Maximizing the Health Benefits of Onions

How to Choose, Prepare, and Store Onions to Maintain Phytonutrients

Oct 28, 2008
Jennifer Copley

Onions - Jennifer Copley

Choosing the right onions, storing them properly, and preparing them in ways that preserve phytonutrients helps to increase health benefits.

Onions provide many of the same anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and cardiovascular benefits as garlic, as well as helping to lower blood sugar. Eating onions just two or three times a week can lower the risk of colon and ovarian cancer significantly. Onions also help to maintain bone health, and are a source of many nutrients including vitamins B6 and C, dietary fiber, chromium, folate, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, copper, and phosphorus.

Choose Strong-Smelling Onions

The strongest-smelling onions provide the most health benefits. The best choice is shallots, followed by yellow onions, red onions, and then white onions. As a general rule, the more an onion makes your eyes water, the better it is for your health.

Preparing Onions

As with other herbs, spices, and produce, raw and fresh provides maximum health benefits. However, many people can’t tolerate raw onions. Research studies have indicated that the beneficial flavonoid quercetin (also found in caffeinated teas and red grapes) isn’t destroyed by most cooking methods, though it is decreased by boiling. However, other compounds may be destroyed by heat, so onions should be cooked just long enough to make them tolerable in order to preserve their health-promoting phytonutrients.

Cutting onions under cold running water is a common strategy for reducing eye irritation, but this can decrease their potency by washing away beneficial phytonutrients. To reduce eye irritation, chill onions in the freezer for 20 minutes before cutting and use a really sharp knife.

Storing Onions

Although uncut onions should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place, cut onions should be either placed in a sealed container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated immediately. If cut onions aren’t covered, their nutrient content diminishes rapidly. Freezing chopped onions is not recommended because they lose much of their flavour.

Cooked onions will last for a few days in the fridge in airtight containers. Plastic or glass containers should be used rather than metal, which can cause discolouration.

Tabouli Recipe

Onions are quite versatile and can improve most recipes. A particularly healthy salad that provides a good dose of raw onion and plenty of other beneficial phytonutrients is tabouli.

Ingredients

1 cup bulgur wheat or couscous (dry)
2 cups boiling water
Pinch of salt
1½ cups parsley, minced
½ medium onion, minced
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, press or chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh mint (optional)
½ cucumber, finely chopped (optional)
½ cup cranberries and/or nuts (optional)
¼ cup halved black olives (optional)

Directions

To make tabouli salad, mince onion and garlic and set aside. Mix bulgur wheat or couscous and salt in a bowl and add 2 cups boiling water. Allow this mixture to stand for 15-20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed – drain off any excess water. Add all other ingredients. Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice, olive oil, salt, or pepper if needed. This is the sort of recipe that can be easily modified to personal preference by leaving out or adding ingredients, or changing proportions of ingredients. Some people like to add a pinch of cinnamon and/or allspice.