A WORD FOR THE ONION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2272, 27 October 1891, Page 3

A WORD FOR THE ONION.

May 1 »ay a word for the onion 1 — that much despised and so-called vulgar vegetable. It is much under-valued by the people at large, and yet I know (says a physician in Health) vegetables which are more worthy of being frequently V uted, and of being utilised not merely an adjunct to health, but also as an aid to ’he correction of certain diseased conditiins. The onions belong to the lily tribe of plants, and has as its near neighbors he leek, shalot, garlic, and chive. It conUins a certain volative oil of somewhat arid properties, while it also has a large proportion of sulphur in its composithn, with potash and other minerals. I negd hardly remark on the value of poaah as an essential element in the compostion of the blood. To the lack of potah, scurvy is due, and while cruciforou plants (cabbage, cress, and

i the like) are highly valued as antiscorbutics or Scurvy preventers I should say the fresh Spanish onion, stewed or I roasted, would prove a cure for this disease of equal merit. The stewed onion should be far more frequently used as a dinner vegetable; while the pickled onion is also valuable, although I admit it requires a fairly strong digestion for its due assimilation, and on this account possibly, and simply of its being a pickled vegetable. The value of onions in any form, I think, is that they are bloodpurifiers —I use the conventional term here —and contribute in this sense to the purer constitution of the blood, especially by adding potash to that fluid. The sulphur in the onion is also a valuable element, and aids in the preservation of a good complexion. A diet in which stewed onions forms a prominent, or even occasional feature, will tend to remove skin-blotches and to impart a healthy tone to the integument. Regarded from a medical point of view, I recommend the onion to the notice of those who suffer from constipation. It is in itself a valuable medicine in this respect, and will replace the pills and draughts to which sufferers erroneously fly for the relief that is not satisfying, and that in any case, can never be- of. a permanent character. Livertroubles, I find, are much benefited by the free use of stewed onions. I should not like to dogmatise regarding the rationale of the onion cure of bilious troubles ; but I suspect the volatile oil of the onion possesses an action on the liver itself, and possibly its influence on the intestine has also to be taken into account in relieving the liver. A patient tells me that since I recommended him to try onions more frequently as a vegetable he has been able to use cheese as an article of diet, a proceeding which, without onions, would have resulted in his case in a severe bilious attack. Cheese and pickled onions may be a “ vulgar mixture I can only say it is a rational one in its respect of its harmlessness to most people, and in regard to its dietic advantages. I therefore say to people who are well, ‘ Add the onion to your list of dinner vegetables ; ’ and I say to those who are ailing in the matter of liver-ailments and constipation, “ Try the onion, and you may find your troubles to disappear without the aid of drugs at all.”