Top 13 Health Benefits of Onion

Onions are the bulb shaped vegetables and most widely cultivated species from the genus allium. Don’t worry about the tears you shed while cutting it, as the health benefits of onion are far too many. Truly a miracle food, onion has some preventive and some curative benefits for our health. Being a layered vegetable it has differing nutrition contents between the layers too. So be careful while peeling the onion, the topmost layers have more nutrition than beneath. Also the base has higher sulphur contents than entire onion. Onions have 89% water and 2% fiber, 1% protein and 0.1% fat. They add to flavors and aroma of food items without raising calorific values considerably. Onions contain phytochemical compounds such as phenolics.

Health Benefits Of Onion Include:

1- Onions give healthy and nourished skin:

Onions have rich antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and antiseptic properties. These properties help in curing and preventing acne, scars, sun tan, pigmentation, aging and wrinkles. Biotin in onion helps in maintaining healthy skin. It also helps in preventing hair loss and dandruff in addition to preventing premature greying of hair.

2- Onions may prevent diabetes to some extent:

Medically it is not stated but onions have been used extensively in households to contain diabetes. Onion contains 27% biotin thus they help in combatting type 2 diabetes symptoms. Blood sugar may also be regulated by the usage of a combination of biotin and chromium. They are diuretic and digestive so help in effective treatment of diabetes. They even decrease insulin resistance thus helping in diabetes prevention to some extent.

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3- Onions may lower blood pressure:

The sulphur contents largely deposited towards its bottom root part, are known to be a natural blood thinning agent. They also prevent blood platelets from collecting. This helps in reducing the blood pressure to normal levels. Also, if the blood platelets clot, there are chances of heart stroke, so it prevents heart ailments too. Onion also contains quercetin, which cleans the walls of arteries and prevents the plaque from building up. This helps in preventing heart attack.

4- Onions are great in treating dental deformities:

Dental deformities like tooth pain and tooth decay can be treated at home using onions. Onions help in fighting germs and cavities thus preventing from tooth decay further. Also being an antiseptic onion help in reducing tooth pain and spread of tooth infections.

5- Onions help in building up immunity:

Onions are also helpful in curing cold, flu and sore throat symptoms. Onions are rich in Vitamin C and phytochemical which further enrich the Vitamin C in our body. And its anti-microbial properties help in fighting viral and other bacterial infections causing cold, flu and fever. And continued consumption of onion helps in preventing most of these sicknesses. Thus improved immune system and ability of the body to prevent infections.

6- Onion may also prevent some kinds of cancer

Though it is still not proved medically but some researches suggest onion consumption may help in preventing some sort of cancer causing cells in our body. Quercetin is a plant flavonoid or pigment present in onion, which has rich anti-oxidizing properties. Also their anti-inflammatory properties help in fighting cancer causing free radicals. They help in containing and limiting such cells from growing in our body.

7- Onion lowers cholesterol levels in our body:

Onion helps in increasing good fatty acids or HDL in our body. Thus, they help in lowering the cholesterol levels of our body too. Also they reduce the deposition of plaque in artery walls too. Thus improved heart health

8- Onion helps in Improving ENT balance and functioning:

ENT or ear nose and throat balance and functioning can be improved by daily consumption of onion. Onion juice if applied to ear helps in clearing the ear wax and preventing ear infection. Also for vision enhancement onion has been used for centuries. Even cutting an onion with tears flowing, is said to be a great exercise for enriched vision. For sore throat and other neck ailments onion juice works great.

9- Onion enriches bone density:

Specially useful for children and women in menopause age. The properties of onion which help in expanding bones, helps in women at menopause to combat loss of bone thickness emerging from hormonal imbalance. And for young kids it helps in bone development and improves strength.

10- Onion treats constipation and also aids digestion:

Onion is 89% water and 2% fiber, which helps in curing constipation. Raw onion is recommended for preventing hemorrhoids emerging from constipation. Also this helps in aiding digestion under normal health. But for pregnant women or nursing mothers onions may cause bloating. So must check with OB-GYN before consuming onion.

11- Onion helps in blood purification:

Onion helps in preventing plaque in arteries, its detoxifying agents help in maintaining circulation and clearing toxins from blood. Thus as a blood purifier, it not only helps in enriching the bodily functions but also prevents lots of ailments internally within the body and externally on body.

12- Onion helps in curing worms from tummy:

Worms in the stomach can be cured by consuming onion juice regularly. Add honey to the onion juice and give to babies to prevent any further damage from worms in the tummy.

13- Prevents heatstroke and nose bleeding:

During warmer weather condition when our body can not tolerate excessive heat, onions help in giving internal cooling to our body. Eating onion with yogurt and putting onion near the nasal passage for inhaling can help in curing nose bleeding. In addition, some people take onion juice with water and ice for more refreshment and increased body calmness.

The above compilation on top Health Benefits of Onion, is based on readings and experiences over time. There are ample researches done, but medical science still not guarantees the above benefits. Do check with your health care provider before opting for any of the above, specially pregnant and lactating mothers. Be sure to get your health check ups done on time and prevent any severe ailments.

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Minu Manisha