a slimming asset. The best types of soup

If you’re in the mood for a healthy comfort food or just fancy a hot meal, soup might be for you. Enjoying a bowl of soup can be an easy, quick and tasty way to add nutrients to your diet. However, although it is a very versatile and tasty dish, not all soups are as healthy as you might think. Here’s what makes soup healthy, the health benefits of eating soup, and in detail, a few different varieties.

What makes a soup healthy?

When made with the right ingredients, soup can be a truly healthy dish with multiple nutritional benefits. For example, soups prepared with broths made from bones, vegetables or meat provide vitamins, minerals and nutrients, such as collagen. They are also very tasty while limiting added fats and calories. Plus, eating soup is an easy and tasty way to increase your vegetable intake.

High vegetable intake is associated with a reduced risk of weight gain, which is a risk factor for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Additionally, vegetables offer many health benefits due to their high content of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and plant compounds. Plus, soups can be made with almost anything you have available in your kitchen. That said, there are some ingredients to watch out for, like thickeners and condiments, which can increase the calorie and sodium content of your soup and turn it into a rather unhealthy meal.

The health benefits of soup

In addition to helping you increase your vegetable intake, eating soup has other potential health benefits. For starters, it can help you manage your weight. Studies show that daily calorie intake tends to be lower in people who eat soup. For example, an observational study showed that people who regularly ate soup had lower body weight and waist circumference than people who did not. The study also found that these people had higher quality diets, characterized by reduced fat and increased protein and fiber intake.

Studies have also shown that eating soup can reduce hunger and increase satiety. Fiber is known to increase feelings of fullness by delaying gastric emptying (the rate at which your stomach empties after eating) and increasing stomach volume by absorbing water and swelling once it is eaten. entered the stomach. Delaying gastric emptying and increasing gastric volume allows your stomach to feel full longer, which results in less hunger.

Finally, eating soup can help you stay hydrated. Water is essential to your health, and your total water intake may come from drinking water, water from beverages, or water from food, such as soup, fruits and vegetables.

Be careful, thickening agents can ruin everything

Some of the most popular ingredients used to thicken soups include whole milk, heavy cream, coconut cream, bread, cheese, egg yolks. In small amounts, these ingredients can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s the amounts used in cream-based soups that you have to be wary of.

Most thickeners are energy-dense foods: foods that provide a high amount of calories per gram. Eating large amounts of energy-dense foods can mean you eat more calories than your body needs, which can lead to weight gain.

Additionally, some of these ingredients tend to be high in saturated fatty acids (SFAs). While some research suggests that SFAs are not a risk factor for heart disease, other evidence points to them as a risk factor when consumed in large amounts.

While it’s okay to eat a creamy soup made with these ingredients once in a while, choose the healthier varieties most of the time, especially if you eat soup often. If you want to improve the texture of your soup without resorting to high-calorie thickeners, you can add yogurt or pureed legumes like beans, chickpeas or lentils. Doing so will further improve the nutritional profile of your soup.

Sodium content (salt)

Instant soups and canned soups are other types of soups to be wary of, as they are often loaded with sodium. High sodium intake is associated with high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart and kidney disease and stroke. While adding salt is the most common way to improve the taste of a dish, you can also rely on spices such as oregano, garlic, basil or onion powders to improve your taste. soup while keeping it at a healthier level.

2 popular types of healthy soups

The health benefits of soup vary depending on the type of soup and the ingredients used.

Here are some types of soup kitchens and their health benefits.

Tomato soup

The health benefits of tomato soup come primarily from lycopene, the antioxidant pigment that gives tomatoes their red color. Lycopene is an antioxidant that helps fight the negative effects of free radicals in your body. High levels of free radicals have been linked to the development of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Research also suggests that it may help boost your immune system, improve male fertility and heart health, and reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Although there are many commercial ready-to-eat tomato soups, some may contain undesirable ingredients such as thickening agents, added fats and sugar.

Making a homemade version of your favorite tomato soup is simple and will allow you to go without these ingredients, which will most likely improve its nutritional quality.

Bone Broth Soups

Bone broth has regained popularity due to its highly nutritious nature. It’s made by simmering bones, which produces a broth packed with bone nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, and collagen (the most abundant protein in your body). By being rich in collagen, bone broth can improve joint, bone and skin health. While bone broth is already used as a base for many soups, it can also be enjoyed on its own.