Health Benefits of ONIONS

In my previous post,i talked about how to prevent irritations when cutting onions to prepare that delicious recipe, hope you like it?
Many people like using onions in the stews and recipes, but have you ever thought of the health benefits of onions?

What would life be like without onions? The onion has been used as an ingredient in various dishes for thousands of years by many cultures around the world and there is no Ghanaian dish prepared without the use of onions.World onion production is steadily increasing so that onion is now the second most important horticultural crop after tomatoes. There are many different varieties of onion, red, yellow, white, and green, each with their own unique flavor, from very strong to mildly sweet. Onions can be eaten raw, cooked, fried, dried or roasted. They are commonly used to flavor dips, salads, soups, spreads, stir-fry and other dishes.

My next post talks about the health benefit of  onions and after this i would teach you how to store them, in case you find abundant of onions at the market.

BENEFITS OF ONIONS 

• Onion is the richest dietary source of quercitin, a potent antioxidant (also in shallots, yellow and red onions only but not in white onions), which is specifically linked to inhibiting human stomach cancer. 

Quercitin in onions also thins the blood, lowers cholesterol, raises good-type HDL cholesterol (preferred dose: half a raw onion a day), wards off blood clots, fight asthma, chronic bronchitis, hay fever, diabetes, atherosclerosis and infections.

chew the onions

• Onions have also been shown to have a significant blood sugar-lowering action, even comparable to some prescription drugs.  The active compound that seems to be responsible for lowering glucose works by competing with insulin for breakdown sites in the liver, thereby increasing the life span of insulin. 
• Onions contain a number of sulfides similar to those found in garlic which may lower blood lipids and blood pressure

• Do you know onions can treat asthma? Yes,Onions have historically been used to treat asthma, too. Its action in asthma is due to its ability to inhibit the production of compounds that cause the bronchial muscle to spasm and to relax bronchial muscle.

• Onions have a variety of medicinal effects. Early American settlers used wild onions to treat colds, coughs, and asthma, and to repel insects. In Chinese medicine, onions have been used to treat angina, coughs, bacterial infections, and breathing problems

What Next?

I can go on and on sharing with you the health benefits of onions and why you should always have some in your favorite Ghanaian Dish.But Remember, make sure to visit your local Banku and Tilapia Joint and never forget  add onions to your meko. What do you think about this post, have your say