(Get it? As in, “meets the eye with a stinging burn that makes you dance and cry.”) Onions are one of the cheapest, most underestimated, and best medicines you can have in your home medicine kit. They are gentler in action than their cousin garlic, but share many of the same medicinal properties.
Onions and garlic are both alliums, and are members of the lily family. Other closely related plants are leeks, shallots, and chives. All of these plants give off a characteristic odor, which comes from a reaction between an enzyme called alliinase and certain amino acids. Onions are very easy and forgiving when grown in the garden, and I would encourage you to grow a few in a container, if not a whole bed or row.
Onions are mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the foods the Israelites pined for whilst wandering in the wilderness. The Egyptians offered them to their gods and buried them with their dead, since the many layers of onions reminded them of eternal progression. They have been used for thousands of years in Chinese and Indian medicine, and are appreciated all around the world for culinary and medicinal use.
As the family herbalist and mother of seven, I make sure to never be caught without onions in the kitchen. They are probably the one thing I reach for more than anything else when contagion is afoot. I have used them for coughs, colds, flu, pneumonia, earaches, and to stimulate hair growth. The other day I had a bad headache, but remembered too late that crushed onions applied to the head are supposed to cure headaches in two hours. I will remember next time!
At the first signs of a cold or flu, an onion can be cut into slices roughly 1/3 inch thick, and taped to the bottom of the foot just before retiring. I usually lay a gauze pad on top and use skin tape to secure. A loose-fitting sock can be worn to keep the area warm.
There are a couple of methods to using onions for an earache. One is to cut an onion in half, then roast one of the halves until it is soft and slimy. Wait for it to cool to a comfortable temperature, then strap it to the ear using gauze or an elastic bandage. The heat of the onion feels very soothing, and usually the earache is gone by morning. Another less messy method is to slice an onion, remove the tiny inner ring, and place carefully in the ear. A bit of cotton can be placed in the ear to act as a plug, preventing the onion from slipping out during the night. A hot water bottle would be held up to the ear to provide warmth.
For pneumonia for other lung congestion, chop up an onion and low heat in a frying pan with oil of your choice, until the pieces are translucent and slimy. Once cooled, apply this mass to the chest, covering with a cotton cloth and a hot water bottle or heating pad. Try to keep it warm for as long as possible.
A simple yet effective cough syrup can be made by chopping up two large onions, placing them in a saucepan, and covering with good quality honey. This will be heated on medium low for two hours, or until the honey is runny and has the taste of onions. This will bring up stubborn phlegm and give fairly quick relief. Never use aluminum or chipped enamelware for this.
Onions have the magical ability to act as a virus sponge, when chopped, placed in a small bowl, and placed in the bedroom of anyone who is ill. They will absorb viruses from the air and can then be discarded the next day, being replaced with a new onion. You should never eat onions that have been cut and left to sit out for this reason.
An easy fix for clogged tear ducts, or to clean out build-up in the eyes, is to simply chop an onion or two, with your head bent over the cutting board. After you get done holding your eyes and saying, “Ow! ow! ow!” for a couple of minutes, your eyesight will be nice and bright!
Other uses for onions that I have not tried personally are as follows: poulticed for stubbed toes, jammed fingers, insect stings, burns, scalds, ulcers, boils, arthritis, and calluses. And last but not least, hemorrhoids (it’s supposed to clear them up in two days).
I could go on and on about the onion’s ability to reduce cholesterol and high blood sugar, lower high blood pressure, help with low libido, and fight cancer, but suffice it to say that this humble vegetable should be included frequently in our diets, especially in winter, to keep the body running at its best.
Our Hot Winter Tonic includes onion juice, along with garlic, super hot peppers, turmeric, mugwort, yarrow, and sage.
