Chicken soup can be said to be really a good tonic, but not all cold patients are suitable for drinking. Chicken soup should be drunk for colds due to wind-cold, but it is not suitable for colds due to wind-heat. In addition, Chinese medicine has a saying that "deficiency can make up for it", that is, physical deficiency can help healthy qi through the nourishing effects of drugs and food. People who are physically strong have a cold that is exogenous. If they are physically strong, if they have a wind-heat cold, plus nourishing chicken soup and drugs, they will add fuel to the fire and aggravate their illness. Because chicken soup is a kind of food that supplements deficiency and helps healthy qi, drinking chicken soup when catching a cold is suitable for those with deficiency syndrome and exogenous diseases, but not for those with excess syndrome and exogenous diseases. It can also be said that chicken soup can make the sick and weak recover faster.

Some people often use chicken soup to prevent colds, and there is also a saying that "every 91 chicken keeps the disease away from you", but it is useful for some people as prevention, but not everyone.