Nutritional Benefits:
Packed With Nutrients. Onions are nutrient-dense, meaning they're low in calories but high in vitamins and minerals | High in Vitamin C, onions are a good source of dietary fiber, and folic acid | They also contain calcium, iron, and have a high protein quality (ratio of mg amino acid/gram protein) | Onions are low in sodium and contain no fat | Onions contain quercetin, a flavonoid (one category of antioxidant compounds) | Onions contain organosulfur compounds that may offer unique health benefits.
Health Benefits:
May Benefit Heart Health | Loaded With Antioxidants | Contain Cancer-Fighting Compounds | Help Control Blood Sugar | May Boost Bone Density | Have Antibacterial Properties | May Boost Digestive Health.
Is that OK to eat potatoes every day?
The famous chef Julia Child once remarked “I cannot imagine a world without onions.” The use of onions for food goes back at least 3,500 years, and the vegetable is one of the oldest of cultivated plants.
But the onion is more than a kitchen staple. It is a world-class super food that has received very little fanfare, most likely because of its common position in cookery. And yet, compared with high-profile foods like pomegranates, red wine, and green tea, the onion offers superior benefits for both the prevention and treatment of many common diseases, including various kinds of cancer, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cataracts and more. In addition, onions can act as a powerful antibiotic and are helpful in reducing food-borne illnesses caused by microbial contamination.
Onions contain extraordinarily powerful compounds that possess many health benefits. Hundreds of scientific studies published on these naturally-occurring compounds show that they are highly protective to nerves and the cardiovascular system, and that they enhance immune function, fight the growth of many types of tumors, help to promote healthy hormone function, and many more.
Red wine may be the highly touted superstar of heart protection, but an appraisal of onion suggests that it exceeds the heart-protective properties of red wine by a generous margin. Could onion in fact be the real answer to the French Paradox – the fact that a comparatively low number of French people suffer from coronary heart disease despite diets that are rich in saturated fats? It makes sense. After all, almost no French recipe fails to include onion. Onion lowers cholesterol, inhibits hardening of the arteries, enhances elasticity of blood vessels, and helps to maintain healthy blood pressure. You could easily claim that the onion is the unsung cardiovascular-enhancing hero that has been right under our noses all along. We smell it, but don’t give it proper respect.
Equally impressive are the hundreds of scientific citations, which pertain to the anti-cancer properties of onion. While nobody is suggesting that onion is a cancer cure per se, it certainly is a valuable adjunct therapy, and it provides almost unequalled cancer risk-reducing properties.
Surprisingly, onion demonstrates significant blood sugar-modifying properties to be a real help in the fight against both type 2 diabetes and obesity. No, onion alone won’t keep you in fine shape, but it will help. In addition to limiting your intake of fats and sugars, eating onions can get your blood sugar-and your weight-on the right track.
So here is a simple, powerful health-enhancing recommendation: Eat an onion every day. One medium-sized onion equals approximately one cup of onion when chopped. And while raw onions contain a whopping load of protective compounds, even cooked onions still weigh in heavily on the protective side.
Chop onions into salads, cook them with vegetables, fish and meats, and find as many ways to eat them as possible.
Whatever has kept onion behind the curtains, while lesser fruits and vegetables are lauded, needs to change. The humble onion, with its tear-promoting pungency, is without question one of the healthiest things you can put in your body. Eat onions, and live better.
Onion History
Many archaeologists, botanists, and food historians believe onions originated in central Asia. Other research suggests onions were first grown in Iran and West Pakistan.
It is presumed our predecessors discovered and started eating wild onions very early – long before farming or even writing was invented. Very likely, this humble vegetable was a staple in the prehistoric diet.
Most researchers agree the onion has been cultivated for 5000 years or more. Since onions grew wild in various regions, they were probably consumed for thousands of years and domesticated simultaneously all over the world. Onions may be one of the earliest cultivated crops because they were less perishable than other foods of the time, were transportable, were easy to grow, and could be grown in a variety of soils and climates. In addition, the onion was useful for sustaining human life. Onions prevented thirst and could be dried and preserved for later consumption when food might be scarce. While the place and time of the onion’s origin is still a mystery, many documents from very early times describe its importance as a food and its use in art, medicine, and mummification.
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Article Source: Fox New Web Page | Nation Onion Association, USA Web Page