Soup has been a popular meal choice for centuries. It’s delicious, comforting, full of goodness, and available in dozens of different varieties. But with that being said, have you ever wondered what are the nutritional benefits of soup?
Read on to find out the advantages of adding soup to your diet.
What are the nutritional benefits of soup?
In addition to being both filling and hydrating, soup is filled with minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. This makes it an excellent immune booster as well as a rich source of healthy dietary must-haves. Furthermore, low-calorie soups are a great addition to weight-loss plans.
In terms of variety, your options are endless when it comes to soup. This versatile food is easy to make and generally relatively inexpensive. If you’re looking to sneakily serve up some vegetables, soup is the way to go.
So, what’s in a soup?
To start with, soup contains a large amount of moisture, making it a hydrating food by default. This is beneficial, particularly in winter when most people tend to drink less water. Soup’s water content, in turn, makes it a very filling food. The fuller we feel, the less likely we are to overeat.
In terms of soup ingredients, it’s difficult to think of a vegetable that doesn’t fare well in a big pot of broth. And vegetables are full of vitamins, fibers, and minerals that are good for your body. Indeed, many soups incorporate meat or bone broth too. These are superfoods that provide you with nutrients like protein and collagen. If you’re opting for (admittedly less healthy) cream-based soups, you’ll also find them to be a source of calcium.
So, what are the nutritional benefits of soup? Easy. When properly prepared, soup is considered healthy because it is full of nutrients that benefit your overall well-being.
How exactly do soups benefit our health?
Most soups are prepared using ingredients that enable our bodies to fight off diseases by boosting our immune systems. Onion, celery, and carrots, to name but a few, all contain chemicals that help us to stay healthy.
The large volume of vegetables (and sometimes meat) in soups can ensure that we reach our recommended dietary intake of specific vitamins and minerals.
What are the benefits of soup for weight loss?
Not all soups are created equal. Some are full of rich ingredients like cream or milk, sodium, or additive thickeners, which increase their calories.
On the other hand, many soups are vegetable or broth-based and make excellent additions to a diet plan for several reasons.
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, vegetables are low in calories. Research has shown that people who regularly incorporate healthy soup into their diets have a lower calorie intake than others.
Secondly, vegetable and meat broths have a high fiber and protein content instead of a high fat content. A reduced fat intake can be a pertinent part of any weight-loss journey. A healthier body weight reduces your risk of chronic diseases and improves your overall organ health.
Thirdly, soup makes you feel full, and this is in part thanks to its fiber content and in part thanks to its water content. Both of these factors delay a phenomenon known as gastric emptying, which refers to the speed with which your stomach empties after a meal.
The longer you feel full, the less likely you are to snack on unhealthy or unnecessary treats.
What are the benefits of different types of soups?
The sheer volume of options that we have when it comes to buying or making soup ensures that there is something out there to please even the fussiest of palettes. And this is true even for “health” soups.
Chicken soup, mushroom soup, tomato soup, and pea soup, to name but a few, are all examples of broths that can be prepared healthily and still taste delicious.
In fact, if you have any vegetables that you fear are reaching their expiry date, a combination of the lot will more than likely result in a tasty soup. Nutrients and vitamins in vegetables do not break down when prepared in a liquid broth.
Conclusion
Soup is easy to make, versatile, and exceptionally healthy when prepared with the right components. While this might mean straying from the cream and fat-rich varieties, the long-term benefits of frequently consuming healthy, hearty soup are well worth it for a happier body.
