Chicken soup is great for replenishing your body with fluids and salt after an upset stomach
After an upset stomach, you may be dehydrated and need something comforting and light. Broth-based soups, especially chicken soup, are great for replenishing your body with the fluids and salt it needs.
How does chicken soup help an upset stomach?
For an upset stomach, the American College of Gastroenterology recommends broth-based soups over other types of soups because they are:
- Low in fat
- High in water
- High in sodium
The salt content in soup helps your body reabsorb more water, replenishing your body with the fluids it lost while your stomach was upset. If you have high blood pressure, however, go for low-salt varieties to at least get the benefit of the fluids.
When not cooked in fat, soup is also easily digested and your stomach can tolerate it pretty well if you recently suffered from nausea or reflux.
When can you start eating chicken on an upset stomach?
If you are feeling a little better, you can gradually add boneless, skinless chicken breast to your soup. During the recovery period (at least 3 days), try to make sure you don’t add any extra fats to your chicken or chicken soup.
You can try adding rice or noodles and cooked vegetables to the broth for a more filling soup. However, it’s important to avoid fried or spicy chicken because the fats and oils can further irritate your stomach.
How to make a healthy chicken soup
There are slightly different versions of the recipe below, but this is the most common. It makes approximately 26 one-cup servings.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of oil (olive oil is recommended)
- 4 parsnips (about 1 pound) cut into ½-inch pieces
- 4 ribs of celery
- 1 turnip (about ¾ of a pound) cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 16 cups of reduced-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
- 7 (5 ounce) cans of chicken or 1½ pound (5 cups) cooked fresh chicken
- 1 bag (16 ounce) of frozen carrots
- 1 box (10 ounce) of frozen broccoli florets
- 1 box (10 ounce) of frozen chopped collard greens
- 1½ cups of frozen chopped onions
- ¼ cup of lemon juice
- ¼ cup of chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried dill
Directions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
- Add the garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, jalapeno, parsnips, celery and turnip to the pot.
- Cook these until the vegetables are tender but still crisp, which will take approximately 15 minutes.
- Next, add the carrots, collard greens, broccoli, onions, chicken broth and lemon juice to the pot.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for five minutes.