Myth or Reality? Onions could save your life in a pandemic
In 1919, when the influenza epidemic killed 40 million people in the world, there was a doctor in the US who visited many farmers to help them as much as possible. Many contracted the disease and died. But this doctor came to the house of one of them and to his surprise, the whole family was healthy.
The explanation the doctor received was that the wife had placed unpeeled onions in different rooms of the house. The doctor could not believe what he was hearing and asked to see one of the onions to check it under the microscope. Indeed, he discovered that the influenza virus was attached to the onion, had absorbed it and with it the family had been saved.
There are many similar stories, one of them where the owner of a beauty salon placed several bowls of onions around her business. Neither the employees nor the clients got sick.
Another person spoke of his personal experience of having contracted pneumonia and his condition was serious. This woman heard of a case where someone cut off both ends of an onion and put it in a large jar. Then she placed the jar near the sick person overnight. The next morning the onion was black, covered in germs; it was almost rotten and the patient had improved.
It is a true fact that placing onions and garlic inside the rooms saved the lives of many people during the great plague in Europe years ago, since these vegetables have powerful bactericidal and antiseptic properties and this has been part of popular wisdom.
An interesting fact is that sometimes we have stomach problems and we don’t know what to attribute them to. Perhaps the culprits are the onions since they absorb bacteria and that is why they are so good to prevent us from getting a cold or influenza, that is why we should not eat an onion that, after being cut, was kept in the air in the kitchen . No section of a split onion should remain on the plate, it should be stored in a container or plastic bag and refrigerated.
Can leftover onions be poisonous?
During a visit to a mayonnaise manufacturing company in the US, the person who tells the anecdote narrates that the chemist informed them that the mayonnaise can be stored without refrigeration because the pH is arranged in such a way that bacteria do not survive when it is not refrigerated; and then he went on to say that what sometimes happens when people bring potato salad to picnic and then get sick has nothing to do with the mayonnaise they used but with the onions and potatoes.
He explained that onions are a great magnet for bacteria, especially raw onions. One should never keep a slice of chopped onion unless it is stored in a zip-lock bag and stored in the refrigerator.
In fact, it has already been contaminated by splitting or slicing, and you have to be very careful with those hotdogs you buy at football or baseball games that have raw onions on them.
The chemist said that if you cook leftover onion for a long time it will probably eliminate the ill effects. But if you use leftover sliced onions in a sandwich you may be risking stomach problems. Both the onions and the wet potato, the one used in potato salad, will attract and generate bacteria faster than a commercial mayonnaise by breaking down.
As a good fact: Dogs should never eat onions. Their stomach cannot process it.
Remember that it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it the next day if it has not been stored perfectly. If it is left to air in the kitchen overnight, it will surely be full of bacteria the next day that can cause stomach infections.
