Onions... a Cure or a Poison?

Grams is great for sending me material for the blog... I received a message about onions and thought I should pass along the information. 

 In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people, there was a Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.  Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it, and many died. The doctor came upon one farmer, and to his surprise, everyone in the household was very healthy.  When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then).  The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope.  She gave him one, and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion.  It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy. 

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work... (And no, she is not in the onion business.)

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home.  If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens.  We did it last year, and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P.S. to this, for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues.  She replied with this most interesting experience about onions: 

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but I do now that I contracted pneumonia, and needless to say I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion.  Put one end on a fork, and then place the forked end into an empty jar... placing the jar next to the sick patient at night.  It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs.  Sure enough, it happened just like that...the onion was a mess, and I began to feel better. 

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.  They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties. 

This is the other note:

LEFTOVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!

I have used an onion which has been left in the fridge.  Sometimes I don't use a whole one at one time, so I save the other half for later.  Now with this info, I have changed my mind. I will buy smaller onions in the future.  I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family.  My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.

Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed.  He's one of the brothers.  Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula.  He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's.

Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz.  During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise.  People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil.  Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated.  There is no harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary."  He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment.  He then talked about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?).  Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors.  It's probably the onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions.  You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.  He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!)

Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put it on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble.  Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

So, how's that for news?  Take it for what you will.  I am going to be very careful about my onions from now on.  For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.

So... there are several things to discuss when dissecting this email.  First, while commercial mayonnaise has lots and lots of preservatives it still contains eggs and I would never eat it beyond its expiration date or after it has set out for long periods of time. 

Second, does a cut onion sitting out help cure viruses?  Well, EATING onions does help fight disease and cure viruses in the body.  But I find no evidence that substantiates that breathing in the onion will help heal.  Which leads to the third point.

Third, does a cut onion absorb bacteria and viruses?  Again, I find no evidence to support this.  I am not saying that it does or doesn't.  Just that I have yet to find anything on any of my normal sites relating to onions and bacteria.

So, while it sounds intriguing... the benefit of onions with the sick is in the consumption of onions.  Blessings - E