Apart from its culinary use, onions are widely used in traditional medicine for digestive issues like loss of appetite, upset stomach, or gallbladder disorders. Onions are also used in treatment of heart and blood vessel issues like chest pain and high blood pressure. Onion hair masks are also widely used as it has many benefits for hair health from promoting hair growth, preventing itchy scalp, hair loss to treating dandruff.
Here’s how onions can help control blood sugar levels:
Specific compounds found in onions, such as quercetin and sulfur compounds, also possess antidiabetic effects. High amounts of fibre, iron, potassium, vitamin C, and various essential micronutrients that promote health in a number of ways. Quercetin has been shown to interact with cells in the small intestine, pancreas, skeletal muscle, fat tissue, and liver to control whole-body blood sugar regulation. They lower the blood sugar due to the fact they are prebiotics, undigested fibres that pass through the upper digestive tract to the large intestine where they stimulate growth of beneficial bacteria. And surprisingly, gut bacteria are involved in glucose regulation. It should be noted that the raw onion is the most beneficial to our health. The low glycaemic index shows that it can help control blood sugar levels in diabetics. Ripe onion juice has been shown to provide anti-diabetic properties and prevent hyperglycaemia.
How to consume onions for diabetes management
Onions can be used in fresh raita, dosa, stuffed chapati or salads apart from your regular cooking.
Moderation is the key as onion contains sulfur and may aggravate gastritis or reflux when taken on empty stomach.
Benefits of onions in arthritis
Onions can help reduce the inflammation in joints as it contains quercetin, flavonoids which is present abundantly in onions known to modulate immune responses. A study conducted on women with rheumatoid arthritis, were administered a constant dose of quercetin(500mg/day) for a duration of 8 weeks or so. Quercetin supplementation reduced early morning stiffness associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Factors responsible for inflammation were also suppressed.