Can Thai soup ease flu symptoms?

Brunswick residents says restaurant delivered soup for free

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Sandra Blue and her husband claim that their favorite soup from Basil Thai and Sushi Restaurant in Brunswick are helping ease their flu symptoms.

They are regulars at the restaurant, and when they were too sick to go out to eat, they called the owner, who delivered the lemongrass soup and he didn't charge them.

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"We know (they) have this special soup on the menu. We called, explained our circumstance and (the owner) instantly agreed to deliver the soup to our home at no charge," Blue wrote in an email to News4Jax. "I know this may sound small to you as the reader but its vast, because if we had more restaurant owners like this the universe would be a better place."

Blue's email came in Thursday. She called the newsroom Friday to say that both she and her husband were feeling better.

A quick search of the web found many claims that this hot Thai soup, which contains lemongrass, chile, garlic, ginger and turmeric can help people feel better. According to an article in the Miami Herald by Ellen Kanner, author of “Feeding the Hungry Ghost: Life, Faith and What to Eat for Dinner," the soup's ingredients are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and immunity-strengthening, with cleansing properties that help flush yuck from your system.

RECIPE: Tom Yum (Thai lemongrass and chile soup)

This author was dining with friends last week who mentioned that the hot soup at Taste of Thai restaurant on University Boulevard South in Jacksonville had a reputation for similar healing properties -- so much so that they had once drove from deep Mandarin just to get a takeout order of the soup.

Will it do more to help you feel better than traditional chicken soup? Try and see if it works for you.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Eric Wallace, the I-TEAM producer at News4Jax, said that vegan pho from A Little Bit of Saigon on Beach Boulevard at Kernan, is his go-to when he's not feeling well.