Turkey soup: thin evidence for colds, plenty of salt

A 2025 systematic review of soup for colds and flu found only 4 randomized trials, with 342 people between them and 15 to 160 in each. The three trials that measured symptom severity all reported milder nasal congestion, sore throat and cough with soup. The reviewers pooled no effect size and put the certainty at low to moderate by their own estimate, without a formal grading. The answer stays unclear for a plain reason. The trials are few and small, the soups were chicken or herbal, and none of the four measured well-being or time off work. Only one measured how long the illness lasted. We found no study of turkey soup itself. What a canned turkey soup reliably brings is salt. Three USDA records for canned turkey soups carry 334 to 391 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), roughly 840 to 980 mg in a 8.8 oz (250 g) bowl, and a home-made pot depends on the cook.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Canned turkey soups in the USDA reference database carry 334 to 391 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), so a 8.8 oz (250 g) bowl gives roughly 840 to 980 mg. — 3 USDA SR Legacy records: turkey noodle (prepared with water), turkey chunky, turkey vegetable Evidence E source
  Sodium 334-391 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g); turkey noodle record: selenium 4.4 ug, copper 0.051 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g)
• Traditionally made bone broth is expected to hold calcium and magnesium at only low tenths of a microgram per milliliter under normal cooking. — laboratory bone broths simmered up to 12 h Evidence D source
  Calcium and magnesium expected at low tenths of ug/mL without strong acidification

What a real portion looks like

• In a randomized crossover trial in 36 young men, eating a noodle soup with a perforated spoon cut salt intake from the broth from 2.4 g to 1.8 g. — 36 Japanese male university students, single ramen meal per condition (n = 36) Evidence B source
  Median salt intake 1.8 g (perforated spoon) vs 2.4 g (regular spoon), p = 0.019; no difference in fullness or taste

What cooking and storage change

• Adding vinegar to simmering bones raised the calcium drawn into the broth about 17-fold on average, while lead extraction rose less and mostly not significantly. — pork and beef bones simmered 12 h in acidified (pH 5.3) vs plain (pH 8.4) water, triplicate Evidence D source
  Calcium 17.4 times and magnesium 15.3 times higher on average with acid; copper about 2 times; lead, chromium, aluminum smaller, mostly not significant

What it does to your health

• A 2025 systematic review found only 4 randomized trials with 342 people on soup for colds and flu. Three of them reported milder congestion, sore throat and cough, at low to moderate certainty. — children, adults and older adults with acute respiratory tract infections, 4 trials (15 to 160 participants each) (n = 342) Evidence B source
  3 of 3 trials measuring severity reported significant reductions; no pooled effect size; certainty low to moderate (authors' estimate, no formal GRADE)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Soups supply 4.4% of all sodium Americans eat, making them one of the top four sodium sources in the US diet. — 7081 Americans with 24-hour dietary recalls, NHANES 2017-2018 (n = 7081) Evidence C source
  Soups 4.4% of population sodium intake, after pizza 5.3%, breads 4.7% and cold cuts 4.6%

What is still unknown

• No trial in the 2025 soup review measured well-being or time off work, and only one of four measured how long the illness lasted. — 4 trials of soup for acute respiratory tract infections (n = 342) Evidence B source
  0 of 4 trials reported well-being or absenteeism; 1 of 4 reported illness duration

The bottom line

Soups of all kinds supply 4.4% of the sodium Americans eat, according to 24-hour recalls from 7081 people in NHANES 2017 to 2018. That puts soup fourth, after pizza, breads and cold cuts. Most of that salt sits in the broth. In a randomized crossover trial on 36 Japanese male university students eating one bowl of ramen per condition, a perforated spoon cut median salt intake from 2.4 g to 1.8 g, with no difference in fullness or taste. Leaving some broth in the bowl works on the same principle. Bone broth is often sold as a calcium source. Laboratory work on pork and beef bones says traditionally made broth holds calcium and magnesium at only low tenths of a microgram per milliliter. Adding vinegar raised the calcium drawn out about 17-fold on average over 12 hours of simmering, and lead extraction rose less and mostly not significantly. Turkey bones were not tested. Sodium is the one caution the evidence supports here. If your doctor has told you to limit salt, a canned bowl can take a large share of the day. We found no study of turkey soup and medicines, pregnancy or children, so we cannot tell you anything specific for those groups.

Sources

1. tks-r1-01 · dataset
   Soup, turkey noodle, canned, prepared with equal volume water, FDC 174562: Sodium 334 mg, Selenium 4.4 ug, Copper 0.051 mg per 100 g; sodium across 3 turkey soup records 334-391 mg per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 2018, FDC 174562 and related turkey soup records · checked 2026-09-30
2. tks-r1-05 · laboratory study
   Accordingly, the concentrations of calcium and magnesium in traditionally made bone broths are expected to be limited to low tenths of μg/ml under normal cooking conditions.
   Food Nutr Res, 2017 (Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths) · checked 2026-09-30
3. tks-r1-06 · RCT (crossover)
   In total, 36 male university students (mean age, 20.7 [standard deviation, 1.8] years) were included in the analyses. The median salt intake (25th and 75th percentiles) was significantly lower with perforated spoons (1.8 [1.5, 4.3] g) than with regular spoons (2.4 [1.8, 4.8] g; p = 0.019).
   Nutrients, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
4. tks-r1-04 · laboratory study
   The increases were greatest and statistically significant (p < 0.05) for calcium and magnesium, with increases of 20.4, 23.6, 18.9, 13.4, 10.6 (mean = 17.4) and 5.8, 15.5, 16.7, 17.8, 20.6 (mean = 15.3) times relative to unacidified broths at 0.5, 2, 4, 8 and 12 hours, respectively. ... Similarly, the acidification of the broth significantly (p < 0.05) increased the amount of copper extracted by a factor of ~2 throughout, but the increases for lead, chromium and aluminium were smaller, and mostly not significant.
   Food Nutr Res, 2017 (Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths) · checked 2026-09-30
5. tks-r1-02 · systematic review
   Of the final four included studies comprised four randomised controlled trials (RCTs). ... The pooled sample size across the five studies was 342 participants, with sample sizes ranging from 15 to 160. ... Three studies tested severity of ARTI symptoms, with all studies reporting significant reductions in ARTI symptom severity, particularly nasal congestion, sore throat, and cough, with soup consumption.
   Nutrients, 2025 (Were Our Grandmothers Right? Soup as Medicine) · checked 2026-09-30
6. tks-r1-07 · cross-sectional
   More than 50% of US population-level dietary sodium intake was contributed by: pizza (5.3%); breads, rolls and buns (4.7%); cold cuts and cured meats (4.6%); soups (4.4%); burritos and tacos (4.3%); savoury snacks (4.1%); poultry (4.0%)
   Nutrients, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
7. tks-r1-03 · systematic review
   Although well-being and absenteeism were designated as primary outcomes in this review, none of the included studies reported data on these measures. ... One study [20] examined changes in ARTI duration.
   Nutrients, 2025 (Were Our Grandmothers Right? Soup as Medicine) · checked 2026-09-30