Grandma was Right About Chicken Soup

      OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 17 (UPI) - Forget the jokes about Jewish penicillin.

      Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center say it looks like chicken soup really can relieve some cold symptoms.

      In findings published Tuesday in the October issue of the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, Dr. Stephen Rennard and colleagues said chicken soup may contain an anti-inflammatory mechanism that can relieve such symptoms as coughing and runny nose.

      "If you always believed your grandmother was right when she told you to eat chicken soup, this is a mechanism that explains why she was right," Rennard told the Omaha World-Herald.

      Rennard first came across the curative powers of chicken soup in 1993 while trying to determine if his wife''s grandmother''s recipe could keep white blood cells from migrating throughout the body to help destroy bacteria or cellular debris. The process, known as neutrophils, forces the body to release mucus.

      Rennard found the inhibitory success varied from recipe to recipe but chicken soup did have an impact.

      Grandma''s recipe included water, chicken, onions, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery stems, parsley, salt and pepper

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