January 13, 2025 Celebrate with soup

From vivid green asparagus soup in spring, to cool and spicy gazpacho in the summer or a comforting bowl of chicken noodle as the weather gets cold, to a hot and sour soup for Chinese New Year, soup is versatile and tasty year-round. But more than just a delicious way to start your meal (or sometimes a satisfying meal in itself), soup can offer important nutritional benefits and be part of a healthy eating plan…if you fill your bowl right.

“Soup is a great way to get a boost of key nutrients while helping you to control your appetite,” says registered dietitian Stephanie Boutette. “In addition to helping you get more vegetables in your diet, you could end up eating less if you have soup, which is a low-calorie, high-volume food.”

There are many different soup preparations and varieties available on grocery store shelves, from powdered mixes or soup-and-noodles in a cup, to canned varieties. No matter which you choose, preparation is a breeze: For some, you add just boiling water or milk, while others come ready to eat. Many grocery stores also offer fresh prepared soups in the deli section.

Read the label

Whatever option you choose, it is important to read the product’s nutrition facts table to understand its benefits and drawbacks. “Often, with packaged foods, salt is used to maintain safety and freshness,” Boutette says, “which is why packaged soups can be high in sodium.”

While people generally should avoid too much dietary sodium, this is even more important for people with diabetes, who have an increased risk of heart disease. Some soups, particularly creamy options, can also be higher in saturated fat, which Diabetes Canada also recommends limiting.

“In general, if a nutrient, like sodium, has a per cent daily value [%DV] of less than five per cent, it means that there’s little of it in the product, while 15 per cent means there’s a lot of it in the food,” Boutette says. Her rule of thumb: Stick to the lower %DV ranges for nutrients like sodium and saturated fat. She also offers this tip: “Check the ingredients for celery salt, garlic salt or onion salt, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate [MSG] and sodium nitrate, which are some other ways of saying salt.”

Boutette cautions that people are sometimes fooled by claims on the front of the can. “If it says ‘sodium reduced,’ that means the soup contains 25 per cent less sodium compared to the original product,” she says. “But if the original product has a lot of sodium, the reduced product still might have a lot.” This is why it is important to check the nutrition facts table.

Enjoy the benefits

A study published by the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information found that soup eaters had better overall diets than non-soup eaters. Research has also shown that people who eat soup consume fewer calories and have lower body weights, in part because soup makes you feel full compared to other foods. This means that if you eat soup—whether before a meal or as a meal in itself—you are likely to eat less of other, less healthy foods.

“Between vegetables, meat and alternatives, and whole grains, you can get nutrients such as vitamins A, C and K; B vitamins; antioxidants; iron; and lots of fibre [in soup],” Boutette says. “In general, it is recommended to have at least three of the four key food groups at every meal—fruits and vegetables, meat and alternatives, starches, and milk and alternatives. Soup can often fit that standard.

If you choose or make a soup with lots of vegetables; a lean protein such as beans, lentils, or chicken; and a whole grain such as barley, quinoa, or brown rice; you’re getting three of the four food groups.

Even if your soup does not contain all of the food groups, it is easy to top it up with veggies or a lean protein to make it a complete meal.

“Try to eat creamy and higher-sodium canned soups less often,” says Boutette. However, “if you’re making your own soup, puréeing beans or lentils can give a creamy texture without the saturated fat.” Her picks? “Broth-based and tomato soups can be a great way to get nutrients and increase the amount of vegetables you’re eating.” 

Recipes

Hearty beef minestrone

Curried butternut squash and pear soup

Cream of cauliflower soup

Red lentil soup

Italian-style red pepper soup

Vegetable soup

Autumn red lentil soup

Did you know?

Diabetes Canada offers a range of healthy meal plans, including vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, cultural (Chinese, Caribbean, South Asian) and more, in our Nutrition & Fitness section where you’ll also find more delicious recipes.

This updated article originally appeared in Diabetes Dialogue.