Red Onions For Pleasure And Health

In many ways, red onions offer far more health benefits than yellow or white varieties. They are particularly rich in antioxidants, support the body in preventing cancer, promote weight loss, lower cholesterol levels, help to detoxify the body, and fight inflammation.

The red onion: For pleasure and health

Onions always taste good – whether steamed, fried, grilled, baked, or raw. They go well with almost all dishes and have the diverse, extremely positive effects on the human organism mentioned at the beginning – but especially the red onions.

Now if you think you have to eat a sack of onions a week to enjoy these fantastic effects, rest easy.

Because as little as three red onions a week, divided into four to six portions, you should be able to feel clear results – at least with regard to cancer prevention, with the effect of raw onions being better than those of cooked or otherwise heated.

But what actually distinguishes red onions from yellow or white ones?

Red onions are anti-inflammatory

Onions are characterized by their high polyphenol content – they contain e.g. B. more polyphenols than garlic or tomato. Red onions outperform even their peers, however, as they contain twice as many antioxidants as any other type of onion.

A study at the Università di Messina found that red onions contain seven different flavonoids – the most important being quercetin and anthocyanin.

These active ingredients make the red onion a helpful food for all health problems related to chronic inflammation, for example.

Because the antioxidants prevent the oxidation of fatty acids in food and in the cells and in this way block free radicals. This drastically reduces chronic inflammatory processes and also inhibits the development of cancer cells.

Red onions prevent stomach cancer

The sulfur compounds (sulfides) found in onions also inhibit bacterial growth. This fact proved to be particularly helpful in relation to the prevention of gastric cancer.

Bacteria in the stomach can lead to the conversion of nitrate into nitrite. Nitrite, in turn, can become carcinogenic nitrosamines. If the sulfides in the onion inhibit the activity of the bacteria involved, the risk of stomach cancer can be reduced.

dr Carlo La Vecchia and his team conducted a study at the Università di Milano in which 777 subjects took part. The research found that two 50-gram servings of onions per week are enough to reduce the risk of stomach cancer by as much as 50 percent.

This will e.g. also be attributed to the fact that sulfur compounds act against bacteria and can therefore also prevent the stomach germ Helicobacter pylori from multiplying.

Since red onion is also particularly rich in antioxidants, it can be called an ideal anti-cancer food.

Red onions are better as supplements

It is advisable to eat these antioxidants WITH onion and not to switch to quercetin supplements. The natural quercetin found in red onions is said to be much more effective than taking quercetin extracts.

The body can recognize the nutrient much better when consumed in its natural form and in conjunction with all of the other compounds present in red onion that support and enhance each other’s antioxidant effects.

Red onions lower cholesterol levels

Iranian researchers from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences have studied how eating raw red onions affects the metabolism of women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO syndrome) and obesity.

The PCO syndrome is present when two of the following three criteria are met: cysts in the ovaries, chronic menstrual disorders, and/or an excessive androgen level. It is important to know that women who are overweight are particularly often affected by PCO syndrome.

The study involved 54 women who were divided into two groups.

• Group 1: Overweight women who ate 40 to 50 g raw red onions twice a day per day. Obese women ate 50 to 60 g twice a day per day
• Group 2: The women in the control group only consumed 10 to 15 g of raw red onions twice a day.

The scientists concluded that raw red onion may be a particularly helpful food for overweight and obese women with PCO.

Detox onions

The cysteine ​​produced from the above-mentioned sulfur compounds is also required for building up the body’s own super detoxifier called glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that protects cell membranes and endogenous proteins from free radical attack.

It can also initiate repair processes after DNA damage and is said to promote the elimination of heavy metals and other problematic substances. Regular consumption of onions therefore significantly supports the body’s own detoxification.

How to use red onions

The antioxidant flavonoids are particularly found in the outer layers of the red onion. Many people peel the first few layers, losing many of these vital nutrients. So, by all means, use as much of the outer, fleshy, edible parts as possible.

Excessive peeling, in which the two outer fleshy layers are removed, loses about 20 percent of the quercetin and over 75 percent of the anthocyanins it contains.

Boiling onions in soup damage some of the anthocyanins, but not the quercetin. The quercetin goes into the soup or broth. The lower the heat, the more active ingredients remain in the soup or broth.