ONIONS. Not for cooking only.

From My InBox:


>> ONIONS! I had never heard this!!!
>> PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT
>>
>> In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor
>> that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the
>> flu...
>> Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.
>>
>> The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone 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. 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. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year
>> and we never got the flu.
>>
>> 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 contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very
>> ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an
>> onion put it into an empty jar, and place 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. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we
>> don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame.
>> Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us
>> from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an
>> onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.
>>
>> LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS
>>
>> I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers
>> of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to
>> share what I learned from a chemist.
>>
>> Ed, who was our tour guide, 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 summer 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 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.
>>
>> Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.
>>
>> Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to
>> cook the next day, it 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.