Onions - useful properties and contraindications

All known onions (onions) - have long been considered one of the most popular and affordable vegetables, commonly used for food, both raw and as an ingredient for cooking hundreds of different dishes. Man has been consuming it for several thousand years, and also uses it as a cosmetic and medicinal product.

The onion’s original homeland is the south-western part of Asia, where it has been growing wild since ancient times and cultivated in agricultural form. Due to its pleasant taste and a wide range of miraculous properties, this bitter vegetable quickly spread throughout the world.

Useful properties of onions

The immense popularity of onions is easily explained by the fact that it has many useful properties:

1. Onions are a regular guest in the kitchen, an excellent component for almost any dish, allowing you to give your food an exquisite and unique taste.
2. It is characterized by an unusually high concentration of such an element necessary for the human body as iron, therefore its regular use is considered to be a good prevention of anemia and other diseases.
3. Many useful substances found in onions are not destroyed even after high-temperature processing, while retaining their beneficial effect.
4. Onion dishes are tasty and appetizing, providing a stimulating effect on the process of development of gastric juice, thereby improving their digestion and optimizing the work of the digestive system as a whole.
5. Experts claim that with its regular use, the suppression of negative processes of decay and fermentation in the intestine and stomach occurs, the microflora of the digestive organs normalizes.
6. The potassium in its composition has a very positive effect on the work of the heart and blood vessels,strengthening their walls and making them more elastic, and the frequent use of vegetables allows you to clear the blood of toxins.
7. Onions have a pronounced soothing effect, so its regular use eliminates sleep problems and stabilizes the state of the nervous system.
8. The natural antimicrobial substances contained in it phytoncides quickly eliminate inflammations and infections - it is no wonder that onion traditional medicine has cured colds since ancient times.
9. Antioxidants in the composition cleanse the body of carcinogens, reduce the likelihood of developing cancer, slow down the aging process of a person.
10. Cosmetics made from finely grated onion gruel, give weak, dull, lifeless hair strength and beauty, contributing to their active growth.
11. The chemical compounds included in it, reduce cholesterol and even the amount of sugar in the blood, which is the prevention of a number of serious ills, as well as protect cells from exposure to certain types of radiation.
12. The list of useful substances with which onions are so rich includes a lot of vitamins that a person needs.increase the body's defenses, enhancing the effectiveness of the immune system, preventing the development of beriberi.

In other words, this inexpensive versatile vegetable, sold at every grocery store, and easily grown in a garden, able to be stored for several months in any room, is a real natural storehouse of useful properties.

Chemical composition

Doctors claim that the beneficial properties without chemicals grown onions are due to the fact that it contains a lot of substances necessary for human health:

• Vitamins (the so-called ascorbic acid, tocopherol and many others);
• Minerals (compounds of glands and fluorine, potassium and phosphorus, sodium and zinc, as well as calcium and iodine);
• Phytoncides - chemical compounds with antimicrobial action;
• Natural sugars (in the form of glucose, inulin, fructose);
• Dietary fiber, beneficial for digestion;
• Tannins and essential oils;
• Antioxidants and organic acids.

The presence of these and other substances in the composition of modern varieties of onions make it a real natural doctor,able to assist in the healing of a number of ailments, with a preventive effect, strengthen the body.

Why is the onion so sharp?

The pungent smell of onion, which causes tears during the cutting of this root, as well as its characteristic sharp bitter taste, are due to the high content of special essential oils with phytoncides. These compounds, characterized by high volatility, can boast the most powerful antimicrobial and antiviral properties, and also play the role of antiseptics. It is enough to leave only one cut onion in the room so that the air can be cleared of pathogens dangerous for humans - viruses, infections, microscopic fungi, bacteria.

Contraindications onions

Unfortunately, especially if you take into account the useful qualities of onions, it is not for all people to take it for food or for other purposes. Of course, the value of this vegetable is very high, but you need to understand that each person has their own characteristics. The generally accepted list of contraindications includes:

• Liver disease;
• High blood pressure - onions are dangerous for hypertension;
• Asthma - sharply smelling vegetable can cause another attack;
• Ulcers - caustic essential oils provoke inflammation of the mucous membranes;
• Problems with metabolism.

Fortunately, all these warnings are only relevant for raw onions. While in the boiled, fried or stewed form, this bitter vegetable is absolutely harmless to any person, and at the same time it retains many useful properties.

Unpleasant smell of onions

A characteristic feature of the use of onions in food is a persistent unpleasant odor from the oral cavity, which lasts for several hours in a row. Killing it with chewing gum or brushing your teeth is quite difficult.

Almost completely get rid of the unpleasant onion smell allows parsley or walnut, but only if it has been eaten in relatively small quantities. Therefore, before an important meeting, it is recommended to abstain from eating vegetables.

Treatment of colds

Inhalation of vapors of freshly chopped or grated onion grater, as well as its use as food in baked and other forms,It has long been considered an effective folk remedy for the treatment of such processes in the airways as:

• Cold.
• Runny nose
• Flu.

Especially effective onion treatment is considered in the early stages of colds - in this case, recovery may occur within a few hours. It is enough to breathe onions for a quarter of an hour, 3-7 times a day, with the mouth and nose alternately. At the same time, the pathogenic microorganisms located in the respiratory tract are destroyed, and the overall immunity is strengthened.

Treatment of purulent skin diseases

Onions and cold sore throats

A frequent companion of diseases such as the common cold is an inflamed throat. Irritation and pain can be easily removed with onion juice mixed with lime, raspberry, forest or any other natural honey in equal parts.The tool must be taken 4 times a day, one standard teaspoon of 5 ml. This is best done after a meal - in this case, healing will take much less time.

Onion Husk Against Diseases

An excellent remedy for a number of ailments is onion peel, namely, strong broths and infusions made from it. With its help, fungal diseases of the nails are effectively treated - it is enough to keep the affected legs or hands in a container with a ready decoction for at least half an hour every day.

Taking the infusion of peel inside, you can get rid of cramps in the limbs - just take a spoonful of washed and crushed raw materials, dissolve it in a glass of hot boiling water, insist to a warm state, carefully filter through clean gauze and consume overnight.

A decoction of bitter onion peel is a proven folk remedy that facilitates the treatment of kidney diseases, such as cystitis or nephritis. 3 spoons of the prepared raw material are boiled for 60 seconds in 400 milliliters of water, and then infused to cool for 30 minutes. The resulting liquid is filtered from debris and is taken in doses of 3 spoons up to 4 times per day.

Onions and viral diseases

Everyone knows literally from early childhood - fresh onions are considered to be an excellent means for treating or preventing one of the most common diseases in the cold season of the year - ARVI. By placing several finely chopped onions in different places of your home, you can significantly reduce the risk of infection of family members with viral infections, since the phytoncides contained in this vegetable clean the air in the room from pathogens. Putting a plate with onion gruel near the bed of the patient, you can significantly speed up his recovery.

Video: the useful onions