Turns out that onions are just as good as you think.

They are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Fruits and vegetables have naturally occurring compounds that are able to react with the human body to cause healthy reactions. Many fruits and vegetables have fronoids in them. Studies have shown that they can help reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease.

There is a link between onions and cancer, and more studies need to be done.

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According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Quercetin has a number of benefits, including reducing the symptoms of bladder infections, promoting prostrate health and lowering blood pressure.

Disulfides, trisulfides, cepaene and vinyldithiins are some of the important chemicals in onions. According to the National Onion Association, they all help in maintaining good health.

There are nutrition facts.

The nutrition facts for raw onions can be found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A medium onion is served with a serving size of 1 medium onion.

calories from fat 0

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Total fat: 0g (0%), Total Carbohydrate: 11g (4%), Total Cholesterol: 0mg (0%), Cholesterol: 5mg (0%), Sugars: 9g, Saturated fat: 0g (0%), Total Carbohydrate: 1g (0%),

According to the journal, onions are one of the most significant sources ofAntioxidant in the human diet because of their use in cooking around the world. The onions have a distinctive sweet and aroma.

Lemond said that high levels of vitamins and minerals allow your body to function. The basic building block for the body is called a mino acids, and it is used in almost every vital function.

Lemond said that sulfur is one of the most common minerals in our body and that it assists with the building of cell structures.

I like to recommend eating onions because they add flavor without salt and sugar. Onions are very low in calories and have no cholesterol or fat. Fiber and B vitamins are found in onions, which helps the body make new cells.

Even though onions are healthy if they are raw or cooked, they have higher levels of organic sulfur compounds that provide many benefits. The J ournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that there is a high concentration of flavonoids in the outer layers of onion flesh, so you will want to be careful when peeling the onion.

Onions on a salad

Raw onions on a salad.  (Image credit: Getty Images)

Health benefits

Health of the heart.

Sulfur acts as a natural blood thinner and prevents blood platelets from aggregation, according to the journal Thrombosis Research. The risk of a heart attack or stroke increases when platelets cluster. The 1992 study focused on sulfurs in garlic. A 1987 animal study in the Journal of Hypertension demonstrated delayed or reduced hypertension with sulfur intake. More research is needed to determine if this benefit can be found in humans.

Health researchers have found a relationship between oxylipins and high cholesterol management. According to the journal Redox Biology, eating onions increases oxylipins that help regulate blood fat levels and levels of cholesterol.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, onions may help prevent plaque build up in the arteries, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.

A 3D illustration of a clogged artery

A 3D illustration of a constricted and narrowed artery.  (Image credit: Getty Images)

The effects that onions have on cholesterol were examined in a study. Researchers followed people who were told to eat 200g of onions a day for two months. The study found that in 35 of the 40 participants, total cholesterol was reduced.

It is anti- inflammatory.

According to a 1990 study in the International Archives of Allergy and Applied Immunology, sulfurs may be effective anti- inflammatory agents.

Immune system.

The polyphenols in onions act as anti-oxidants, protecting the body against free radicals. According to the, free radicals can interfere with the structure of cells in your body and even your genes. The human body produces free radicals in response to pollution, ultraviolet light and as a part of our immune system. Antioxidant keep them in check.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, onions reduce allergic reactions by stopping your body from producing histamines, which are what make you sneeze, cry and itch if you have an allergic reaction.

There is cancer.

According to research published in the journal, allium vegetables, including onions, were associated with a reduced risk of cancer.

Quercetin may be an anti-cancer agent. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, Quercetin may be especially effective against cancer cells in breast, colon, ovarian, and lung tumors.

Micrograph of small cell lung cancer

A micrograph of small cell lung cancer.  (Image credit: Getty Images)

A recent study from the Netherlands shows that people who eat onions absorb twice as much Quercetin as people who drink tea and three times as much Quercetin as people who eat apples. According to the association, red onions are high in Quercetin. Shallots and yellow onions are good choices. White onions have the least amount of anti-oxidants.

According to a study published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, the consumption of vegetables from the Allium family has been shown to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. The researchers found that people who ate more allium vegetables had a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Some side effects of cancer treatments may be helped by onions. Breast cancer patients undergoing a form of chemotherapy known to cause insulin resistance were found to have a lower incidence of hyperglycemia if they ate fresh yellow onion.

Digestion.

The fiber in onions helps with digestion. A special type of fiber called oligofructose is found in onions. A study published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that oligofructose may help prevent and treat types of diarrhea. According to the National Onion Association, onions may reduce your risk of developing gastric ulcers.

Lowering blood sugar.

Blood sugar is regulated by the presence of the chromium in onions. The sulfur in onions lowers blood sugar. This might be helpful to people with diabetes according to research published in the journal Environmental Health Insights. People with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who ate red onions had lower blood sugar levels for up to four hours.

The study found that people with type 2 diabetes saw a higher level of normalized bile acids and lower levels of blood sugar when they ate sliced onions.

The bone density is low.

According to a study published in the journal Menopause, onions can improve bone density in women who are going through or have finished menopause. Women who ate onions frequently had a lower risk of hip fracture than women who never ate onions.

According to the journal Food Frontiers, onions can help to combat the effects of osteoporosis, a chronic inflammatory condition that causes the loss of bone mineral density.

Health risks

Eating onions can cause problems for some people. The onions may cause gas. According to a 1990 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, eating onions can cause chronic heartburn in people who suffer from it.

According to the University of Iowa, if you eat a lot of green onions, it may interfere with your blood thinners. Green onions have a high amount of vitamins K and C.

Green onions

A basket filled with green onions.  (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to an article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, it is possible to have an allergy to onions, but it is rare. If an onion comes into contact with the skin, people with onion allergies may experience red, itchy eyes. People with an onion allergy may experience nausea, vomiting and other stomach pains.

She encouraged people to make sure their onions are fresh. If you want to use onions later, be sure to keep them out of the sun. The yellow onions that were un refrigerated showed potential growth of E.coli and salmonella, but the ones that were refrigerated did not.

Onion history

According to the National Onion Association.

Modern-day Iran and Pakistan are thought to be where the onions originated. People ate wild onions long before farming was invented. It is possible that onions were among the earliest cultivated crops.

The oldest writings from India mention onions as early as 5,000 years ago, when they were grown in Chinese gardens. The onion was celebrated as medicine, a diuretic, good for digestion, the heart, the eyes and the joints in the sixth century B.C.

A text from 2500 B.C. tells of someone plowing over the governor's onion patch.

In Egypt, onions were planted as far back as 3500 B.C., and were considered to be objects of worship. There are paintings of onions on the inner walls of tombs.

The onions were buried with mummies. Some Egyptologists theorize that onions may have been used because they were believed to prompt the dead to breathe again.

There are onions in the Bible. The children of Israel remember the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that they ate in Egypt.

The Greeks used onions to fortify their athletes. Athletes would eat onions, drink onion juice and rub onions on their bodies before competition.

The Romans ate a lot of onions. Several uses of onions were noted by a Roman physician in the first century A.D.

According to Roman beliefs, onions could cure poor vision, induce sleep, and heal mouth sores. The gardens where onions had grown were found by the excavators of the doomed city. The bulbs were left in the ground.

Beans, cabbage and onions were the three main vegetables of European cuisine by the Middle Ages. headaches, snakebites and hair loss can be alleviated with onions. They were used as wedding gifts and rent payments.

The Pilgrims brought onions. They found that Native Americans were already using wild onions in a variety of ways, from seasoning them to eating them raw or cooked. As an ingredient in dyes and even as toys, onions were also used in syrups.

Additional resources

Martha Jay has a book called Onions and Garlic: A Global History and Understanding Nutrition: The Complex Solution to the Simple Problem. The British Nutrition Foundation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have information on vegetable nutrition.

Bibliography

There is a global benefit to health from onions.

The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Volume 21, October 2005, contains anti-oxidative compounds from the outer scales of onion.

The protective effect of three diallyl sulphides against the oxidation of erythrocytes and platelets was reported by Chan KC.

The Journal of Hypertension, Volume 5, December 1987.

New insights into the effects of onion consumption on lipid mediators using a diet-induced model of hypercholesterolemia were published in Redox Biology.

Shah Murad and his team wrote about ginger and onion in the Pharmacy and Pharmacology International Journal.