When Is the Best Time to Drink Soup for Health?
In our diet, soups are among the most nutritious and easily digestible foods. An American nutrition survey of over 60,000 people revealed that those with good nutrition habits were precisely those who frequently drank soup. However, since soup broth disperses evenly in the small intestine, nutrients are easily digested and absorbed, posing a potential risk of weight gain. Many assume drinking soup is simple, but only scientific soup consumption ensures nutrient uptake without fat accumulation. What should we pay attention to?
Difference Between Drinking Soup Before or After Meals: Timing matters. The old saying goes, "Drink soup before meals—slender and healthy; drink after meals—gain weight." There is truth to this. Drinking a few sips of soup before meals lubricates the mouth and esophagus, preventing irritation from dry, hard foods, facilitating food mixing and digestion. Most importantly, pre-meal soup increases satiety by allowing food to adhere closely to the stomach wall, suppressing the appetite center and reducing food intake. Studies show that drinking a bowl of soup before a meal can reduce calorie intake by 100–190 kcal. Conversely, drinking soup after meals is unhealthy. First, the stomach is already full, so additional soup easily leads to nutrient overload and obesity. Second, late-arriving soup dilutes the previously well-mixed chyme, impairing digestion and absorption.
Lunchtime Soup Helps Prevent Weight Gain: Among breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which meal is best for soup? Experts suggest "lunchtime soup absorbs the least calories," so to avoid gaining weight, choose lunch. Dinner should avoid excessive soup, as rapidly absorbed nutrients may accumulate in the body, leading to weight gain.
Choose Low-Fat Ingredients for Soup: To avoid weight gain, avoid high-fat, high-calorie ingredients like old hen or fatty duck. Even when using them, skim off excess fat during cooking. Lean meats, fresh fish, shrimp, skinless chicken or duck, rabbit meat, winter melon, loofah, radish, konjac, tomatoes, nori, kelp, mung bean sprouts—all are excellent low-fat soup ingredients. Use more of these.
Slower Soup Consumption Less Likely to Cause Weight Gain: American nutritionists point out that prolonging meal duration allows full enjoyment of taste and earlier sensation of fullness. The same applies to soup. Slow sipping gives the digestive system ample time to process food. You feel full exactly when you’ve consumed enough. Fast soup drinking means by the time you realize you’re full, you’ve already consumed too much.
Two Slimming Soups
Radish Milk Soup: Wash and finely shred white radish, blanch briefly in boiling water. Heat vegetable oil in a wok, stir-fry scallion and ginger until fragrant, add cooking wine, clear broth, shredded radish, and dried shrimp, bring to boil, then add milk, salt, monosodium glutamate, and a dash of sesame oil. The finished soup is milky white, fragrant, and delicious, with nourishing and stomach-strengthening effects. Radish contains abundant dietary fiber, contributing to slimming.
Fish Head Tofu Soup: One carp or grass carp head, briefly blanch in boiling water, then remove. Boil water in a pot, add fish head, salt, and cooking wine, cook until done. Cut tofu into small cubes, add to soup, boil for about 2 minutes, then add soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, sprinkle minced garlic, scallions, ginger, red pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serve in bowl. This soup is rich in nutrients, delicious, and low in fat.