Making seasonal soups is a fun way to celebrate the arrival of autumn, and to promote optimal health with nutrient-rich ingredients. We checked in with nutritionists, dietitians and other health experts for three timeless tips to follow if your goal is to make your favorite fall soup even healthier. Read on for insight and suggestions from Amy Lippert, NTP, functional nutritionist and owner of Natural Healing Foods Nutrition, Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, senior dietitian at UCLA medical center, and Dr. Lisa Leslie-Williams, national holistic wellness expert at Pharm D.
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#1— Use More Unprocessed, Whole Foods
When preparing homemade soup, Hunnes stresses using whole foods as opposed to processed ingredients to instantly make your meal so much more beneficial for your health. She says that she "recommends a whole foods, plant-based way of eating," which requires "80-90% of the foods you are eating are whole, the way nature grew them, from the ground, from a tree, or from some other plant-based source." The reason this works, and especially when making a great soup, she says, is because "these foods are anti-inflammatory, high in fiber, high in water, high in vitamins and minerals and nourish your body."
#2— Add Anti-Inflammatory Spices
Lippert advises adding an anti-inflammatory spice to your favorite soup— not only instant flavor— but also to promote optimal gut health and smoother digestion. In her own recipes, Lippert says she opts for turmeric, which she describes to be "a fantastic whole food that is a powerful antioxidant and supports anti-inflammation in the body." This spice, she says, can be "helpful in helping people wanting to lose weight due to the anti-inflammatory property of the curcumin when combined with piperine found in black pepper." When the body is in a state of chronic inflammation, she warns, it is doing "all it can to get by day to day and isn’t focused on losing weight." By eating a whole-food diet rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds "like the curcumin found in turmeric," she notes that inflammation will begin to reduce.
#3— Sprinkle In Metabolism-Boosting Herbs
For more flavor in your soup and ample digestion benefits, Leslie-Williams suggests trying sweet or holy basil in your meal. "The one herb that I would recommend to support healthy digestion and metabolism [in your soup] is basil," she says. "Both sweet basil and holy basil have a plethora of health benefits, but they are not one in the same," she continues. While sweet basil has "shown benefits in circulation, improved fasting blood glucose and increased mental alertness," the reported benefits of holy basil "have more to do with weight loss, reducing anxiety and kick-starting metabolism." Whichever you choose, she says, has more to do with your ultimate health goals. "You can use any of these herbs in myriad of ways to reap the benefits," she says, recommending adding some in a classic "tomato basil soup for dinner," (and we're getting hungry just thinking about it).
