You would usually know that your favorite meal viand is being cooked when you start smelling that distinct pungent smell of onion, used to start sautéing the ingredients for your favorite recipe. Aside from being a starter ingredient to most recipes in cooking, onion should be very well appreciated for it has a lot of health benefits. For one, this humble vegetable is naturally very rich in a mineral called, chromium. This mineral helps the body’s cell respond to insulin. Aside from chromium, it boasts of having various flavonoids, well known of which is quercetin (that which neutralizes free radicals and thus helps to inhibit cancer and forms of cardiovascular disease); but to get the most out of this antioxidant, onion should not be baked, boiled or sautéed. So on what dish should it be best to have its great benefit? On green or cold salad.

Here is more about onion and control of blood sugar — studies have shown that the higher the intake of onion, the lower the level of glucose was found during oral glucose tolerance test. The experiments showed that an active compound from onions increase the amount of free insulin available ushering glucose into the cells to cause a decrease in blood sugar. 

Another contributory factor for the control in blood sugar level is the chromium content of onion. Chromium helps the cells respond appropriately to insulin, and additionally, even help lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels (to which most diabetics are prone to). With ¼ cup of onion, one meets at least five percent of their daily needs for chromium.

Aside from supporting healthy blood sugar goals, onions are also known to deliver cardiovascular benefits. Possibly due to its sulphur compounds, chromium content and vitamin B6, it can help decrease significant risk factors (homocysteine levels) for heart attack and stroke.

In one large study, onions in the diet (together with tea, apple and broccoli) contributed to a 20 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease.

Onion just doesn’t seem to stop giving you a lot more reasons to consume it more often. Another health benefit it can help deliver is gastrointestinal health. With as little as twice weekly consumption, it has been associated with reduced risk of developing colon cancer (again due to its quercetin content) – by reducing both the size and number of pre-cancerous lesions in the human intestinal tract. For this particular health benefit, cooking onions may help as it can aid in reducing the amount of cancer-forming compounds produced when meat is cooked using high heat method.

Interestingly, another health benefit is being attributed to the active compounds in onion and this is related to bone health. A compound called GPCS inhibits the activity of cells that break down bone. In an animal study, the more GPCS given the more the bone-breakdown was prevented (but this doesn’t put your milk to a lesser advantage).

Though onions may bring tears to your eye (as you peel and slice it), each tear drop may translate to higher health benefits worth all those tears after all. Remember, onion will not only help improve the flavour of your foods but may also improve your health.