Know Your Onions!

Onion, often being called “the king of vegetables” because of its pungent taste, is a member of the lily family. Onion is famous for its numerous health benefits and its ability to fight against various types of diseases.

Never mind the tears they bring, current researches strongly suggest the consumption of at least one allium vegetable, such as onion, in our meal every day. Allium vegetables, such as garlic and onion, have high amounts of beneficial sulfur compounds that basically give them their distinctive flavor and aroma.

Similar to garlic, onion is known for its effectiveness in treating variety of cardiovascular ailments, infections, inflammations, insomnia and pains. It is also a powerful substance in regulating the blood sugar and reducing the risk of gastric ulcers and cancers.

Nutrients available in onion include vitamin C, fiber, molybdenum, manganese, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and tryptophan.

From an energetic point of view, onion is rich in orange and red pranas, which besides its physical nutrients, is the reason behind most of its health benefits.

Orange prana is basically a cleansing prana. It has expelling and eliminating effects. Orange prana is also diuretic and anti-constipation. It can be used to cleanse the body from toxins, dirty congested energies and infections. Red prana on the other hand is activating, warming and strengthening.

In traditional herbal medicine, onion is considered a “hot and dry” food and it was commonly used to treat gas pain, constipation, heart ailments, kidney stones, skin wrinkles and lines, respiratory infections and insect bites. Because of its diuretic properties, onion was also used in treating urinary ailments. It was also considered helpful in opening the obstructed arteries and reducing cholesterol level.

Furthermore traditionally it was believed that onion is aphrodisiac. Therefore its intake was not allowed for certain groups of spiritual practitioners.

Overtaking onion might create complications especially for people with loose bowel movement, vomiting and pregnant women. In general it is recommended to add onion to our daily diet in moderation for maximum benefit.

In general onion helps in:

1. Improving the Cardiovascular System – Researches done on animals and humans, show that the sulfur content of onions can work as an anti-clotting substance and therefore can help to prevent the unwanted clumping of platelets of the blood. In fact the orange prana in onions generally has the great cleansing and de-congesting ability that can create anti-clotting properties, while the red prana creates a strengthening effect.

2. Preventing Heart Attack – Because of anti blood-clotting properties, thinning the blood, lowering the blood cholesterol and the blood pressure, onion is considered a powerful vegetable in treating heart ailments such as coronary artery disease, and preventing heart attacks. Multiple studies prove that onion is indeed helpful in providing protection for the heart and blood vessels when consumed in a diet full of other vegetables and fruits.

The orange prana in this case also helps in cleansing the blood vessels and arteries from congested energies that in the long run creates obstruction.

Because of its helpfulness in treating heart ailments, Dr. Victor Gurewich of Harvard, advises all his patients with coronary artery disease to include onion in their daily diet.

3. Cleansing the Body and Purifying the Blood – Because of its abundance in orange prana, onion is helpful in cleansing the body in general and the internal organs, as well as purifying the blood. Therefore onion intake is considered beneficial in treating a wide of range of ailments such as asthma, respiratory infections, inflammations and gastrointestinal ailments.

4. Treating Infections and Inflammations – Onion can fight infections such as Escherichia coli, salmonella, tuberculosis and urinary tract infections. Yet again because of its orange prana, it is considered a good remedy to cleanse the body from various types of infections. The anti-inflammatory agents in onion can help in improving ailments such as arthritis and gout.

5. Improving the Immune System – Vitamin C which is available in onion, improves the body’s immunity level and defense mechanism. The pungency of onion increases blood circulation and therefore makes us sweat; orange prana also when spread in the aura causes sweating. Sweating not only removes the toxins and used up energies from the body, which improves the immune system, but also reduces the body temperature to fight fever. Therefore onion is good for fever, flu and cold. Just bare this in mind that too much onion in case of gastrointestinal infection and the fever caused by it, is not  advisable. Its red prana strengthens the body.

6. Cancer Protection – Onions have been shown successful in lowering the risk of several cancers when taken in moderation, including ovarian cancer, laryngeal cancer and colorectal cancer. It is believed that a powerful compound in onions called quercetin, is one of the main reasons behind its cancer fighting qualities. Furthermore in some researches done on lab animals, organosulfur compounds of onions have shown effective in preventing cancer.

In addition, shallot also has shown effective against leukemia in mice.

7. Regulating Blood Sugar – Studies on lab animals including rats, show that onions can balance the blood sugar level. Onions contain chromium that can work to improve the cell’s response to insulin and therefore assist in regulating the blood sugar. Therefore onion is useful in fighting against type-2 diabetes. In addition to limiting the intake of fats and sugars, including onion to the diet can help reduce the risk of diabetes.

8. Treating Respiratory Ailments – Onion is helpful in treating a wide range of respiratory ailments such as flu, common cold, asthma and tuberculosis. In traditional herbal treatment it is recommended to mix an equal amounts of onion juice and honey and take 3-4 teaspoons daily. It helps to liquefy mucus and reverent its further formation.

Vitamin C, red and orange pranas in onion, basically help to strengthen the immune system and cleanse the body from toxins.

9. Regulating the Cholesterol Level and Blood Pressure – Raw onions encourage the production of HDL cholesterol, which in return keeps the heart healthy.

Sulfur compounds in onions can lower the cholesterol and triglycerides levels and also improve cell membrane function in red blood cells. Whether taken raw or cooked, onions also lower the blood pressure. They also helps to thin the blood and dissolve blood clots and clear the blood of unhealthy fats that are the results of disintegrating, expelling and eliminating effects of the orange prana.

10. Reducing the Risk of Gastric Ulcer – Onions, due to the cleansing property of orange prana, sweeps away free radicals, thereby reducing the risk of developing gastric ulcers.

Onions furthermore are used in treating digestion problems and constipation.

11. Treating Sexual Debility – Traditionally onion was believed to be aphrodisiac. It basically stands second to garlic. Therefore onions, can be used to increase sexual potency and that is because of their red prana content.

12. Improving Urinary Ailments – Orange prana in onion has diuretic properties and therefore can help counter fluid retention and urinary gravel.

Although most of the facts mentioned above have scientific reasons behind them, these qualities are either directly or indirectly related to the qualities of orange prana that is abundantly available in onion. The quality of all color pranas and their effects on the human body have been completely explained in Advanced Pranic Healing by Master Choa Kok Sui.

References

1. Master Choa Kok Sui. (1992). Advanced Pranic Healing. World Pranic Healing Foundation.
2. Sorour Aldin, M. (1971). The Great Medicine. Ataei Publications.
3. VegetableExpert. (2007). All About Allium Vegetables. Retrieved from The Vegetarian Site: http://www.thevegetariansite.com/health_allium.htm
4. Foundation, T. G. (2001). Onions. Retrieved from The World’s Healthiest Foods: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=45
5. Krishan, S. (2012). 8 Great Benefits of Onions. Retrieved from Care to Make a Difference: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-great-reasons-to-eat-more-onions.html
6. Health Benefits of Onions. (2010). Retrieved from Foods Healing Power: http://www.foods-healing-power.com/health-benefits-of-onions.html