Nutrition: Soup up your training

When temperatures drop, there is nothing more tempting – or nourishing – as a recovery meal than soup. Long overlooked in favour of more fashionable snacks by athletes, sports nutritionists say that, in fact, few dishes are superior to a power soup in terms of replenishing the macronutrients, vitamins and fluids lost in training. What’s more, it has scientific evidence on its side.

Wards off colds

Studies have shown, for example, that it’s no old wives’ tale that soup is good for you – it really does have medicinal value and might ward off infections like the common cold. Among the most noteworthy research was that carried out at the University of Nebraska more than a decade ago.

Laboratory tests confirmed that homemade chicken soup inhibited the movement of neutrophils (white blood cells), which helps prevent common colds. The researchers weren’t able to identify an exact ingredient in the soup that seemed to protect against colds and suggested that it was the combination of vegetables and chicken that worked together to produce the benefits.

Dr Sarah Schenker, a sports nutritionist and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, is a confirmed fan of souping over the more popular juicing for sports people. She says that certain vegetables – carrots and tomatoes are a case in point – have more vitamins and beneficial compounds after cooking than in …

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