Health benefits of Onions and Garlic

Onions have been known to be one of the healthiest root vegetables, and with good reason. While vegetables like leeks and onions don’t contain very many vitamins, they are an outstanding source of allyl sulfides. These are biological compounds which have been shown to help lower blood pressure and slow down tumour growth. In other words, they have literally been observed to prevent cancer and help with certain heart diseases.

Another important nutrient in these vegetables is Quercetin. It’s been shown to be beneficially helpful to people suffering from arthritis. In some instances, there is also strong evidence to show that it can combat age-related memory loss!

Another similar allum vegetable in this respect is garlic, which also has concentrated amounts of these two compounds. There is a lot of evidence to support that higher consumption of garlic helps to reduce LDL-cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. Research on garlic has also been tested extensively on humans, rather than simply animals as is common with many other herb-related studies.

In terms of cooking, garlic and onion are somewhat strong herbs. However, cooked slowly over a long period of time releases their more sweet and subtle notes, making them tastier and likeable to almost everyone. Raw garlic and onion are rarely to anyone’s taste for these reasons.

Another convenient option is to use dehydrated garlic and onions. In terms of flavour, these are always going to be a little weaker than their fresh counterparts, but nutrient wise they are often just as healthy, if not even more concentrated. When buying dried garlic or onions it is absolutely important to buy high quality products, as they are often diluted and mixed with unsavoury parts when powdered. Buy whole dried spices whenever possible.

Want to start buying high quality dried garlic and onion? Here are current market rates:

References

Ali M, Thomson M, Afzal M. Garlic and onions: their effect on eicosanoid metabolism and its clinical relevance. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2000 Feb;62(2):55-73. Review. 2000.

Azuma K, Minami Y, Ippoushi K et al. Lowering effects of onion intake on oxidative stress biomarkers in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2007 Mar;40(2):131-40. 2007.

Borjihan B, Ogita A, Fujita KI et al. The Cyclic Organosulfur Compound Zwiebelane A from Onion (Allium cepa) Functions as an Enhancer of Polymyxin B in Fungal Vacuole Disruption. Planta Med. 2010 May 19. [Epub ahead of print]. 2010.

WHFoods – Onions

Melino S, Sabelli R and Paci M. Allyl sulfur compounds and cellular detoxification system: effects and perspectives in cancer therapy. Amino Acids. 2010 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print]. 2010.

Moon JH, Nakata R, Oshima S, et al. Accumulation of quercetin conjugates in blood plasma after the short-term ingestion of onion by women. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2000 Aug;279(2):R461-7. 2000.

Wang L, Lee IM, Zhang SM, et al. Dietary intake of selected flavonols, flavones, and flavonoid-rich foods and risk of cancer in middle-aged and older women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Mar;89(3):905-12. 2009.