In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people, there was a Doctor who
visited many farmers to see if he could
help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had
contracted it, and many died.
The doctor came upon one farmer, and to his surprise, everyone in the
household was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was
doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled
onion in a
dish in the rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then). The
doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions
and place it under the microscope. She gave him one, and when he did this,
he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the
bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ.. She said that several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were
many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions
around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must
work... (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around
your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under
your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it
last year, and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better.
If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild
case...Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on
onions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now there is a P.S. to this, for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who
regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with
this most interesting experience about onions:
Thanks for the reminder.. I don't know about the farmer's story...but I do
know that I contracted pneumonia, and needless to say I was very ill...I
came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion. Put one
end on a fork, and then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing
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:
LEFTOVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!
I have used an onion which has been left in the fridge. Sometimes I don't
use a whole one at one time, so I save the other half for later. Now with
this info, I have changed my mind. I will buy smaller onions in the
future. I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products,
makers of mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and
sisters in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.
Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I
learned from a chemist.
The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He's one of the brothers. Ed is
a chemistry expert and is involved in
developing most of the sauce formula. He's even developed sauce formula
for McDonald's.
Keep in mind that Ed 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
that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.
"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but
it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set
at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then
talked
about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on
the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.
Ed says that 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 put it in your refrigerator.
It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit,
that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you
put in 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 it on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions
and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria
faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.
So, how's that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am
going to be very careful about my onions from
now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist
and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.
Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize
onions.
Please remember it is dangerous to cut onions and try to use it to cook
the next day. I t becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and
creates toxic bacteria which 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.
