Health Benefits of Vegetable Soup
There are several health benefits of vegetable soup. Starting off your meal with a bowl of vegetable soup can give your health a boost, as long as you serve the right one.
Vegetable soup can help fill you up without a lot of calories and meet your recommended vegetable intake of 2 to 3 cups per day, but some versions of this soup are also loaded with sodium, which can have an adverse effect on your blood pressure, so choose wisely.
Rich in Essential Nutrients
Consuming plenty of vegetables may help you lower your risk for cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease and type-2 diabetes due to their high nutrient content, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Low-sodium versions of chunky canned ready-to-serve vegetable soup provide about 23 percent of the daily value for potassium, 52 percent of the DV for vitamin A, 14 percent of the DV for riboflavin and 10 percent of the DV for fiber.
Potassium helps counteract the increase in blood pressure caused by high sodium intakes, and vitamin A is essential for healthy vision and immune function. You need riboflavin to produce red blood cells, and fiber improves digestive function and lowers your cholesterol.
Helps Maintain a Healthy Weight
Foods that are low in energy density, or calories per gram, help fill you up without a lot of calories, making it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight because you can eat a greater volume of food without going over your daily calorie budget.
A study published in “Appetite” in November 2007 found that eating broth-based soup before meals, including both pureed and chunky versions, helped people eat up to 20 percent less during the meal.
Regularly consuming soup may also increase your blood levels of leptin, a hormone that regulates fat storage in your body, according to another study published in the same journal in June 2010. This may help explain why people who eat soup regularly tend to weigh less.
Culled from an article on Livestrong.com