Onions have a lot of benefits to one's health besides making somebody cry when they peel them. They help with cancer-prevention, help fight diabetes and even help stop hair loss.
Onions are part of the allium family of vegetables and herbs, which also includes chives, garlic, scallions and leek. They are rich in thiosulfinates, sulfides, sulfoxides and other odoriferous sulfur compounds. The cysteine sulfoxides are primarily responsible for the onion flavor and produce eye irritation. The thiosulfinates exhibit antimicrobial properties. Onion is very effective against many bacteria including Bacillus subtilis, salmonella and E. coli, according to medicalnews.com.
Nutritional value of onion
Onions are very good source of vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium and calcium and dietary fiber. In addition, they contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1, K. they also contain flavonoids, which are pigments that give vegetables their color. These compounds act antioxidants, have a direct antitumor effect and have immune-enhancing properties.
Onion benefits
Anemia:
The high content of iron in onion makes it beneficial for the treatment of anemia.
Anti-inflammatory:
Onion's sulfurs may be effective anti-inflammatory agents, according to a 1990 study in the journal international Archives of Allergy and Applied Immunology. Quercetin has been found to relax the airway muscles and may provide relief of asthma symptoms, according to a 2013 study in the American Journal of Physiology.
Diabetes:
Chromium in onion helps diabetics cells respond appropriately to bringing down the insulin level and improve glucose intolerance.
Cancer prevention:
onion extracts, rich in a variety of sulfides, provide some protection against tumor growth. In central Georgia where Vidalia onions are grown, mortality rates from stomach cancer are about one-half the average level for the United States. Studies in Greece have shown a high consumption of onions, garlic and other allium herbs to be proactive against stomach cancer.
Cardiovascular Help
Onions contain a number of sulfides similar to those found in garlic which may lower blood lipids and blood pressure. In India, communities that never consumed onions or garlic had blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels substantially higher, and blood clotting times shorter, than the communities that ate liberal amounts of garlic and onions. Onions are a rich source of flavonoids, substances known to provide protection against cardiovascular disease. Onions are also natural ant clotting agents since they possess substances with fibrinolytic activity and can suppress platelet-clumping. The ant clotting effect of onions closely correlates with their sulfur content.
Hair loss: A study has shown that applying onion juice on scalp twice a week for 2 months will cause hair regrowth. Definitely cost much less that that hair tonic.
Sleep and mood: Folate, found in onions, may help with depression by preventing an excess of homocysteine from forming in the body, which can prevent blood and other nutrients from reaching the brain. Excess homocysteine interferes with the production of the feel-good hormones serotonin, dopamine, and nor epinephrine, which regulate not only mood, but also sleep and appetite as well.
Bone density in older women
A 2009 study in the journal Menopause found that daily consumption of onions improves bone density in women who are going through or have finished menopause. Women who ate onions frequently had a 20 percent lower risk of hip fracture than those who never ate onions.
