Though a common vegetable, onions are anything but ordinary. On the contrary, onions are often referred to as the “Queen of Vegetables” and are a nutrition-rich,  therapeutic food for health.

Shu Rong, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner from the UK, brings over 26 years of professional medical experience, including serving as a special physician to the Royal Family of Dubai. She offers a range of therapeutic menus featuring onion recipes, which she generously shares with her clients.

Onions are rich in minerals, sulfides, and antioxidants such as vitamin C, B6, folic acid, cellulose, and potassium, as well as the anti-inflammatory flavonoid quercetin. Onions are antibacterial and diuretic—a function that helps remove excess water and eliminate swelling in the eyes and legs.

A patient of Shu often came down with the flu—with symptoms of sneezing, runny nose, and chills.

After he began onion food therapy, including drinking the juice, his condition improved, and he gradually recovered.

Another one of Shu’s patients was a 90-year-old man with heart disease. A regular eater of pickled onions as appetizers and in salads, he also enjoyed stir-fried onions with meat. His examination showed healthy blood pressure, lipids, and blood sugar levels.

TCM believes that different flavors aid different organs in the human body. Spicy and sour foods aid the liver, while the spleen and stomach benefit from sweet foods. Onions are spicy, bitter, and warm in nature, hence, have the therapeutic effect of treating liver and spleen diseases.

For people with little to no appetite, stir-frying with onions can strengthen the spleen and increase appetite.

Pickling onions in vinegar is also a great way to make a delicious side dish.

How to Make Pickled Onions

In TCM, the presence of mucus suggests an unhealthy spleen. Besides dissolving phlegm, eating onions regularly helps restore the spleen’s overall health and vital function. After metabolizing blood lipids, cholesterol, and other harmful substances, the blood becomes clean, reducing issues related to the “three highs”—high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids.

Trichomoniasis is a parasitic infection, transmitted by sexual activities, that causes vaginal inflammation. Symptoms include:

A Home Remedy for Trichomoniasis Vaginal Infection

Directions:

To use:

Dip a clean cotton ball in the onion and celery mixture until the cotton ball is soaked.

Men can use the same treatment on their genitals.

Roundworm, or ascariasis is a parasite infection in the small intestines.

To use:

Some women may experience unease, dizziness, and anemia during pregnancy and postpartum.

A Home Remedy for Pregnancy Complications:

Home Remedy for Dysentery

It usually takes one to three days to recover from dysentery.

In addition, onions can treat skin wounds, promote healing, and reduce inflammation. Onions also treat colds, improve sleep quality, nourish the intestines, and relieve constipation.

In addition to the above functions, Shu explains that onions have various therapeutic effects in food therapy.

Onion and beef both can strengthen the spleen and stomach.

Meal recommendations:

Traditional Chinese culture and philosophy are rooted in TCM, which contains unique theories such as those about hot and cold to guide its clinical application.

TCM categorizes food into cold, cool, warm, and hot. Warm food can warm the body, while cold food can cool down body temperature.

Since duck is considered cold food, while onions are warm, combining the two can neutralize each other and help balance the body’s yin and yang.

Onion aids and strengthens organs that manage water in the body, such as the kidneys—so dishes with onion and duck can alleviate symptoms in people with chronic nephritis, urination problems, and male reproductive issues.

As the summer approaches, many people enjoy cold dishes. Since most vegetables are cool food, mixing them with warm food such as onions can neutralize their effects, balance the body’s yin and yang, and help prevent diseases.

There are purple, white, and yellow onions. The deeper the color, the more nutritional, and the stronger the taste and spiciness.  Thus, it’s better to choose onions with deeper color.

Onions do not need to be kept in the refrigerator. You can keep them in a cool and ventilated place.

Shu says although the nutritional value may decrease, onion is safe to eat even if it sprouts.

Although onions are delicious and have many medicinal values, there can still be some side effects, and they are not suitable for everyone. Some people may experience:

Since onion is warm food, overeating may add dry heat to the body, which can harm the blood and vessels.

Shu advises paying attention to physical reactions after consuming onion.

People with “heat-type” bodies often experience redness in the face, dryness in the body, bad breath, acne, eye irritations, and discharge, and should avoid eating onions.

In addition, eating onions can aggravate the symptoms of those with skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, urticaria, body odor, and tooth decay. Eating onions may also cause the recurrence of such diseases.

Raw onions taste pungent and eating them leaves behind strong-smelling breath. Shu suggests the following to minimize the lingering effects: