Anyone tried an onion?

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1/3/13 11:33 A

no

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1/3/13 11:31 A

@EthelMerz: LOL! That reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw once, on the truck of a guy who grows rice in our area. The sticker said, "Potatoes make you fat. Eat more rice."


I did go ahead and try this out... and all I got was two dried-out half-onions.

Then I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. NOW, I'm feeling much better!

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12/19/12 10:57 P

Wow, I've never heard of that!

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12/19/12 9:38 P

This myth was begun by the "Onion Growers of America".............;)

We eat onions every day, but, for clearing out the sinuses, go find a skunk and breathe that in, good for people with asthma, too.

What the heck, try em all out, cheaper than a doctor.

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12/19/12 9:28 P

I've tried onions - on my salads!

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12/19/12 2:57 P

I think there can be health benefits to eating onions but don't believe the absorb toxins from the air if you leave raw cut onions around your home or put them on your feet.

I could understand that a very strong smelling raw onion, garlic or pepper might help open your sinuses and that would help you feel better but I imagine eating them is more beneficial. In college a friend swore by eating extremely spicy chili whenever she had a cold and I imagine it was the same effect.

www.livestrong.com/article/443671-foods-th
at-open-up-the-sinuses/

I don't do anything particularly special to keep healthy. I wash my hands with ordinary soap and water throughout the day. I get plenty of rest. I try to eat healthy foods. Dh, dd and I rarely get sick and when we do we get over it pretty quickly.

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12/19/12 2:57 P

I work with a lady who swears by this - she puts an uncut onion in her office, in her boss' office and around her home; she is rarely ever sick. I tried it last winter - had one near my desk at work and had several around my home (kitchen, office, bedroom) and neither my husband nor I were sick last year. I haven't done it yet this year and we both had pretty bad colds over Thanksgiving, so I think I'll do it again this year. If it works, great - if it doesn't I'm only out the cost of a few onions! It's better than using all those nasty chemicals in Lysol, hand sanitizer, etc. or taking a toxic flu shot.

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12/19/12 2:19 P

Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a proponent of onions www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-fuhrman-md/gom
bbs_b_996352.html and names onions in his group of "most nutrient-dense, health-promoting foods on the planet....foods you should eat every day, and they should make up a significant proportion of your diet -- these foods can be effective at preventing chronic disease and promoting health and longevity."

I did keep whole uncut onions in various parts of my house last year and did stay free of any flu, colds etc as did my partner. I realize there is no valid scientific proof but what is the harm in keeping onions around?

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12/19/12 1:22 P

"some of the people in the discussion mentioned rubbing onions/garlic on the bottoms of one's feet--one even said that she'd put cut onions against the bottoms of her feet and then put socks on to draw toxins out of her body"

I bet EVERYBODY knows when that person takes their shoes off!

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12/19/12 1:05 P

I love onions and will eat them anyway, raw, cooked, in things, etc.

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12/19/12 1:04 P

I saw that on Facebook. I don't believe it. Especially since they said that cut onions must be discarded and not even stored in the refrigerator. Supposedly they will give you a tummy bug. I store onions all the time and haven't gotten a tummy bug for five years.

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12/19/12 12:54 P

@Luann: Vampires were the first thing I thought of when I heard this--even though it's not garlic, specifically.

@all--I forgot to mention that some of the people in the discussion mentioned rubbing onions/garlic on the bottoms of one's feet--one even said that she'd put cut onions against the bottoms of her feet and then put socks on to draw toxins out of her body. I guess that's similar to the herbal wrap things people can buy to stick to their feet for the same purpose....

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12/19/12 12:41 P

Seems like bunk to me, but I'm a skeptic.

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12/19/12 12:14 P

no

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12/19/12 11:50 A

This discussion reminds me of the tale of putting garlic around your neck to ward off colds, flu and such. I guess wearing garlic around your neck wards off people mainly, so no danger of catching anything from them.


Edited by: RIET69 at: 12/19/2012 (11:50)

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12/19/12 11:24 A

I've never heard of this "cure" before. I had to google search on it. there are many sites that claim this old folk remedy works, but none of them provide any hard evidence. What do I think ? Onions are loaded with vital nutrients and anti-oxidants. So, it seems to me that eating onions would have more health benefits than leaving cut onions around the house to absorb any meandering flu viruses. Eating fresh fruits and veggies, like onions, can help boost the immune system. Which in turn helps keep us from catching colds/flus.

There doesn't seem to be any scientific evidence to prove that onions absorb viruses. From what I read, this use of onions comes from the days when everyone was worried about contracting the H1N1 flu virus.

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12/19/12 10:58 A

I don't cut mine open. I just put one in the rooms and replace every so often. If I was suffering I might cut one in half to speed the process up. Also, One of the members mentioned cooking them, This works too. Just onion and a little oil and cook till translucent. This way you are ingesting the remedy as well as breathing it in.
It does work - just because scientists can't figure out how doesn't make it not true.

This is a fact, I was on chemo a while back and my white blood cell count was plummeting - as expected, but with it went my energy. I was about to have company in town and wanted to enjoy their visit.
I prayed that God show me what to do to turn things around, even if only briefly.
He layed on my heart to FEAST on pineapple!!! Feast I did!
I received my guests with open arms and cooked and cleaned. I was a new woman.
At my next dr visit blood work was done (this is done at every visit during chemo) and my white cell count had skyrocketed!!
The dr can't figure it out. I told her all I did differently was eat pineapple. It doesn't make any sense to her - but that doesn't make it not true!!!

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12/19/12 10:44 A

I wash my hands, do my best to use hand sanitizer after touching any doorknobs in public areas, and spray Lysol in the front area of our office at least once a day during cold & flu season.

when DH is sick, I stay away from him as much as possible and spray Lysol around the house.

I'll get maybe 2 colds a year. I've had the flu at most 3 or 4 times in my life. Eat right, be healthy, wash your hands, and avoid people who are sick as much as possible.

Mythbusters did a really interesting show about this. (on how germs are spread by touch, not anything about onions!)

Edited by: OBIESMOM2 at: 12/19/2012 (10:47)

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12/19/12 10:40 A

"Either way, there are generations of people who have used these things to ward off sickness or other dangers... right?'"

Yeah... like vampires! LOL!
Just as silly....

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12/19/12 10:38 A

The onion doesn't actually cure the cold, it just opens the sinuses because of the strong smell. A sliced jalepeno would do this same trick. It dialates the sinuses and allows them to drain... It makes you feel better!

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12/19/12 10:36 A

Never heard of this before, but that does not mean it's not true. As an Aries, onions are one of my health foods. I love them and use them for almost every dinner I make. I do believe in the power of onions!

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12/19/12 10:34 A

It's hard to stay with the smell of uncooked onion for me. I like well-cooked one. I think exercise, health life style are more important to keep healthy.

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12/19/12 10:21 A

I read discussion last night that was about the use of cut-open onions being used to pull the toxins out of the air and improve health... one person said they used it at their daycare to keep colds from spreading, and others said they used it when one member of the family was sick to keep the others healthy.

Some pointed out that Snopes.com has declared this to be a scam, but others vehemently protested that Snopes isn't right about everything, and that Snopes bases its determination on the fact that there are no scientific studies...

There might not be any easy ways to prove that onions attract toxins or germs, but I thought it was pretty well known that some thing in onions and garlic (I want to say it's the allicin?) helped the immune system somehow.

Either way, there are generations of people who have used these things to ward off sickness or other dangers... right?

I did sleep with an open onion out last night, and I did wake up this morning better able to breathe than I have been in a while... but I'm starting my second full day on antibiotics, too. I put the other half of my onion near my 3-year-old's bed. She seems to have had an improvement with her cough.

Anyone ever tried this before? If it does seem to help, it's a pretty low-cost way of making it through this cold/flu season, right?

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