The good soup guide

Warming and nutritious, nothing beats a home-made soup - but fresh soups from the chiller cabinet are the next best thing. Fresh soups are better than tinned because, apart from containing preservatives, tinned varieties include sugar. CHERRY MASLEN investigates ten favourite soups and gives marks out of ten for their health benefits.

Tomato

Children's all-time favourite and a great comforter for adults, too. Tomatoes (raw and cooked) contain lycopene, an important antioxidant which helps to protect against heart disease. However, tomato soup usually contains a lot of cream, often double cream, which increases the calorie and fat content.

Children may favour the tinned 'cream of' varieties, but they contain sugar and additives such as citric acid, so introduce the fresh soup options, particularly Mediterranean Tomato, which has extra vegetables such as vitamin-rich red peppers and courgettes.

Another healthier alternative is Tomato and Basil, which doesn't normally contain cream. Basil is believed to be protective against cancer.

HEALTH RATING: 6/10

Carrot & Corriander

Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene and other carotenoids, which protect against cancers and cataracts, and boost the immune system.

Coriander contains high levels of anticancer antioxidants, helps lower blood pressure and aids digestion.

Nutmeg is usually found in this soup, which also helps lower blood pressure, soothes digestive upsets and helps the liver remove toxins.

However, recipes often include both cream and butter, so it will have a certain amount of unhealthy saturated fat.

HEALTH RATING: 7/10

Chicken

One of the ultimate comfort soups, the home-made version is undoubtedly a healthy broth. However, many shopbought fresh ones contain the low-nutrition filler maize starch as an additive, as well as wheat flour (so those with wheat intolerances should beware).

Chicken soups often include double cream and potatoes, and usually the only other vegetable is onion, so there's not a lot of health benefits from vegetables. However, the chicken contains protein, which is missing from most vegetable based soups.

HEALTH RATING: 4/10

French Onion

Because it's a clear soup, this is good for weight-watchers - provided you don't float too much toasted bread and cheese on the top.

It tastes divine, due to the combination of rich beef stock (vegetarians take note), onions, garlic and often white wine.

Onion and garlic contains high levels of sulphides, believed to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and 'thin' the blood, minimising the risk of clotting. The flavonoid quercetin in the onions helps protect against heart disease.

However, the limited ingredients don't provide much nutritional variety. For extra warming up, it's traditional to add a nip of brandy.

HEALTH RATING: 6/10

Watercress

Watercress is full of good things, and as you are less likely to eat salad during winter, you may miss out on the benefits of fresh watercress. A bowl of fresh watercress soup contains iron, which helps to prevent anaemia - a common problem, especially for women, resulting in tiredness and listlessness.

It also contains vitamin C, beta-carotene and folic acid, which is necessary for the growth of body cells. But if you're looking for a balanced meal in a bowl, there are fewer ingredients than many other soups and you won't get much protein or carbohydrate.

HEALTH RATING: 7/10

Fish

This is one of the healthiest types of soup because it has several types of fish, plus vegetables such as onion, celery and carrot, and parsley, which contains histidine - said to inhibit tumours and reduce blood pressure.

Fish is a high-quality, low-fat source of protein and is good for the heart. Recipes use olive oil, a healthy mono-unsaturated fat, rather than butter or cream.

Cod gives us iodine, which aids the body's metabolism, and vitamin B12, which helps make red blood cells. Another fish commonly included in soup recipes is haddock, which is a source of vitamin B9 (folic acid).

Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and herring have essential fatty acids (EFAs), which help cellular growth and brain function.

HEALTH RATING: 8/10

Leek & Potato

A very filling soup, though the fact that it contains not only potatoes but also cream and butter makes it higher in calories than other varieties.

Leeks and onions contain high levels of quercetin in their outer layers, which gives protection against a wide range of diseases, including heart problems.

Because you're already getting carbohydrate from the potatoes, eat with a fresh salad instead of bread.

HEALTH RATING: 4/10

Mulligatawny

An Anglicised version of an Indian soup, based on chicken, having more health benefits than ordinary chicken soup.

Today's versions of mulligatawny - which roughly translates as 'pepper water' - may also include other meat.

The soup has lots of healthgiving and protective spices, the heat from which makes it extra warming. Turmeric, curry powder, ground cloves, ground mace and cumin are all commonly used in mulligatawny.

Turmeric improves memory, aids digestion, reduces inflammation, fights infection and guards against heart attacks.

Cumin has the anti-cancer agents carevol and limonene, which protects against prostate cancer. Cloves protect cells in the body against free radical attack.

HEALTH RATING: 7/10

Mediterranean Vegetable

Very tasty and healthy, with a variety of vegetables and no cream. Its tomato base means children often like it.

Red peppers have much more vitamin C than oranges, are a good source of vitamin B6, which helps brain function, the anti-oxidant betacarotene, iron and potassium.

They help ward off infections such as colds and flu and - like other red fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes - can reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Aubergines are rich in the antioxidant monoterpenes. Courgettes contain selenium. Both of these help protect cells from free radical damage, so may reduce the risk of cancers and heart disease. Selenium is also needed for thyroid function.

The main herb used is oregano, which is an all-round anti-bacterial, so protecting health.

HEALTH RATING: 9/10

Minestrone

A healthy soup because it contains a good variety of vegetables, such as carrots, tomatoes, onions, courgettes and red peppers, as well as a decent helping of medicinal herbs - basil, oregano and bay leaf. It also contains pasta, so it will give you some healthy carbohydrate. Minestrone is a good choice if you want a filling soup as a complete meal. Beware added sugar, though, which often finds its way into this recipe.

HEALTH RATING: 6/10