newjerseynewsroom.com

BY CAROL ABAYA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The onions — not the chicken — in chicken soup helps heal colds andthe flu in the winter.

In fact, onions are more beneficial to health (in my opinion) than many drugs that are heavily advertised this time of year and can have severe negative side effects.

Traditionally chicken soup is given to those with colds or the flu or even an upset stomach. But does it really work? Maybe. Maybe not.My grandfather was a chicken farmer, so I grew up on chicken soup. But I've since learned that chicken soup only has healing properties if it has been made from the chicken's breast bone. The breastbone has some anti-inflammatory elements. But usually, chicken soup is made from cut up pieces of chicken.

However, if raw onions are used to make the soup, then the onion's anti-inflammatory elements come into play. Without raw onions, chicken soup just warms you up and soothes you psychologically.

Onions decrease inflammation in the sinuses, throat and lungs. Widely used for thousands of years in China and hundreds of years ago in colonial times, onions have proved to provide relief in the treatment of coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis from a cold as well as allergy induced bronchitis in asthma patients.. They have also been used to treat angina and bacterial infections. Medical studies have shown that onions

• have antibacterial properties
• help the body fight infections
• are an antioxidant
• have anti-inflammatory properties
• help lower blood pressure
• diminish the formation of blood clots
• reduce the occurrence of stomach cancer
• help control blood sugar levels in diabetics

Onions are so beneficial because of their sulfur properties: thiosulfinates, sulfides, and other sulfur compounds. There are many stories about onions and their benefits, primarily because of their active sulfur compounds.

I can remember when sulfur was first developed as an antibiotic in the 1940s. The plant was near my aunt's house, and when the wind was blowing a certain way the smell was awful. We always called ahead of time to see how the wind was blowing before we visited.

Remember the old time traveling medicine men? They made fortunes by selling medicine based on onions. Remember that movie "Holes" several years back? I won't go into details here, but the granddaughter of a traveling medicine man had young people dig hundreds of holes to find the chest of gold buried by her grandfather. The chest was supposedly buried near a long-dried up lake which had had an island upon which a special kind of onion grew. The grandfather had made medicines using onions and lots of money.

Simple Recipes:

Eat a small slice of a raw onion. No "recipe" needed. Within 30 to 60 seconds, pressure in stuffed sinuses is relieved. Guaranteed!

Onion tea: Slice a large raw onion and boil it in a quart of water. Drink a hot cup of the tea every few hours. Taste is like an herbal tea, and honey can be added to make the tea tastier.

Chicken soup: Any recipe using raw onions and the breastbone of a chicken.