Interesting

[darkember]

ONIONS.... Interesting. (worth reading)


Please take time to read this through...very interesting and something worth remembering

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was
this Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat
the flu.
Many of the farmers and their families had contracted the flu and
many had died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and, to his surprise,
all were very healthy.
When the doctor asked the farmer what he was doing
that was different, the wife replied she placed an unpeeled onion in a
dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The
doctor couldn't believe what he heard. He asked the farmer if he could
have one of the onions to place under the microscope. The farmer's wife
gave him an onion and when he placed it under the microscope,
he did find the flu virus in the onion.
It obviously had absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard the following story from my hairdresser.
She said several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the
flu, and also many of her customers. The next year she placed several
bowls, containing onions, around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her
staff got sick.
It must work. Try it and see what happens.
We did it last year and we never took the flu.

Now there is a PS to this:
I sent the information about onions to a friend in Oregon -
a friend who regularly sends material to me on health issues.
She replied with a most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's
story, but I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I
was very ill. I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an
onion; place it in an empty jar; and place the jar next to the sick
patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from
the germs. Sure enough it happened Just like that!
The onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and
garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.
They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note.

Many times when we have stomach problems we don't know what
to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. The reason onions are
so good at preventing us from getting colds, and flu, is that onions
absorb bacteria. This is also the reason we should not eat an onion that
has sat for a time after it's been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise.
Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist..

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz.
During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise.
People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil.
Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said all commercially made mayo is completely safe.
"It doesn't have to be refrigerated.. Although there's no harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary."
He explained the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says when food poisoning is reported; the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?).
Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors.
It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria,especially uncooked onions.
You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.
He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and place it in your refrigerator.
It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open.
And can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put on your hotdogs at the baseball park!).
Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay,
but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're
asking for trouble. In a potato salad both the onions, and the moist potato, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will.

Also, dogs should never eat onions.
Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.
Please remember: it is dangerous to cut an onion and plan to cook it the next day.
The onion becomes highly poisonous, even after a single night, and creates toxic bacteria.
These bacteria may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and
even food poisoning.


Please pass this on to all you love and care about.

[Wicky]

One of the first things they taught in Nursing was Ignaz Semmelweis and his contribution as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures - nothing about onions!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis


http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/onion.asp

Although influenza is no longer the unchecked grim reaper of years past (in 1918 it killed half a million Americans and twenty to forty million folks worldwide), it continues to present a very real danger even in these more modern times. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), millions of people in the United States — about 10% to 20% of U.S. residents — will get the flu each year. Influenza also costs Americans $10 billion annually in lost wages and medical expenses. Worst of all, every year about 36,000 people in the United States die from it, and 114,000 have to be admitted to the hospital because of it. The flu is not just a week of feeling lousy and missing work; it is a disease that can, has, and does kill.

The outbreak of H1N1 (swine) flu has brought home even to those who don't normally ponder such matters the danger posed by contagions dismissively regarded in other years as mere seasonal flu, maladies that are thought of as wholly unpleasant but not life threatening. In 2009, people are far more aware of the sniffles and sneezes around them. Also, unlike in other years, more folks are actively looking for ways to avoid catching the flu.

In addition to the good advice about washing one's hands frequently and avoiding the company of those who are obviously under the weather, folks looking to sidestep being felled by the flu are subject to toutings of a variety of folk remedies, each of which is presented as a surefire and deadly preventive. The missive quoted above about onions absorbing the virus is one such offering.

There's nothing magical about peeled or cut onions — they don't act as sponges that soak up whatever viruses or other nasty microbes are in their immediate vicinity. However, the belief that they would act in this fashion predates the 2009 flu outbreak by at least 100 years. Long-standing superstition asserts that keeping raw onions in the house (either cut or whole; different folks swear by different methods) will draw illness-causing germs from the air, thereby rendering the home free of contamination.



http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medica ... nd_flu.htm

[BigVeeGrin]

Pish posh tosh I'm afraid. No evidence.

Onions, garlic etc may have mild antibacterial benefits, but like anything, a healthy diet all round will keep you pretty good. Go out on a bender on a cold winter night, and chances are you'll get a cold or something because your immune system is suppressed by alchohol. Whether you have an onion in tow or not!

Eat loads of garlic - no one will come near you if you stink, so the chances of getting a cold are well reduced. But it's not the garlic!

Chillies another one - antibiotic but not enough to matter much. Rot your brain stem as well.

And if the onion theory is right, how come so many Frenchies died way back? They wear the things as a necklace

[Ckennedy]

And if the onion theory is right, how come so many Frenchies died way back? They wear the things as a necklace

No amount of onions or garlic can solve the problems caused by eating frogs legs and snails

[lumpyv]

"LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS"

no they,re not.

[VTRDark]

Garlic is good for you though. Eat loads of garlic in your food or swallow a clove a day and it helps keep your blood healthy. I agree a lot of stuff is just myths but just because something is not scientifically proven does not mean that it don't work. It was once thought of in this country that acupuncture did not work, now the medical industry acknowledge the benefits from it.

(:-})

[MacV2]

Garlic is good for you though. Eat loads of garlic in your food or swallow a clove a day and it helps keep your blood healthy. I agree a lot of stuff is just myths but just because something is not scientifically proven does not mean that it don't work. It was once thought of in this country that acupuncture did not work, now the medical industry acknowledge the benefits from it.

(:-})

Don't forget that it also keeps vampires at bay !

The garlic that is not the acupuncture.

Count Macula of Grainsyvania

[Furrybiker]

Further to the contagion discussion, many years ago I used to see a very little old lady about who would always have a Potters catarrh pastille in her mouth through the winter.

She never had a cold, but then no one got within 10 feet of her either!

If you have never tried a Potters catarrh pastille they are an acquired taste, they used to contain creosote! They were so flavourful I used to win bets that people couldn't suck a whole one.

[Stratman]

Sorry, but what a load of old baldrocks

[tasum]

Sorry, but what a load of old baldrocks

are these any good at preventing a cold or flu then?

we eat a lot of raw onion in our diet (asian) and plenty of garlic. seems to keep us reasonably healthy, but we don't got too many visitors.....

the chickens have garlic in their water which seems to help them, along with homemade poultry spice which is basically tumeric, cumin, coriander, etc.

tumeric has antiseptic and allegedly antibiotic qualities and has been used as a medicine for centuries. there's also the healing ability of honey which is great on cuts and grazes and toast

i eat a lot of poisonous onions (cut and kept) and so far nothing too nasty has happened to me, but i am a bit short for my height, could this be related?

[MacV2]

i am a bit short for my height, could this be related?

I doubt it, but I do recommend that from now on you don't stand in any holes & carry a small step ladder at all times.

Dr Mac.

[VTRDark]

tumeric has antiseptic and allegedly antibiotic qualities

I was going to say tumeric is supposed to have anti cancer qualities. Well probably not exactly anti cancerous but probably keeps the free radicals at bay. Olive oils is another one, very good for you. Big vee hit the nail on the head

Onions, garlic etc may have mild antibacterial benefits, but like anything, a healthy diet all round will keep you pretty good.

Some nice mushrooms out there too, they have medicinal properties.

(:-})

[AMCQ46]

what about Onion Garvy? is that good for you?

[lloydie]

yum cheese and onion butty with brown sauce lightly grilled

[VTRDark]

Onion Garvy?

Is that specific to the Midlands. Something imported maybe. Or have you gone all posh on us

Yah yah.

(:-})