Onion has been cultivated in the Middle-East and India since ancient times. It is one of the oldest cultivated herb –believed to have originated in Central Asia, possibly in the Iran-Pakistan region. It was found in the ancient Egyptian tombs, as early as 3200B.C. Greek historian Herodotus, wrote that nine tons of gold were spent buying onions to feed the builders of the Egyptian pyramids. It was even offered as a sacrificial offering to the Egyptian Gods.
The great Indian sage Maharishi Atreya and Lord Dhanwantri have described the use of onion in detail.
The onion plays a role of a tonic in boosting immunity as it is rich in assimilable iron,calcium and vitamins ,particularly B1 (thiamine), B2(riboflavin), and C.
The best way to benefit from an onion is to eat it raw as in salads and juice for children.
The most common therapeutic use is for the respiratory tract and organs, as an expectorant and tonic.
Some of the other known therapeutic uses are mentioned below—
- Fevers
- Tuberculosis
- Anaemia
- Cholera
- Piles
- Urinary disorder
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Cholesterol and lipids
- Ischaemia
- Inflammatory diseases
- Diuretic bleeding piles
- Teeth disorders
- Skin disorders. Its juice is helpful in sealing an open wound
- Aphrodisiac
Onion has a pungent aroma which many do not like, but recently, it has been attributed to the sulphur compounds (organic sulphides) in it. It is this aroma that made it popular during the plague that ravaged through out Europe in the middle ages.
Eat an onion a day and keep H1N1 away!