Feeling old? Eat more onions, red grapes

Newsflash

Your Health

Feeling old? Eat more onions, red grapes

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Onion is a great source of Vitamins C and B6, biotin, chromium, calcium and dietary fibre. Alongside these is the resveratrol in red alt grapes which has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, as well as the ability to prevent heart disease. These fruits and vegetables are exactly what experts say elderly people need to live an optimal life. Ruth Olurounbi brings the report.

AS people get older, their bodies begin to shut down on them, unlike at the time they were younger, when their bodies were resilient and can bounce back easily from illnesses and injuries. As the body begins to age, the law of diminishing returns begins to set in. Certain things begin to happen to parts of the body, which consequently slow people down and make them feel less than optimal.

To forestall these, experts have said the moment people start to notice that their skin are beginning to form creases and wrinkles, or their digestive and memory functions are not working as well as they used to, then they should consume more of onions and red grapes.

Studies have shown that vegetables like onions are a very good source of Vitamins B6 and C, chromium, biotin, and dietary fibre. They are also a good source of folic acid and vitamins B1 and K. And as the National Agricultural Library-USDA puts it, “the health benefits provided by onions are mostly due to their content of several organic sulphur compounds. Like garlic, onions also have the enzyme alliinase (released when an onion is cut or crushed).”

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) also said that other nutrients found in onions include flavonoids (primarily quercetin which inhibits tumour growth and helps to keep colon cancer at bay), phenolic acids (such as ellagic, caffeic, sinapic, and p-coumaric), pectin, sterols, saponins, and volatile oils. In addition, onions contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1 and K, just as a 100 gramme serving of onions provides 44 calories, mostly as complex carbohydrate, with 1.4 grammes of fibre.

Studies have also shown that onion is the “richest dietary source of quercitin, a potent antioxidant (also in shallots, yellow and red onions only but not in white onions), which is specifically linked to inhibiting human stomach cancer,” a published article said, while adding that quercitin in onions “thins the blood, lowers cholesterol, raises good-type HDL cholesterol (preferred dose: half a raw onion a day), wards off blood clots, fight asthma, chronic bronchitis, hay fever, diabetes, atherosclerosis and infections.”

What’s more, the quercitin in onions also contains anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral properties which are thought to have diverse anti-cancer clout. Onions contain a variety of organic sulphur compounds that provide health benefits. Onions have also been said to have sulphur-containing amino acids which are found as well as in garlic and eggs. These specific amino acids, called methionine and cystine are very good at detoxifying the body from heavy metals, experts have said.

Dr Yemi Faleye, the director of Natural Wellness Centre, Lagos, Lagos State, said that these amino acids help to get rid of mercury, cadmium and lead in the body. He added that the Vitamin C contained in onions is excellent at detoxifying the body and it is effective in removing lead, arsenic and cadmium; and as such, it is advisable that everyone, especially the elderly, increase their consumption of onions because they help the body to get rid of these harmful metals.

Due to onion’s ability to help to keep the blood clot free, Dr Victor Gurewich, a cardiologist at Harvard University, has also said that people with coronary heart diseases should eat onions daily. Additionally, onions have been observed to have properties which help to prevent cancer in the stomach. Dr Faleye also said the antioxidants in this vegetable can protect against cancer by reducing the DNA damage in cells caused by free radicals.

He explained that onions and its relatives such as garlic and spring onions are rich in organosulfur compounds shown to help prevent cancer in laboratory animals.

Onions have also been shown to have a significant blood sugar-lowering action, even comparable to some prescription drugs, experts have submitted. Various researchers have concluded that the active compound responsible for lowering glucose in the body works by competing with insulin for breakdown sites in the pancreas, thereby increasing the life span of insulin.

And, according a dietician, Dr Modupe Adebayo, it is advisable for diabetics, especially the older ones to eat more of onions as studies have shown that they have a significant effect in lowering blood sugar levels, as the vegetable contains chromium, which is a mineral that helps cells respond to insulin, ultimately assisting with blood glucose control.

She added that in some cases, onions have been used to treat asthma. “Their action in asthma is mostly due to their ability to inhibit the production of compounds that cause the bronchial muscle to spasm, which then causes the muscle to relax,” the Encyclopedia of Healing Foods also said, while also saying that like garlic, onions and onion extracts decrease blood lipid levels, prevent clot formation, and lower blood pressure.

Additionally, some studies have shown that a newly identified compound in onion may begin to rival prescription drugs inhibiting bone loss in menopausal women. Green onions, because of their bright green tops, provide a wealth of vitamin A, the National Agricultural Library-USDA added.

Also, fruits such as red grapes have been found to be rich in anti-ageing properties. These properties, experts said are great that inhibiting age-related diseases. According to CDC, red grape contains big amounts of flavonoids, one of the most important health benefits of the fruit. Scientists have recently discovered that flavonoids are responsible for making grapes one of the most important weapons to fight back against age and disease.

According to Dr Kemi Ashaolu, a food scientist based in the United States of America, because red grapes contain two different types of flavonoids – resveratrol and quercitin, those who eat them stand a greater chance at limiting age-related diseases and illness, which include cancer and ulcer. She added that results from several scientific studies of resveratrol and quercitin have confirmed the two as essential anti-aging and anti-disease nutrients.

Resveratrol has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, as well as the ability to prevent heart disease, just as quercitin has been shown not only to be a powerful antioxidant, but also acts as a natural antihistamine. Eating red grapes on a regular basis, therefore helps to prevent common indoor and outdoor allergies.

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (2) Add Comment