Onions are best known for two things: bad breath and tears. The popular vegetable found in most types of cuisine gives dishes their flavorful taste, transforming any meal to an aromatic experience. Raw onions not only provide an excellent taste for our palates, but provide therapeutic and antibacterial properties that cleanse and detox our bodies to eliminate disease.
Experts like Dr. Jonathan Stegall, an integrative medicine practitioner in Johns Creek, Ga., emphasize the beneficial properties of onions for our health. “Onions contain a high amount of sulfur compounds, which not only give onions their recognizable smell, but are also powerful detoxifying agents,” he told Medical Daily in an email. With more than 100 sulfur-containing compounds, which are what cause the eyes to tear, onions can help prevent and treat ailments, from diabetes to heart disease, with daily consumption.Onions have antihistamine effects due to quercetin, an antioxidant that acts like an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory agent. In test tubes, quercetin has proven to prevent immune cells from releasing histamine, which are chemicals that cause allergic reaction.However, no human studies have examined whether it works or not. Stegall believes onions help alleviate asthma because they act as a powerful antioxidant. “Studies have shown that quercetin causes the bronchi of the respiratory tract to widen,” he said.Onions can help reduce cancer risk when combined with turmeric. Chemicals found in these two cooking ingredients. A 2006 study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found the combination of onions and turmeric creates a synergistic effect that reduces both the size and number of precancerous hosts in the intestine, therefore reducing colon cancer risk. Moreover, Stegall suggests regularly consuming onions can help detoxify potential carcinogens. Since they contain organosulfur compounds. “These compounds are found in the cell wall of the onion, and are released when the onion is chopped or chewed,” he said. A high intake of onions could mean the lower the level of glucose. The essential oil of an onion, allyl propyl disulphide, is found to mediate this effect, and lower blood sugar levels by increasing the amount of free insulin that is available. The allyl propyl disulphide competes with the insulin, which is also a disulphide, to occupy the sites in the liver where the insulin is inactivated. This is what leads to an increase in insulin available, which lowers blood sugar levels. A 1975 study published in the journal Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry found onion’s essential oil led to a significant fall in blood glucose levels, and a significant rise in the serum of insulin levels after being administered to six normal volunteers after a 12-hour fast.When we think of heart healthy food, onions do not come to mind. However, quercetin is found to significantly reduce high blood pressure in hypertensive adults, according to a 2007 study published in The Journal of Nutrition. Moreover, this vegetable is considered to exceed the heart-protective properties of red wine. Stegall shared, “Onions are involved in maintaining good blood pressure, inhibit hardening of the arteries, and keep the arteries elastic.”Raw onions may make our breath stink, but they can actually improve our oral health. Simply chewing a raw onion can strengthen teeth and eliminate bacteria that can lead to tooth decay. Two to three minutes of chewing on an onion can kill most germs in the mouth, according to Naturalsociety.com.
To stay healthy and prevent the onset of these diseases, eat an onion a day to keep the doctor away. The one thing that I noticed most when I moved from Delhi to West India, was the absence of onions on my thali, in Maharashtra, Gujarat or even further south like Karnataka and Kerala. There was the odd chopped ‘kaanda’ alongside pav bhaji, but that was a rarity with other dishes. Onions are a staple in parts of North India – Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, etc. No meal is complete without some raw onion on the side. Can you imagine a plate of chole bhature without lachcha pyaz? Or a seekh kebab without onion dunked in green chutney? Onion may be a humble ingredient but it holds centrestage in our meals here. Like many traditions, this one too has it’s basis in scientific reasoning. My grandmother would squash a whole onion with the palm of her hand and add it to our plates in summers. Fondly called ‘mukka pyaz’, it was meant to keep us cool in this scorching heat. Biji (grandmom) wasn’t wrong. There are many benefits of onions, and one of them is that it has cooling properties.
10 Magical Raw Onions Benefits You Must Know :
1) Raw onion is known to lower the production of LDL (bad cholesterol) and keep your heart healthy.
2) The vitamin C (which remains intact while they are in the raw form) along with the phytochemicals present in onions helps build immunity.
3) Quercetin, a powerful compound found in onions, has been suggested to play a role in preventing cancer, especially stomach and colorectal cancers.
4) Chromium, also present in this root vegetable, may help regulate blood sugar.
5) A mixture of onion juice and honey (which helps make it less pungent) is said to be effective as a cure for fever, common cold, allergies, etc.
6) Keep a small piece of onion under the nostrils and inhale, to stop or slow down a nose bleed.
7) Folate in onions also helps with depression and aids sleep and appetite.
8) The vitamin C helps formation of collagen that is responsible for skin and hair health.
9) Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of onions have been proven. One study also suggested that freshly chopped raw onions have these anti-bacterial properties, not chopped onion which has been allowed to sit for a day or two.
10) Chewing raw onions improve our oral health (though your breath may stink). They help eliminate bacteria that can lead to tooth decay and gum issues.
The flavonoids in onion, which are responsible for many of the health benefits above, are usually more concentrated in the outer layers of the bulb. To get the maximum benefit, try to peel as little of the outer skin as possible. Over-peel and you can end up with unwanted loss of flavonoids. It is estimated that a red onion may lose about 20% of its quercetin and almost 75% of its anthocyanins if it is over-peeled.
An estimated 105 billion pounds of onions are grown across the world every year and the vegetable is supposed to have been cultivated since 5000 years. They are very popular in some cuisines in India, Chinese, Mexican etc. You may hate chopping them because of the tears, but there are some quick tips to take care of that too. Love it or hate it, onions play a pivotal role in the food culture of our country. And given the health benefits above, it is no surprise.
