Onions - the forgotten cure.

For centuries it was one of the most valuable anti-scurvy medicines, i.e. acute vitamin C deficiencies. It was taken on long voyages by sailors, merchants, and whalers. Although onion is not one of the richest sources of this vitamin, its availability and effectiveness made it a permanent part of the expedition supplies. This was mainly due to its strong antibacterial substances, which can destroy bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The odor and its properties are due, among other things, to the high content of organic sulfur compounds, which are active even in small concentrations.

Onion decoction was recommended for rheumatic diseases. Syrup was given for colds, and sniffing raw onions disinfected the nose and respiratory tract.

In our cuisine it plays a rather subordinate role, serving as a spice to soups, sauces, salads. It was raised to the heights of culinary art by the French, preparing tarts with it, stuffing meat, rice, and above all - serving the famous onion soup. There are many ways of cooking it, almost every region has its own separate recipe. The onion soup served in the Halls of Paris to the drunken partygoers returning home in the morning is the most popular in literature. The famous halls no longer exist, but onion soup is served in many restaurants, also as a way to cure a hangover. And rightly so, because it perfectly improves the functioning of the liver strained with alcohol. Therefore, it is worth taking advantage of the beneficial properties of onions and eating them as much as possible.

Healing properties

Onion hides phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, zinc and silicon, which are minerals that strengthen the body's overall resistance to various infections and diseases. Raw or stewed in water, it improves digestion, prevents constipation, lowers blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Eating a portion of tasty vegetable for a few days is especially recommended after antibiotic treatment, because onions have fungicidal properties. To prepare it, it is enough to pour water over sliced onion and stew slowly. Seasoned with salt and pepper, it tastes great, especially when you add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and break an egg.

In its raw form, it is not recommended for people suffering from acute liver or gall bladder ailments. From the rich list of valuable properties of onions, it is worth mentioning its blood thinning effect and preventing the formation of clots.

Cough syrup
* sprinkle peeled, chopped onions with sugar and leave in a warm place for several hours
* drink several times a day (adults a tablespoon, children a teaspoon).

Onion wine - protects against infections and boosts overall immunity:
* pour a bottle of dry white wine over 30 dag of chopped onions
* add 10 dag of honey
* mix ingredients and set aside for 7 days
* shake the bottle several times a day
* finally, strain through a sieve (use, drinking half a glass a day).
Onions ideal for ulcers and scars

Due to its versatility, it was used in folk medicine to treat many diseases. For example, poultices made of minced onions were used to treat skin ulcers, which is still effective today. It is enough to put peeled, sliced onions into a small pot, pour water and simmer for 15-20 minutes, taking care not to let them burn. Blend the cooked, cool mass apply to the affected area and fix the dressing. Sometimes the therapy should last several days until the ulcer heals. It is important to note that after such treatment there are no scars left. Similar compresses can be successfully used for inflammation of varicose veins, periosteum, frostbite, burns, boils, as well as acne. The introduction of such a mass rectally treats hemorrhoids. A bit of boiled onion put on a cotton swab into the ears significantly reduces tinnitus, such a common ailment of many elderly people, while spreading a slice of raw wasp, bee or mosquito bite makes the affected area painless and heals quickly (but the stinger must be removed first). In turn, the thin membrane found between the layers of onion makes an excellent antiseptic dressing.

In Poland, onions are grown in several varieties, mainly Dako, Wolska, Sochaczewska, Zytawska, Rawska and Dutch red and white onions - considered the most durable, grown for winter storage. Onions require very fertile soil with high humus content. Therefore, they do best in the vicinity of Warsaw, Lodz, Poznan, Lublin and Wroclaw, where they are found in veritable onion basins.

In 100 grams of onions, which are not cleaned, there are 1.2 g of vegetable protein, 0.4 g of fat, 6.1 g of total carbohydrates - a total of 33 kcal. After consuming 100 grams, our body will be enriched with 22 mg of calcium, needed by our teeth and bones, 12 mg of phosphorus, 1.1 mg of iron, 6.9 mg of magnesium and sulfur compounds with bactericidal properties. The essential oil, which gives this vegetable its specific smell and taste, is allylpropyl disulfide.

There is a lot of vitamin A in onion, preventing the so-called chicken blindness, and affecting the growth and appearance of the skin, in addition to vitamin B1, used in diseases of the nervous system, B2 or riboflavin, treating inflammation of the corners of the mouth, otherwise known as "acrimony", vitamin PP regulating cholesterol levels in the blood and dilating blood vessels, and vitamin C acting against scurvy.

In folk medicine, onion tuber has been used for centuries for ulcers and hard-to-heal wounds. In the Soviet Union during World War II, this effect was recognized by official medicine, using pulp from fresh onions to disinfect wounds. Herbal textbooks recommend onion as a remedy for high blood pressure, provided it does not cause digestive disorders, in cases of respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma and whooping cough, and externally as a poultice for wounds, ulcers, boils and abscesses. The pulp for poultices is grated in a fine grater or blender, spread on a gauze pad and applied. If it causes redness of the skin, the onion can be boiled or baked beforehand. It does not lose its antibacterial properties. There are also known onion syrups with honey and onion juice, obtained after chopping, sprinkling with sugar and squeezing through linen after several hours.

Why is it worth eating onions? "Society has persevered thanks to onions, and for that it deserves a monument," Drohobych Mayor Mykola Huk said at a meeting in the local town hall.

A few months ago, the whole world held its breath. The spread of the flu caused by the new strain of the A/H1N1 virus caused us to fear a pandemic of this disease. The previous one, which took place in the years 1918-1919, known as "Spanish flu", claimed, as it is estimated, from 50 to 100 million lives all over the world. It was something to be afraid of! Especially, when behind our eastern border more and more deadly diseases started to be reported. Now that the situation is under control, the mayor of Drohobych, a city in western Ukraine, has decided to honor the onion by erecting a monument to it. The city was not at all prepared to fight the epidemic, medicine quickly ran out, protective masks disappeared from pharmacies... but there was no shortage of onions in stores.

Autumn cold and winter are ahead of us, so it is worth using this wonderful vegetable in advance to boost our immunity.

The medicinal properties of onions in folk medicine were used already thousands of years ago. And there is no doubt that it deserves at least one monument erected by grateful mankind for all its beneficial properties.

Onion action:

- It has bactericidal effect, exerted both by volatile components (phytoncides), which are released during slicing or crushing of onions, and by non-volatile compounds, located in the flesh.
- Stimulates the excretion of urine,
- removes excess water from the body. It is therefore recommended for people suffering from:
* Rheumatism and arthritis (arthritis),* diseases accompanied by swelling,
* in urinary disorders,
* albuminuria (the presence of protein in the urine),
* uremia (increased urea in the blood),

- Because it is rich in sulfur, it increases the body's resistance to disease,
- Mildly lowers elevated blood pressure,
- It contains vitamins and microelements, the value of which has been appreciated throughout the ages (e.g. in the treatment of scurvy by prisoners and sailors). Onion leaves (known as chives) contain: 25 - 90 mg% vitamin C, 1.3 - 5.9 mg% provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2 PP and phytoncides.
- It stimulates the appetite by accelerating the secretion of digestive juices,
- Prevents the expansion of digestive and putrefactive processes in the intestines and eliminates gas and regulates stool,
- Reduce blood sugar, so it is recommended for diabetics,
- Strengthens the body, including the heart (especially the juice),
- destroying worms, especially pinworms,
- Positive for dermatitis, helping to heal wounds and cleaning them,
- Relieves burning after the bite of insects such as: mosquito, bee, wasp,
- According to American researchers, eating one raw onion every day for at least two months increases the "good" cholesterol - HLD, and decreases the "bad" - LDL.
And now the most important news for all those suffering from atherosclerosis or other blood flow problems. Onions are a unique vegetable in the world. It contains a natural substance that prevents blood clots. And what's the greatest thing about it? The fact that it not only prevents veins from clogging. If we already have clots in our veins, with frequent eating of onions, these clots dissolve over time, completely releasing venous tension.

Additionally, valuable information is the fact that it is not easy to deprive onions of their health properties during processing, i.e. during cooking. Onions in almost any form do not lose their medicinal values, except only one - frying in lard without a lid. Whether fried in oil, under a lid, or seasoned and stewed until golden brown, they are still medicinal. Onions cooked in soup are also full of healthful properties. Therefore, after cooking the dish, you don't have to throw away the onions, but eat them. However, there is nothing like raw onions (as onion juice or shredded and added to some salad or salads). In its raw form it works best for varicose veins, for balancing the circulation.

Onion extract can also be used to make hair care preparations. The sulfur contained in them, derived from the volatile oil of the onion, reduces greasy hair.

Homemade Onion Conditioner:
1 Onion
Lemon juice
1 Yolk
Grate fresh onions (on a grater or in a juicer), add a few drops of lemon and one yolk to the juice, mix and apply to slightly wet hair, gently massaging the scalp. After an hour, rinse hair with warm water, shampoo twice.

Onions relieve the effects of a poor diet
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Substances contained in onions prevent the formation of clots in blood vessels and eliminate existing blockages. Thus, onions should be eaten especially by those who adhere to bad, fatty and hard to digest cuisine.
Onions also have another very beneficial effect - they lower cholesterol levels in the blood, both raw, fried and cooked onions retain these properties.

Effective for colds
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It should be given in the first stage of illness, when we start to feel "broken" in the bones and it is not yet known whether we are attacked by viruses or bacteria. It can be administered to children. In order to help the body during the seasons of the year when a runny nose is common, it is worth adding onions to salads.

Onions for men's troubles and women's beauty
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Onions contain a lot of zinc, which prevents prostate, or prostatic hypertrophy. Therefore, onions should not be missing from the diet of every forty-year-old man. Especially that it is also counted among aphrodisiacs.
Zinc also affects the appearance of the skin. Thus, onions can be considered a cosmetic vegetable. A high content of zinc, sulfur and silicon makes onions one of the main ingredients in "beauty farms". It has been proven that daily eating a head of onion for three months clearly improves the appearance of hair, accelerates its growth, strengthens it, gives it elasticity.

Cosmetologists use another property of onions - if someone has persistent conjunctivitis, they advise to cry when cutting it. It turns out that crying is good for the eyes.

Interesting facts about onions
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- The smell of onions is lost in an acidic environment. Therefore, onion salads are better acidified (e.g. by squeezing lemon or sprinkling water with citric acid). During onion treatment, it is worth drinking a glass of sour fruit juice every day, e.g. from black currant).
- Remove odor from knives and utensils by immersing them in salted water.
- Your hands won't smell like onions if you wipe them with salt and wash them in cool water.
- The onion will be deprived of its pungent taste and smell if you put it for a while in hot and then in cold water.

Today I have a runny nose and to eliminate it I have a chopped onion with me on a plate. It is now standing near the keyboard, and at night I will put it by the bed. I have been inhaling its characteristic smell for a few hours now and I feel a little better, my nose is not running so much and I can breathe normally. When it loses its scent, I chop a new one. It helps!

Onions are good for everything!

Despite the fact that probably everyone has cried through it, it has as many as 150 ingredients essential for the body. It cures cold, lowers the risk of heart attack, improves the tightness of blood vessels, neutralizes free radicals, when necessary - lowers blood pressure. These are just some of the beneficial properties of onions.

Eating one raw onion a day for a minimum of two months lowers "bad" cholesterol and raises the right one. It collects and accelerates the flow of excess cholesterol to the liver, where it is destroyed. It is best eaten raw, but in other forms it also retains many valuable properties.

Strengthens and purifies

This common vegetable has been known for years to help treat colds, urinary tract infections and urinary disorders. Onion juice, valuable especially in autumn, has properties that strengthen, cleanse and detoxify the body from harmful metabolic residues. It is best to drink it for 10 - 20 days, and then take the same number of days off and return to the treatment. It is enough to drink one teaspoon before each meal, then increase to 2-3 teaspoons, and at the end of several months of treatment reduce the dose to 1 teaspoon. Preparing fresh juice every day you can be sure that it will not lose its valuable properties. In addition, sweetened with honey will be not only tastier, but also will strengthen the heart and the whole body.

For bites and blisters

When stung by a bee, wasp or even a mosquito - onions will also come to the rescue. Sliced and held for 10-15 minutes at the wound will relieve inflammation, burning and pain. Roasted onions can help with bacterial infections manifesting as sores and blisters. After roasting and mashing it into a pulp, place it on the blister or ulcer through sterilized gauze. However, it should not be applied to open wounds.

In 1919, when the flu was taking its toll, one of the doctors met a perfectly healthy family. Surprised, he asked what they were doing that the virus did not affect them. The lady of the house replied that she put unpeeled onions in a basket in all the rooms of the house. The doctor could not believe it and asked if he could take one onion and check it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he checked it, he found the flu virus in it. It was obvious that the onion was absorbing the bacteria and thus protecting the whole family.

An Arizona hairdresser recounted that a few years ago, many of her employees came to work with the flu; customers also came in with the flu. The following year, she placed several baskets of onions in her establishment. To her surprise, not a single one of her employees got sick, so it must be working....

Try it and see what happens.

It is said that for pneumonia patients, both ends of the onion should be cut off and placed on a saucer overnight next to the sick person's bed. In the morning the onion will be black with germs ... and the sick person will feel much better.

I have also read that onions and garlic placed in the patient's room help with smallpox because of their powerful antibacterial and antiseptic properties.

Onions absorb bacteria, which is why you can use them as a preventative measure during periods before cold and flu attacks. This is also the reason why you should not eat onions that have been cut for some time.

Onions, especially raw ones, are a magnet for bacteria. You should never keep sliced onions ... even in the refrigerator, because they are poisoned enough by having been sliced or even over-sliced and can thus be dangerous to the person eating them raw afterwards. After frying it, probably nothing will happen, but if you take such an onion and put it on a sandwich or in a salad - it's like you're asking for a problem yourself.

So remember, it's dangerous to use to hold sliced onions until the next day.

It will become poisonous even after one night because it will contain poisonous bacterial toxins that can cause abdominal pain or food poisoning.

I remember from my childhood that when I had a cough, my grandmother cut off the upper part of the onion, and in the lower part she made a hole with a knife, into which she poured a spoonful of sugar, then she covered it with the cut off part and put it on a hot baking tray. After the onion was roasted in such a way, one drank the warm syrup that was produced during roasting and the cough went away.

I recommend making the onion wine yourself using the recipe below.
Ingredients:
300 g onion pulp
1 l dry white grape wine
100 ml bee honey
50 ml spirit 96 %
Method : Peel the onion and mix it into pulp. Put 300 g of onion pulp into a jar and pour 1 liter of dry grape wine, add 50 ml of spirit and 100 ml of bee honey, mix well. Maturation for 5 days, shaking the jar often. After this time, filter and pour into the bottle, cork tightly.

Effect: Onion wine has vitaminizing effect, because onion is rich in vitamins, especially of C and B group and mineral salts. In addition, onion wine has a strengthening effect on the body, mildly lowers blood pressure, has antibacterial properties and has a beneficial effect on the mucous membranes in upper respiratory tract infections, especially coughing.

Dosage: Drink onion wine 1 - 3 times a day 25 ml after eating.

If someone does not like raw onions, he can use the juice. In spring and autumn, basically everyone should drink it, because it has a comprehensive strengthening effect, cleansing and detoxifying the body, removes the harmful remains of metabolism. The treatment lasts 10-20 days each month, after which a 10-20 day break is taken.

At first, we take small doses of the specific to get used to the body. It is best to take a teaspoon before each meal. Gradually increase the dosage to two tablespoons before meals. At the end of the treatment it is recommended to reduce the dose to one tablespoon before meals for 2-3 days. It is best to prepare the juice fresh every day - then it has the most valuable properties, among others bactericidal phyticides do not escape. It can be sweetened with honey. This has an additional advantage of strengthening the heart and the whole body.

Onion treatment in the fight against cancer

Onions protect against cancer, according to Italian scientists. According to them, eating at least one onion a day, reduces the risk of contracting 9 types of cancer from 25 to even 80 %.

Italian researchers from the Mario Negri Institute in Milan prove that the "onion treatment" prevents breast, uterine, prostate, stomach and anal cancer, among others. They studied 10,000 cancer patients in Italy and Switzerland and compared the results with studies of 15,000 healthy people. Those who ate the most onions reduced their risk of oral and esophageal cancer by 84 percent, anal cancer by 56, and breast cancer by 25 %.

"It's too good to be true," is how Professor Kuskowska-Wolk of Stockholm's Karolinska Institute commented on the results of the Italian study to the Swedish agency TT.

The professor points out that healthy people don't always know exactly what they are eating, and those who eat a lot of onions may also be eating other healthy foods. This would mean that it is not necessarily just onions that reduce cancer risk. But that this vegetable is very healthy and can prevent disease is not surprising. Onions contain antioxidants, vitamin C and many other components useful for our health.
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And what does Fr. John Grande ?
Talking about how to feed and care for the human body.
Łódź 1990.

Onion. Blood. Atherosclerosis.
Onion - is the only substance in the world that prevents blood clots.
Even if we already have clots in our veins, with frequent eating of onions, these clots dissolve over time, completely relieving venous tension.
You can never eat raw onions that have not been softened, because this salad will contain unabsorbed fiber, which is very hard to digest. Always add salt and squeeze the onions with your hand to soften them completely.

With any preparation, onions do not lose their medicinal value except for only one - frying onions in lard without a lid.
Raw, softened - it is medicine.
In oil, under a lid - a full skillet or even a large pot - drenched in oil, smothered until golden brown is a cure.
Chopped finely and cooked in soups - it is a medicine.
In our country it is so fashionable that when onions are cooked in soup, they are thrown away. You don't have to throw it away, just eat it.

Onions can thin the blood to such an extent that the thickened, soggy, lipid-concentrated blood of people who get little use of fresh air, lack oxygen or have atherosclerosis of the cholesterol type - onion juice can make this blood thinner than tap water and in addition to the color of light-red.

You can observe when taking blood into the syringe - the blood should escape into the syringe by itself - as soon as you push the needle in, it should push the plunger out by itself and be bright pink. Such blood is healthy. On the other hand dark, brown, thick blood - is greasy, blood cells are not oxygenated, the body has too little vitamin C and too little iron. You need to get down to eating foods rich in these substances.

You can make an experience after killing a chicken, for example
- Drip some fresh blood on the saucer - it will easily curdle and turn brown.
On this sprinkle 2-3 drops of onion juice. Momentarily this blood almost becomes alive.

If someone has a sick liver, inflammatory bowel disease, etc. - is actually sick, then raw onions are harmful.
But onions cooked fried, stewed in oil - never harmed anyone yet.
Frying - yes, you can fry a lot of things, but always in oil.
You can never fry anything in butter because it is a tragedy.

People who eat garlic and onions in larger quantities have detreomycin in their bloodstream, concentrated even. The human body produces its own antibiotics, which are such powerful bactericides that those eating this way don't get sick because the bacteria can't get to them.

The essential oils of onions are beneficial in one more respect.
Sulfur in the essential oils of onions has a beneficial effect on our, mucous membranes.
If someone has an atypical catarrh, or finds sinusitis - you need to grate 2 large onions on a potato grater, put them into a tall cocktail glass, wrap its rim with a wad of cotton wool to seal, so that the gas does not enter the eyes, but the nose and breathe deeply for 20 minutes. Carry out such an inhalation for several days. Then we do not have a single staphylococcus in the sinuses, nor in the catarrh, nor in the bronchi. This is because all strains of staphylococci, golden staphylococci, green staphylococci and various beady staphylococci, resistant even to antibiotics, do not resist the essential oils of onions impregnated with sulfur.

Cutting onions is also healthy - if someone has conjunctivitis due to staphylococcus - then one day grate horseradish, and the next day grate 2 - 3 heads of onions and have a good cry. In a week's time he will flush out the disease from himself. And the problem is over.

For corns - regular onions. Cut a large head of onion lengthwise, put it on the stove to bake as for the broth. Cool down. Soak legs in warm water with baking soda. Take one piece of baked onion, put a piece of soft sugar, put it on the imprint and bandage this bowl and change it every 8 hours for 3 days. It will soften the imprint so beautifully that you can immediately put on the tightest shoe and go to the ball. And you no longer feel that the imprint is on your foot. And after three days itching can not stand and you need to soak your feet in warm water with baking soda again, and the imprint will move away from the healthy body, so that the niche will remain up to the bone. Healthy tissue will not be affected. If there is an old malignant imprint, then such a treatment should be prolonged - repeated.

And finally, something to munch on during autumn and winter evenings:

Crispy breaded onion rings
Ingredients:
number of servings: 3
- 1 large onion sliced 0.5 cm thick
- 155 g (1 and 1/4 cups) wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 235 ml (1 cup) milk (or as needed)
- 80 g (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
- pinch of seasoning salt to taste
- 1 l of frying oil (or as needed)
Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes

1. heat the oil in a deep fryer to 185°C.

2. separate the onion slices into rings and set aside. In a small bowl, mix flour with baking powder and salt.

Coat the onion rings thoroughly in the prepared flour and set aside. Break the egg into the rest of the flour, pour in the milk and mix everything carefully with a fork. Dip the onion rings into the batter, and then place on a metal griddle (e.g. on a grill removed from the oven) until the excess batter drains off. The metal griddle can be placed on a sheet of aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs onto a plate and thoroughly coat all the disks in it one at a time. Shake off excess crumbs each time. The coating should stick very well.

4. deep-fry a few rings at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Remove to a paper towel to dry. Season with seasoning salt and serve.