5 health benefits of onion you didn’t know (READ)

Let’s talk onions today, shall we…

Ok, so my mum and I always argue over how much onion to put in a sauce or soup. Yes, always. She does not understand why I love to add at lot more onions to a little pan of sauce. Frankly, I’m not sure there is special reason I love onions but I think whatever it is you’re cooking actually tastes better with enough onions (emphasis on enough).

So with my ‘addiction’ and craze for onions – although I don’t take them in their raw form, I went looking to find out if eating more onions could be harmful or not.

Onions, like garlic, are members of the Allium (monocotyledonous flowering plant )family, and both are rich in sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for their pungent odors and for many of their health-promoting effects.

Prevents heart attack

Research shows that sulfur compounds in onions may work in an anti-clotting capacity and help prevent the unwanted clumping together of blood platelet cells. It has also been proven that sulfur compounds in onion can lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, and also improve cell membrane function in red blood cells.

Numerous studies have also shown that adding onion to food provides protection for the heart and blood vessels especially when consumed in a diet rich in other vegetables and fruits.

Regulates blood sugar

Onions contain chromium, which assists in regulating blood sugar. The sulfur in onions helps lower blood sugar by triggering increased insulin production. A study in the journal Environmental Health Insights revealed that this might be especially helpful to people with people with diabetes. People with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who ate red onions showed lower glucose levels for up to four hours. 

Cancer

Quercetin contained in onions may be a powerful anti-cancer agent.  The University of Maryland Medical Center said that quercetin may especially inhibit cancer cells in breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, endometrial, and lung tumors.

Colorectal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer are the cancer types for which risk is reduced along with moderate amounts of dietary onion. For other cancer types, however, moderate intake of onion has not been enough to show significant risk reduction.

Improves 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.
There is evidence that women who have passed the age of menopause may be able to lower their risk of hip fracture through frequent consumption of onions. "Frequent" in this context means onion consumption on daily basis.

Prevents bacterial infection

While not as well researched as garlic in terms of antibacterial benefits, onion has nevertheless been shown to help prevent bacterial infection. Along with its sulfur-containing compounds, the flavonoid quercetin contained in onion helps provide these antibacterial benefits. Studies have shown antibacterial activity of onion in relationship to the bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus (bacteria that causes tooth deay).