The Healing Properties Of Onions

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

My grandmother's brother - grandfather Ivan - was a hater or lukophobe - I don't know what to call him correctly. The fact is that he did not tolerate onions in any form. And since he was an excellent carpenter, his father invited him to help in finishing the new hut - grandfather Ivan made and installed window sills, window frames, and was involved in other delicate carpentry operations.

In the days when he lived with us, the family switched to a diet-free diet. Mom tried her best to come up with dishes that would not use this burning and aromatic vegetable, or cook according to the usual recipes, but completely without onions, and we had to endure this diet, which was not easy.

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More than half a century has passed since then, and now I understand that grandfather Ivan was a unique person, because over the years I have never met a single such lukophobe. On the contrary, there is no such family in which onions in one form or another would not be used daily in any dish or in ready-made commercial products, for example, sausage, pork pork or meatballs.

Although scientists call Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran the birthplace of onions, it was well known in other parts of the ancient world. For example, along with garlic and radish, it was included in the diet of slaves who built pyramids in Ancient Egypt, was used in the cooking of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

And among modern culinary experts, you will not find a single one who would not include onions in their recipes, to which this vegetable gives a special taste and aroma.

Bulb onion (Allium cepa) is a perennial herb that is cultivated as a biennial plant. It belongs to the Onion family.

Such a wide distribution of onion, and it is now known and grown on all continents, except Antarctica, although even there polar explorers use it in nutrition and as a vitamin product, is determined not only by its peculiar spicy aroma, but also by its medicinal properties.

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Onions have a rich chemical composition. It contains up to 10% sugars - inulin, glucose, fructose, there is fiber, proteins, calcium, phosphorus salts, micro- and macroelements - magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, zinc, iodine, boron, cobalt; a complex of vitamins: ascorbic acid, provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, PP, E.

There is an essential oil in which sulfide substances are found. They are the ones that make people watery when peeling and slicing onions. Scientists have found that they, being volatile and easily soluble in water, combine with human tears that moisturize the eyes, form sulfuric acid, which irritates the mucous membrane, causing a stream of tears.

Also in onions there are pectin compounds, flavanoids, saponins, tannins, antioxidants. It is thanks to the presence of many biologically active substances that onions have long been used for the prevention of diseases and healing from many ailments.

Probably everyone knows that onions are an irreplaceable preventive measure against scurvy. It has been proven that 70 g of green onions can provide the human body's daily requirement for ascorbic acid, the lack of which leads to this disease.

Phytoncides, of which there are many in the bulbs, suppress the growth of pathogenic microorganisms, and therefore onions are actively used for the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory diseases, tonsillitis and even influenza. When coughing and treating other bronchopulmonary diseases, doctors recommend taking a mixture of onion juice with honey in a 1: 1 ratio - for coughs, bronchitis, whooping cough, one teaspoon 3-4 times a day. Onion juice is also used in aerosols, diluting it with distilled water or 0.25% novocaine solution in a ratio of 1: 3. Inhalation is done twice a day, 10 ml of solution. Onions help fight these diseases, relieve sore throat.

People instinctively consume raw onions more often in the autumn and winter months, when it is cold and there is a possibility of colds and infections.

In folk medicine, it is recommended to treat flu, colds and runny nose by inhaling the fumes of grated onions. You should deeply inhale the pungent aroma of onions immediately after rubbing or cutting, and alternately with your mouth and nose (at least 10-15 minutes). Since viruses and bacteria are usually found in the respiratory tract, this procedure is quite effective. It should be done several times a day - at least three times. The effect will be necessary if such treatment is carried out at the initial stage of the disease. And therefore - if you feel unwell - treat yourself with onions.

In folk medicine, milk and honey infusions are used to treat colds.

Infusion of onions with milk and honey

To prepare it, 100 g of chopped onions need to be poured with 300 ml of warm boiled milk and left for six hours. After that, the resulting infusion must be filtered and 50 g of liquid honey added to it.

For colds, bronchitis, flu and sore throat, take this infusion before meals, half a glass four times a day.

In my childhood, I once had a large boil. And in such a place that it was painful to sit and lie on the right side, and even when walking there was pain. I remember my mother applied a baked onion to this boil and wrapped it with gauze. And this folk remedy helped. The boil has matured and flowed out. And again you could run and jump.

It turns out that such a treatment is quite common in traditional medicine. Onions are also used to draw pus out of wounds. A medicinal mixture is prepared from baked onions and laundry soap in a ratio of 2: 1. This mixture is applied on a gauze bandage to the wound, and then the bandage is changed several times a day.

Onion preparations improve appetite, increase the secretion of the digestive glands, improve digestion, and increase intestinal peristalsis. Therefore, they are recommended for indigestion, a tendency to chronic constipation.

In folk medicine, onion tincture is used for intestinal dysbiosis, increased gas production and diarrhea.

Onion tincture

To prepare it, finely chop half a kilogram of onions and pour half a liter of vodka into a glass jar. The dishes are tightly closed and placed in a dark place for ten days. Then the resulting tincture is filtered and taken for the above problems, one teaspoon four times a day.

Also, with the help of onion preparations, pustular skin diseases, purulent ulcers are cured.

It has been found that fresh onions increase sexual potency, and green onions are a good prophylactic agent against prostatitis. Onions are used for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis, hypertension, as it strengthens and dilates blood vessels, reduces blood clotting, strengthens the heart muscle, and reduces the level of dangerous cholesterol in the blood.

Water decoctions of dry onion skins (husks) are used as a wound healing agent, as well as for strengthening hair and against dandruff.

There is such a medicine in pharmacies as allylchep drops. They are recommended for loss of appetite, intestinal atony, colitis, atherosclerosis, pustular skin diseases, deficiency of vitamins C, B1, as well as for resorption of keloid scars (as part of combination therapy). The manufacturers of this medicine modestly indicate that it is made from plant materials, although it is nothing more than an alcoholic extract of onions.

Contraindications

Fresh onion and its preparations are contraindicated in diseases of the liver, kidneys, and in exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Fresh onions should be used with caution in case of cardiovascular diseases. It is also not recommended for metabolic disorders, for chronic heartburn, for allergies and urolithiasis.

But boiled, stewed or baked onions can be used by everyone, except for those who have its individual intolerance.

E. Valentinov