Either because of its taste, texture, smell or what is unknown, the onion is a food that leaves no one indifferent. Loved by many, hated by others, many people cannot even imagine cooking any of their dishes with her but these people… They don’t know what they are missing! We are no longer talking about the enjoyment of the palate, but about all the benefits of eating onion for our body. Do you want to know which ones? Here you can find out what are all the improvements that your body can have, both outside and inside.
Coming from Central Asia and brought to Europe by the Greeks and Romans, the onion has water as its major component, so it has a low caloric content . However, it is also high in carbohydrates and fiber. To get a slight idea of its contributions, its composition per 100g . would be the following:
- Energy: 43kcal
- Water: 89%
- Carbohydrates: 7.1%
- Lipids: 0.2%
- Proteins: 1.3%
- Fibers: 2.1%
- Calcium: 25mg
- Magnesium: 10mg
- Potassium: 170mg
- Iron: 0.3mg
- Vitamin C: 7mg
- Vitamin B1: 0.06mg
- Vitamin B3: 0.3mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.14mg
- Vitamin B9: 0.02mg
- Vitamin E: 0.14mg
For hundreds of years, the onion has been used traditionally in thousands of recipes, especially those of the Mediterranean diet, because it provides many benefits . Word of mouth and the culture of our ancestors indicates that we derive benefits from onions. If not, why would they be used in salads as well as in sauces and stir-fries around the world?
Types of onion
Common onion
It can be used in roasts, sauces, creams and soups. It would be the best option for cooking.
White onion
The crunchiest, but with a strong flavor. Use it in your sauces and stir-fries.
Purple Onion
The perfect option to eat raw, use it for salads and pickles.
Sweet onion
Ideal for frying, add it to roasts and gratins.
Spring onion
For a mild flavor, it is the freshest and lightest of all.
Shallot
Use it for vinaigrettes, stews and garnishes, since it has the most subtle flavor.
Once the most common types of onion have been explained so that you can add them to your diet according to the flavor you are looking for, it should be clarified that the vitamin C component, for example, when combined with heat, almost disappears; therefore, we recommend that you eat it both raw and stewed.
The 7 most remarkable benefits of eating onion
Antiseptic effect
In its composition there are both sulfur components, which have antiseptic and mucolytic properties, such as quercetin, which has an anti-inflammatory action. Said mixture gives the onion great efficacy against respiratory conditions such as colds, bronchitis or asthma, since it has an antihistamine and antitussive effect and facilitates expectoration .
In this case, it would not even be necessary to eat said food to obtain its benefits. They can be obtained simply by splitting the onion and smelling it, since most of the improvements indicated are found and transmitted with their own aroma, basically, in their essential oils .
Antioxidant effect
Its quercetin, previously named, is a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antiallergic and protective properties against cancer.
This is so because, in addition to antioxidant effects, it has inhibitory effects on enzymes such as xanthine oxidase, aldose reductase and cyclooxygenase. This causes quercetin to decrease the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins directly or by preventing vitamin E from being oxidized. Similarly, it reduces damage to neurovascular structures in the skin or even neuronal damage.
Improvement and / or prevention of diabetes
As we have already mentioned, quercetin is responsible for inhibiting aldose-reductose, thereby reducing serum glucose concentrations. In addition, thanks to another of its components such as chromium, and glucokinin, responsible for stimulating the pancreas, helps to reduce the level of blood sugar in diabetic people.
Anti-cancer effect
Eating onion regularly prevents cancer . Although with a single onion a week we would already be reducing our chances of suffering cancer in the future, according to a study by the Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacology, eating one onion a day could reduce our chances of suffering from cancer of the mouth.
This is possible because the quercetin contained in the onion has antiproliferative effects . In addition, it would also increase the effectiveness of antitumor drugs in case of suffering from it, at the same time that it reduces their toxic effects on normal cells.
Diuretic effect
Since the onion is mainly composed of water and is rich in potassium, but low in sodium, it is one of the most diuretic foods . Thanks to this, it is good for reducing hypertension, the feeling of heavy legs and for cases of edema, as it prevents fluid retention.
Prebiotic and digestive effect
The onion turns out to be a food rich in fructo-oligo saccharides. That is, in prebiotics that are responsible for the inhibition of the creation of pathogenic bacteria and, at the same time, stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria in the intestine. All this creates a balance in the intestinal flora which, in addition, also reduces the risk of colon cancer.
As the individual possesses a balanced intestinal flora, this prevents intestinal fermentation . Or what would be the same, the appearance of parasites and fungi that can cause constipation. Therefore, it greatly relieves heavy digestion and flatulence thanks to hypochlorhydria .
Still, it should be taken with caution in case of stomach diseases such as Chron’s disease, since heartburn can be suffered.
Heart-healthy effect
Thanks to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effects of quercetin and its sulfur components, onion is recommended to prevent the formation of thrombi and to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides.
If you are one of those who do not love its taste, but want to experience all the benefits of eating onion, it is best that you gradually add it to your diet even if it is “hiding” it with flavors stronger than yours (for example, like happens with the guacamole), caramelizing it so that it tastes sweet or, even, crushing it or chopping it a lot so that it “disappears” (as happens, for example, in stir-fries) until you can take it without problems. Obviously the effects are not the same raw as stewed , as we said at the beginning of the article, but it will always be less complicated if we do it gradually until we adapt our palate.
There are many different recipes to be able to get all the benefits of eating onion without noticing its flavor: include it in the sauce, camouflage its flavor in salads with a sauce, etc. We know that everything would be easier if we had learned to take it when we were little but, since it is never too late if happiness is good, good luck if you undertake the adventure of eating onion: your body demands it and it will be very good for your health.
