Onions
Introducing ~ the Family of Onions
The Family of Onions ~ Roots of Good Health
Healing Power...
Can Help;
Raise beneficial HDL cholesterol
Lower blood pressure
Decrease the risk of cancer
Relieve congestion
Reduce inflammation
Scene: The Civil War, 1864.
The Union soldiers are ailing with dysentery.
General Ulysses S. Grant wires a directive to the War Department to save his troops.
“I will not move my army without onions!”
Three trainloads are shipped the next day.
The rest, as they say; is history.
It’s a stretch to say that these super vegetables won the war between the states.
And scientists haven’t proven that they can stave off dysentery...yet.
But these and other members of the allium family, such as leeks, shallots, and scallions, contain dozens of compounds that provide protection from other conditions, including cancer, high blood, pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol and asthma.
So grab one or two, a sharp knife, a hanky and start chopping your way to better health.
Rings & Heart Strings
Don’t be offended the next time your honey suggests you “go Dutch” when the both of you go out to dinner.
He or she may be suggesting you take a cue from a group of heart-healthy men who ate their fill of onion-laden delights as part of a ground-breaking study in the Netherlands.
In this much acclaimed study, researchers found that men who ate a quarter-cup of onions a day, along with an apple and a cup of tea, had one-third the risk of dying from heart attacks compared to those who ate the least amount of these foods.
So, what's so important about these particular super vegetables?
Wrapped beneath their papery skins are dozens of compounds that help lower cholesterol, thin the blood and prevent hardening of the arteries, all of which can go a long way toward preventing heart disease.
The first family of heart-healthy compounds in onions is the flavanoids. 
Flavanoids are substances in plants that have potent antioxidant powers, meaning that they help prevent disease by sweeping up harmful, cell damaging oxygen molecules called free radicals, which naturally accumulate in the body.
One particular onion dwelling flavanoid, quercetin, has been shown to help knock out heart disease in two ways.
One, it helps prevent the dangerous low density lipoproyein form of cholesterol from oxidizing, which is the process that makes it stick to artery walls.
Two, it helps prevent platelets in blood from sticking together and forming harmful clots.
A second group of protective compounds in onions are the same ones that make you cry...the sulphur compounds.
Experts say that these compounds raise your levels of beneficial, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, which helps keep plaque from from sticking to artery walls.
At the same time, they lower levels of dangerous blood fats called triglycerides, which helps make blood thinner, keeping your blood pressure in the safety zone.
You don't need a lot of onions to keep your heart primed with protective compounds.
In fact, studies show that you can reap the benefits by eating just one medium onion, raw or cooked, per day.
Cancer Protection
When you're looking for cancer protection, don't skimp the onions.
They may be a key player in cancer prevention, especially cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
The primary flavanoid found in onions, quercitin, actually halts the progression of tumors in the colons of animals.
This means that onions do double duty in suppressing tumors because the sulfur compounds also fight cancer.
In a large study in the Netherlands, researchers looked at the diets of nearly 121,000 men and women.
The more odoriferous bulbs these onion loving Hollanders included in their diets, the lower the risks of stomach cancer.
Scientists suspect that onions prevent cancer not only by putting the brakes on tumor development but also by stomping out harmful bacteria that may get the stomach cancer started. 
A Good Kind of Onion Breath
Putting a few layers of raw onions on your turkey burger can give you industrial strength breath, but those very same onions also may give people with asthma or other respiratory ailments clearer airways:
There are sulfur compounds in onions that inhibit the allergic, inflammatory response like that seen in asthma.
Although mere research needs to he done on onions asthma attacking abilities, you can see the anti—inflammatory effect for yourself:
The next time you have an insect bite or other type of minor inflammation on your skin, rub a cut onion on it.
This should help reduce the inflammation.
You only need to eat a few servings of onions a day to keep your breathing passages free and clear.
Unlike some foods, where it’s just not conceivable that you could eat enough to produce a significant effect, you can with onions.
If you like onions, you can consume them in pretty large quantities.
And there’s good evidence that you should!
Food Alert
A PROBLEM WITH PICKLING
Even though eating raw or cooked onions may help fight the airway inflammation that accompanies asthma attacks, eating certain pickled onions may have the opposite effectt warn researchers.
In a study in Spain, scientists found that some people with asthma experienced attacks after eating Spanish pickled onions (but not the Dutch vanety), presumably because high levels of sulfites are added as preservatives.
If your doctor has told you that you're sensitive to sulfites the best advice is to get your onions out of the ground.
Or if you do buy pickled onions, check the label to make sure they’re made without sulfites.
Combined Benefits
Whether you’re eating for health or good taste, there’s no reason, to limit yourself to onions. 
Scallions, shallots, and other allium vegetables not only pack the same sulfur compounds and flavonoids as their bigger brothers, they also have a few of their own nutrients that
can help fight disease and boost immunity.
Scallions, also called spring or green onions, are actually just young under developed onions.
But they're bigger in nutrients, particularily folate and Vitamin-C than their adult counterparts.
A half cup of chopped raw scallions provides 32 micrograms, or 8 percent of the Daily Value (DV) of folate, a nutrient that's essential for normal tissue growth and that may protect against cancer, heart disease and birth defcts.
In that half cup, you'll also get more than 9 milligrams (almost 16% of the DV) of vitamin-C, an immunity boosting antioxidant nutrient that helps vacuum up tissue damaging oxygen molecules in the body.
Shallots, another miniature member of the allium family, have their own benefits.
Just one tablespoon of chopped shallots contains 600 international units (I.U.) of Vitamin-0A, 12% of the DV. This essential nutrient helps keep immunity strong and also guards against vision problems associated with aging, like cataracts and night blindness.
Getting the Most
Add some color.
To get the most nutrients from your daily dose of onions, eat several different kinds.
Red and yellow onions and shallots have the highest flavanoid content, while white onions have the least.
Save your breath.
If the fear of having horrific halitosis is keeping you from enjoying the health benefits of onions, here's a refreshing tip.
Eat a sprig of fresh parsley.
This'll help neutralize the sulphur compounds before they can turn into offending breath.
A breath freshener made with parsley seed oil will also help.
Keep your eyes peeled.
Even if you like onions, you may not love them enough to eat a half cup a day or so.
Thats why scientists are trying to devlop new onion strains with high concentrations of flavanoids like quercetin.
Experts aren't sure when these new onions will be on the market, but keep your eyes open for special displays in your supermarket.
And, if you don't know what to have for dinner tonight, may we suggest...
5 Spice Onion Soup
Using our healthy saute method of cooking also makes this version healthier as it uses no heated oils.
Enjoy!
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients: Broth
1 medium onion chopped
1 TBS + 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 inch fresh peeled ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, about 4 inches long
3 star anise
1/2 tsp dried fennel seeds
6 whole dried medium shiitake mushrooms
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS molasses
2 onions cut in half and sliced thin
6 cloves garlic, sliced
sea salt and white pepper to taste
Directions:
Slice/chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties.
To prepare broth, heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot.
Saute chopped onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent.
Add the 6 cups of broth and remaining broth ingredients and stir.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer broth ingredients briskly together for 20 minutes, uncovered.
This will bring out a lot of flavor from the ingredients.
While broth is simmering, cut 2 onions in half and slice thin.
In separate medium sized stainless steel skillet, heat 1 TBS of soup broth over medium heat.
Saute sliced onions over medium low heat in broth, stirring often for about 15 minutes, until translucent.
Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
After cooking for 20 minutes strain broth while it is still hot and return liquid to pan.
Slice mushrooms (and discard rest of strained ingredients) and return to broth.
Add sautéed onions and garlic and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Season with sea salt and white pepper to taste.
Serves 4 
Newsletter
*** Our Featured Sponsors ***
After Years of Research ~ It's Finally Here ~ MaxLife Research ~ Click the Pic
Get the Energy You Need Naturally
_____________________________________________________________
|
