Garlic, shallots, and leeks are all part of the Allium genus, which also contains onions. The average person consumes roughly 20 pounds of this pungent vegetable each year, whether raw, cooked, pickled, or powdered. Yellow, red, white, purple, Spanish, and Vidalia onions come in a range of hues and shapes.
Health Benefits of Onions
1. Antioxidant molecules can be found in abundance.
Plant components such as flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, are abundant in onions. When consumed in sufficient amounts and on a regular basis, these chemicals may help protect against chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Onions, in fact, contain approximately 25 different flavonoids, making them one of the richest sources of flavonoids in our diets.
Onions also contain sulfur-containing compounds, which have been found in multiple studies to protect against cancer.
2. It may be beneficial to heart health.
The flavonoid quercetin, one of the flavonoids present in onions, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and it's thought that this, along with other beneficial components found in onions, contributes to the vegetable's heart-healthy benefits.
Onions have been shown in studies to help lower blood pressure, regulate cholesterol levels, and reduce inflammation, all of which can lessen your risk of heart disease.
3. It may be beneficial to bone health.
Increased bone density has been linked to including onions in one's diet. This could be because of their antioxidant properties, which aid in the prevention of oxidative stress and bone loss.
A study of peri- and postmenopausal women found that eating onions frequently lowered the risk of hip fracture. Another study indicated that consuming onion juice reduced bone loss and enhanced bone density in middle-aged women.
4. It might be beneficial to your digestive system.
Onions are abundant in fiber, particularly non-digestible fiber, which is beneficial to gut health. Although we can't digest prebiotic fiber, our gut bacteria can, and they use it as fuel to help them grow and produce short-chain fatty acids as by-products (SCFAs). According to study, SCFAs are essential for gut health and integrity, as well as boosting our immunological and digestive systems.
5. The ability to fight bacteria
Onions have antibacterial properties against germs like E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, and are used in folk medicine to cure coughs, colds, and catarrh. Furthermore, it appears that onions that have been stored for a long time are the most beneficial. Quercetin has been shown to decrease the growth of Helicobacter pylori and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
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