For years, she had treated onions as nothing more than the beginning of dinner.
Chop them. Fry them. Add them to soup.
But when stiff, tired-feeling legs and aching joints began making everyday movement less enjoyable, she became interested in the old natural remedies her family had once used—and onion kept appearing again and again.
No food can literally take someone who cannot walk and suddenly make them “run like a teenager.” But onion contains a fascinating collection of sulfur compounds and flavonoids, particularly quercetin, that researchers have investigated in relation to oxidative stress, inflammatory pathways, cardiovascular health, and metabolic function.
So she began eating onion regularly.
And the way she prepared it mattered.
Why Onion Is More Than Just Flavor
Cut into an onion and you immediately know you’re dealing with an unusual vegetable.
Your eyes water.
The smell fills the room.
That’s partly the result of sulfur-containing compounds released when onion tissue is damaged.
Onions also contain flavonoids, with quercetin and its derivatives being particularly notable.
Red and yellow onions tend to provide substantial quantities of these compounds, while red varieties additionally contain anthocyanin pigments.
Suddenly that inexpensive vegetable doesn’t look quite so ordinary.
There’s more to discover. Continue to the next page for the rest of this article.
