Onion is rich in
various substances and trace mineral that helps cells respond to various stress
and strains of on daily basis.
Blood
Sugar-Lowering Effects
- The higher the intake of onion, the lower the level of glucose found during oral or intravenous glucose tolerance tests.
- Insulin Boost-up-
- Experimental evidence suggests that allyl propyl disulfide prevents the inactivation of insulin in liver thereby increasing the amount of free insulin available.
- This results is an increase in the amount of insulin available to usher glucose into cells causing a lowering of blood sugar.
- In addition, onions are a very good source of Chromium.
- Studies of diabetics have shown that chromium can decrease fasting blood glucose levels.
- improve glucose tolerance, lower insulin levels,
- decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride levels,
- while increasing good HDL-cholesterol levels.
Cardiovascular
Benefits
- Onions have been shown to result in significant reduction of heart disease risk seen in a meta-analysis of seven prospective studies.
- The regular consumption of onions has been shown to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
- These beneficial effects are likely due to onions' sulfur compounds, its chromium and its vitamin B6, which helps prevent heart disease by lowering high homocysteine levels, another significant risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
Onion Protects against Cancers
- Making onion a staple in your eating may greatly lower your risk of several common cancers..
- this is suggested by a large data set of case-control studies from Southern European populations (Galeone C, Pelucchi C et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).
- Protection against Colon Cancer (role of Quercetin)
- The regular consumption of onions is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing colon cancer.
- Quercetin, is an anti-oxidant flavonoid (a phytonutrient) present in onion and also found in a variety of foods green tea and red wine, has been shown to inhibit growth of colon cancer cell lines.
- Also reduce both the size and number of precancerous lesions in the human intestinal tract, suggests research published in Clinical Gasteroenterology and Hepatology.
- Cooking meats with onions may help reduce the amount of carcinogens produced when meat is cooked using high heat method
- Protection against Ovarian Cancer (role of Kaempferol)
- A research done in Harvard medical school involving intake of flavonoid by 66,940 women, revealed that women whose diets provided the most kaempferol had a 40% reduction in risk of ovarian cancer, compared to women eating the least kaempferol-rich foods.
- In addition to onions, foods richest in kaempferol include tea (nonherbal), broccoli, curly kale, leeks, spinach, and blueberries.
- A significant 34% reduction in ovarian cancer risk was also seen in women with the highest intake of the flavone luteolin (found in citrus).
Boon for
Bones (role of GPCS)
- Onions also help maintain healthy bones, suggests a study.
- According to a study, compound newly identified in onions gamma-L-glutamyl-trans-S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide (GPCS), inhibits the activity of osteoclasts (the cells that break down bone).
- More the GPCS given in this animal study, the more reduction in activity of osteoclasts was seen.
- Benefit: Onions may be especially beneficial for women, who are at increased risk for osteoporosis as they go through menopause.
- Fosamax (Alendronate), the drug typically prescribed to prevent excessive bone loss, works in a similar manner, by destroying osteoclasts, so they do not break down bone.
Anti-Inflammatory
and Anti-Bacterial Activity
- Several anti-inflammatory agents in onions render them helpful in reducing the symptoms of inflammatory conditions such as ..
- the pain and swelling of osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis.
- the allergic inflammatory response of asthma and
- the respiratory congestion associated with the common cold.
- Both onions and garlic contain compounds that inhibit lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase (the enzymes that generate inflammatory prostaglandins and thromboxanes) thus markedly lowering inflammation.
- Onions' anti-inflammatory effects are due not only to their vitamin C and quercitin, but to other active components called isothiocyanates.
- In addition, quercitin and other flavonoids found in onions work with vitamin C to help kill harmful bacteria, making onions an especially good addition to soups and stews during cold and flu season.
So..next time
you get tears while having onion be assured that you are getting toxins out of
your life and getting cured from inside...!!