Importance of Onion and Garlic To Human Health
Onions
Onions (Allium cepa) belong to the lily family, the same family as garlic, leeks, chives, scallions and shallots.
Onions are native to Asia and The Middle East. Onion is the most cultivated species of the genus Allium and the cultivation goes back to over 5000 years.
Onions decrease the risk of many different types of cancers. A compound known as quercetin has been discovered in onions and this compound is extremely powerful when it comes to fighting cancer and is an excellent antioxidant.
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium.
Garlic
Garlic Is Highly Nutritious, But Has Very Few Calories
Blonde With Onions, Garlic and Pepperoni
Calorie for calorie, garlic is incredibly nutritious.
A 1 ounce (28 grams) serving of garlic contains (3):
Manganese: 23% of the RDA.
- Vitamin B6: 17% of the RDA.
- Vitamin C: 15% of the RDA.
- Selenium: 6% of the RDA.
- Fiber: 1 gram.
- Decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1.
Eating Garlic Can Help Detoxify Heavy Metals in the Body
At high doses, the sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to protect against organ damage from heavy metal toxicity.
A four week study in employees of a car battery plant (excessive exposure to lead) found that garlic reduced lead levels in the blood by 19%. It also reduced many clinical signs of toxicity, including headaches and blood pressure
Garlic May Improve Bone Health
No human trials have measured the effects of garlic on bone loss.
However, rodent studies have shown that it can minimise bone loss by increasing estrogen in females.
One study in menopausal women found that a daily dose of dry garlic extract (equal to 2 grams of raw garlic) significantly decreased a marker of estrogen deficiency
This suggests that this garlic may have beneficial effects on bone health in women.
Foods like garlic and onions have also been shown to have beneficial effects on osteoarthritis.
Garlic has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years
Garlic fights a great number of bacteria and viruses and therefore helps to prevent infections and it decreases the risks of a number of different types of cancer, with an emphasis on cancers of the stomach.
Garlic may lower blood levels of protease inhibitors, medications used to treat people with HIV.
Though it is no longer news to many people that garlic prevents high blood pressure
Among the Diseases that can be cured with Onions and Garlic are
Heart disease
Common cold
Cancer
It’s good to know that these garlic and onions can help in curing such diseases. Before I thought it only prevents high blood pressure. Thanks for the info. It’s a big help 🙂
Onion and Garlic are known to add great taste to the food and its really good to learn about their health benefits. I have heard somewhere that Garlic has been a part of several traditional medicine sciences.
A chive is an herb, not a vegetable, but like its Allium vegetable relatives — onions, shallots, leeks, and scallions — chives contain quercetin and sulfur compounds. However, because chives contain fewer of these nutrients they taste milder and are likely to have a milder effect on health conditions.
Is good to eat raw onion or garlic ?