The Russian Bear’s “cure-all” chicken soup

Yesterday I told you all about Nicolai Volkoff, a world-class professional wrestler. Today, at 68 years old, Nicolai is in great shape. He still wrestles. He’s never broken a bone. And he’s almost never sick. His secret? He only eats whole foods. Including the skins–of wild game and vegetables alike. He insists these “secrets” help him stay strong and fit.

When he does get sick, the Russian Bear makes a “cure-all” chicken soup. He believes so strongly in this soup, he claims it can cure the common cold–and even cancer.

Now, you know I’m a scientist who only believes the facts. But, as you know by now, I do love a good story. And here’s one from the Russian Bear about his sister’s dog…

Apparently, this dog had a large tumor growing out of his hind leg up by the tail. The vet was ready to put the dog down, but Nicolai brought the dog home and gave him this chicken soup.

It was a “last resort” in every sense. But to everyone’s amazement, the tumor slowly shrunk. And the dog lived an extra couple of years.

My friend Mr. Jonathan, who interviewed Nikolai, also shared his own story about getting sick. About a month ago, he worked four 16-hour days in a row. And he got more than a little run down. On Monday, he found himself in the throes of a full-blown cold. Thinking back to his interview with Nikolai, Mr. Jonathan whipped up a batch of the Russian Bear’s “cure-all” chicken soup.

He figured, worst case scenario, the cold would run its typical 7-day course. And he would have had some hot, homemade soup in the meantime. But by Tuesday morning, Mr. Jonathan was 80 percent back to health. His head was clear, with only a little sniffle. And almost no coughing. By Wednesday, he showed no signs of having been sick.

Well, of course, I had to try it myself.

Recently, a member of my family had a lingering respiratory infection. And she had a real relapse one Friday night after finishing the work week. On Sunday, I made the soup and she sipped on the broth throughout that afternoon and into the evening. She probably drank what amounted to about three to four bowls of broth.

On Monday morning, she was 80 percent improved and back at work. I also had a cup of the soup. It was delicious and soothing. And the next day, I felt a burst of mental and physical energy. And I felt my own upper respiratory congestion improve.

These fun “experiments” aside, there’s a very good reason why this type of nutrient-rich chicken soup works.

Prepared properly, chicken soup features a rich, dense liquid that contains virtually every nutrient known (and unknown) in the animal and plant kingdoms.

By using the whole, organic chicken (and not just the “white meat”), you get all the important and potent fat-soluble nutrients carried into the broth. And you also get the water-soluble nutrients. Plus, all the nutrients are carried in natural bio-matrix for good bioavailability. This means your body can easily digest all the nutrients. And absorb them too! After all, it’s all of what the chicken lived on.

But it’s absolutely essential to use a whole chicken!

When you cook the whole chicken, you get the nutrients in the meat, the skin, the tissues, the bones, the marrow and the gizzard and organs. The whole nutrient complement.

Mr. Jonathan says that Nicolai’s recipe worked like a magic potion. And I agree.

This man, who made his living in a land of fakes, found some very real truths about the human diet and nutrition.

So, this cold and flu season follow my sensible suggestions to avoid getting sick. But if you come down with a cold, try this chicken soup recipe. After all, “it couldn’t hurt.”

Here’s the Russian Bear’s “Cure-All” Chicken Soup:

1 small organic chicken

1 medium onion

1 bag of organic spinach

1/2 cup of freshly shredded ginger

1/2 cup of freshly shredded organic carrots

At least 1 clove of freshly minced garlic

Place the whole chicken (with the skin on) in a pot and cover it with water. Bring the water to a low boil and let it simmer for an hour. Turn off the heat. When the chicken cools to the touch, remove the cooked meat. Leave the carcass, neck, and skin in the broth.

Bring the broth-carcass mixture back to a very soft boil, under low heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, and carrots. Keep at a soft boil for about an hour. Just make sure you don’t overheat or overcook the vegetables. Overcooking breaks down vital nutrients. And you want to preserve all their potency.

While hot, strain out the carcass, remaining parts of chicken, and the vegetable pieces. This leaves just the broth with all the nutrients.

Again, over a low heat, add the spinach and the chicken meat you saved to the broth. (Or you can keep the meat out to use in some other way.) Keep the pot covered, simmering at a soft boil under low heat for just 30 minutes. Last, add salt and pepper to taste.

Just one more side note: As a scientist, I had to try my own dog experiment with the soup. So I fed it to our 150-lb Great Dane, Max. He wouldn’t eat the broth. Lucky for Max, he’s healthy and didn’t need it–unlike Nicolai’s sister’s dog. He was fond of the cooked chicken parts, though. Animals know what they need. (Notice: No animals were harmed in the writing of this Daily Dispatch.)