Health benefits of onions.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ONIONS

ONION NUTRITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

    Onions are a very good source of vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium, calcium and dietary fiber. In addition, they contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1 and K.


   A 100 gram serving provides 44 calories, mostly as complex carbohydrate, with 1.4 grams of fiber.

   Like garlic, onions also have the enzyme, alliinase, which is released when an onion is cut or crushed and it causes your eyes to water.

   They also contain flavonoids, which are pigments that give vegetables their colour. These compounds act as antioxidants, have a direct anti-cancer drug effect and have immune-enhancing properties.

   Onions contain a large amount of sulfur and are especially good for the liver. As a sulfur food, they mix best with protein, as they stimulate the action of the amino acids to the brain and nervous system.

Onions, Rich source of Quercitin

   The onion is the richest dietary source of quercitin, a potent antioxidant flavonoid, which is found on and near the skin and is particularly linked to the health benefits of onions.

  Quercitin has been shown to thin the blood, lower cholesterol, raise good-type HDL cholesterol, ward off blood clots, fight asthma, chronic bronchitis, hay fever, diabetes, atherosclerosis and infections and is specifically linked to inhibiting human stomach cancer.

   Its also an inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral, thought to have diverse anti-cancer powers. Quercitin is also a sedative. So far, there is no better food source of quercitin than onion skins. 

Detoxify your body with onions.

  Onions contain a variety of sulphur compounds that provide health benefits.

   Sulfur-containing amino acids are found in onions as well as garlic and eggs.

  These specific amino acids are called methionine and cysteine and, among other things, they are very good at detoxifying your body from heavy metals.

   In fact, they are able to latch on to mercury, cadmium and lead and escort them out of the body.

   Vitamin C, also contained in onions, is excellent at detoxifying the body and is effective in removing lead, arsenic and cadmium. So increasing consumption of onions can help the body to get rid of these harmful metals. 

Onions and the heart.

    To help keep your blood free of clots, and make the most of the health benefits of onion, eat them both raw and cooked.

   Prescribing onions for heart patients is hardly routine among cardiologists.

   Here are some of the things that onions can do for your heart:

-> Boost beneficial HDL cholesterol.

->Thin the blood.

->Retard blood clotting.

->Lower total blood cholesterol.

->Lower triglycerides.

->Lower blood pressure.

Cancer Prevention.

     

    Overall consumption of onions ranged from 0-14 portions per week among cancer patients and 0-22 portions per week among those without cancer.

   Researches found moderate consumption of onions appeared to reduce the risk of colorectal, laryngeal and ovarian cancers.

   The protective effect was even greater among those who ate the most onions compared to those who ate the least.

   All onions and onion relatives (garlic, leeks, chives and scallions, or spring onions) are rich in organosulfur compounds shown to help prevent cancer in lab animals.

   The onion extract was shown to be unusually non-toxic, since a dose as high as forty times that of the dose required to kill the tumor cells had no adverse effect on the host.

Other health benefits of onions.

   Onions have also been shown to have a significant blood sugar-lowering action, even comparable to some prescription drugs. 

   Onions have historically been used to treat asthma too. Its action in asthma is due to its ability to inhibit the production of compounds that cause the bronchial muscle to spasm and to relax bronchial muscle.

   Onions have potent antibacterial activity, destroying many disease-causing pathogens, including E.coli and Salmonella.

   A Simple way to make the cough syrup

   Chop up a raw onion and cover it with honey and let it stand for four or five hours. It makes an execellent cough syrup and is wonderfully soothing for an inflammed throat.