup
The roasted garlic takes a little extra time but it sooooo worth it. Roasted garlic has a sweeter, milder flavor and is perfect for picky kids.
Noone wants to take a bite of soup and crunch down on a big chunk of garlic. When you roast it, the cloves are so soft you can just mash them with a fork. When you stir in the mashed, roasted garlic, it will simply dissolve into the broth leaving behind all the garlic goodness without any of the crunch.
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Do You Know Why It Is Important To Understand The Differences Between Cold Wind And Heat Wind
You should nourish your body and help it bring it back to balance using foods and beverages that are complimentary to your symptoms. For example, if you are having symptoms of COLD wind then having lots of Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup and Tranquil Lemon and Ginger Tea is going to help you bring your body back to balance and help you recover quicker.
However, if you are having symptoms of HEAT wind , you should be eating more neutral foods and cooling foods to balance out your fever and signs of heat. You may choose to modify this Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice soup and reduce the garlic and remove the onions and ginger as these are warming. Instead, you may wish to replace with more cooling vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower or mung beans. You might want to exchange the chicken with pork, beef or duck instead. You may also wish to drink a cooling peppermint or chamomile tea to bring your body to balance. Introducing the Five energies of food is a great overview of example neutral, cooling and warming foods.
Once your body is back to baseline, you want to go back to nourishing your body and strengthening your spleen so you are less apt to get sick next time around.
Creamy Vegetable Soup Recipe The Best Flu Buster Soup When You Are Sick
Are you sick of being sick yet? Or sick of your kids being sick? I am. Colds, the flu, ear infections, strep throat, pinkeye, stomach big. Yeah, I am pretty much over it.
It is time for a soup full of all kinds of delicious antiviral goodness! And during the winter with the flu and all kinds of other viruses and bacteria running rampant, I thought I would bring you this creamy and healthy vegetable soup recipe. With all of the virus-fighting ingredients, it is definitely a Flu Buster Vegetable Soup!
Technically I cant guarantee this will cure you, but a steaming mug full of veggies and vitamins that tastes amazing certainly cant hurt. And the added bonus is that it is also gluten free, paleo, and Whole 30, so it is healthy all around.
Even if you arent sick, you can still reap the benefits of a big bowl of creamy vegetable soup, especially with the comfort food factor on cold winter days. The combination of veggies and spices taste amazing together. Also, the silky texture from blending it all together soothes the body and soul.
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The Best Soup For Bronchitis
If you’ve got bronchitis or another respiratory infection, such as the cold or flu, what you eat and drink may help to at least temporarily improve your symptoms as you’re undergoing treatment. Fluids are particularly important, with hot liquids, such as soup, having a slight advantage over cold. When it comes to soup, homemade chicken noodle soup may be one of the best choices, although there hasn’t been much research comparing different types of soup. Consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet while you’re receiving treatment for bronchitis.
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Heat When You Have A Cold

If youre drinking a warm cup of tea, it might do more good than the same beverage at room temperature, according to a 2008 study published inRhinology.
Researchers gave a hot, fruity beverage to 30 sick participantsand measured their nasal airflow levels before and after drinking the beverage. There was no change in how clogged the patients nasal passageways were, but more subjective symptoms seemed to improve after drinking the beverage.
The participants reported that the hot drink did help alleviate symptoms like runny nose, cough and sneezing relief that the same drink, at room temperature, did not provide. The researchers did not have a conclusive explanation as to why the warm drink helped, and speculated that its effectiveness could be partially due to a placebo effect.
But another study shows that a hot beverage’s effect on snot may be more than a placebo. A 1978 study published in Chestcompared the nasal mucus velocity of 15 participants before and after they sipped hot water, hot chicken soup or cold water. Those who ingested the warm liquids were able to blow snot out of their noses quicker than the ones who drank cold water.
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/5heres How You Can Make Basic Chicken Soup At Home
To make this easy soup, wash and clean the chicken with some lukewarm water. Then run it through some cold water to retain the texture.
Next, take 2 chicken breasts and add 3 cup of water in a pressure cooker. Then add in 1 inch ginger grated, 5-6 minced garlic cloves along with 4-5 whole peppercorns, 1 inch cinnamon. Cover the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
In the meantime, wash, clean and chop veggies like 1 carrot, 1 beetroot, ½ cup baby spinach.
Next heat a pan over medium flame and add in 1 tablespoon of butter, add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 chopped onion along with the chopped veggies. Once the chicken broth is pressure cooked, take out the chicken and allow it to cool, cut it into chunks and add it to the veggie toss. Then add in some mixed herb seasoning, salt and pepper to the chicken.
Next, add in the chicken stock to the veggie toss, season with a little more salt and add a handful of cilantro. Cover the lid and allow the soup to reduce to half. Turn off the flame, transfer the soup to the bowls and garnish with a dollop of butter, pepper and coriander leaves.