The healing powers of onion

The onion is a staple ingredient of a whole variety of dishes around the world. It also offers a wealth of health benefits that most people don't know about. Its medicinal qualities have been recognized for centuries and it has been used for its healing powers by a number of cultures and civilizations.


There are many good reasons why onions should be used as part of your diet. Studies on its nutritional value have concluded that they have a number of health benefits and are effective in:

    Lowering your susceptibility to Colon Cancer
    Lowering your susceptibility to Prostrate Cancer
    Lowering your susceptibility to Stomach Cancer
    Helping your sleep patterns and improving your mood
    Providing strength and structure to your skin and hair

Onions can easily be incorporated into a wide variety of dishes. Eating onions just two or three times a week can make a big difference. However, including them in your diet is not the only way you can use onions to positively affect your health. They have a number of medicinal and healing properties that can be used to fight various ailments. We fully expect some of them to surprise you!


Which Properties of an Onion Make It Such an Effective Healer?

Onions contain a compound called Quercetin which has both strong anti-bacterial properties and the ability to fight harmful toxins. It is a powerful antihistamine, anti-inflammatory and can lower cholesterol levels. The densest concentration of Quercetin is found in the outer rings nearest to the bulb's skin as well as the part of the onion that is closest to the root. This goodness is found in both red and white onions, and both types can be used as part of these natural remedies.

1. Onions can Heal Cuts
Onions are effective in the treatment of cuts to the skin. If you nick yourself with a knife cutting one, apply a slice of the onion to the injured area immediately. The raw onion will prevent infection and clean the wound. Next, take a piece of the onion's skin and place it over the top of the wound, sealing it with an adhesive. You will find that the bleeding stops quickly and the wound looks clean. If you have a larger cut or graze, use gauze to fix a piece of onion over the top of it. You can keep the onion on the wound for as long as required, just make sure you change the gauze regularly.

 2. Onions Can Lower a Fever
While it may sound odd, putting an onion in a sock is a surprisingly successful means of lowering your body temperature when you are suffering from a high fever!

Chop up some potatoes and slice an onion in half. Put one half of the onion into one sock, and the other half into the other sock (and add some potato slices in each of the socks as well). Next, put the socks on your feet - ensure that the mixture is pressed against your soles. You should find that your temperature lowers in a relatively short time.
 
3. Onions Can Cure an Earache and Help Remove Wax
An onion's anti-inflammatory properties make it a powerful defense against earache and it can also be used to soften ear wax, making the wax easier to remove. If you are suffering from an earache, chop up an onion, take the inner part (that is the hard section at the 'heart' of the onion) and place it in your ear for remedial relief. You will achieve best results by implementing the procedure shortly before you got to sleep. If you are someone who suffers from regular, excessive wax build-up, then you might want to perform this trick regularly.

4. Onions can Fight the Common Cold
One of the oldest recognized uses of an onion is its employment as a weapon to fight the common cold. If you feel you are developing the tell-tale signs of a coming cold (sniffles, sore throat etc) then raid your cupboard for an onion. It is most effective when eaten raw, and you should try and eat a whole one (perhaps chop it up and mix it in a salad to make it more palatable). Alternatively, boil the onion and use it alongside ginger and honey to make a tea. It will raise your defenses and help you fight off the cold.

5. Onions Can Sooth Burns
Onions are incredibly effective in soothing small burns and the recipe for doing so could not be simpler. If you have burnt yourself in the kitchen or garage, simply take half a chopped onion and apply it directly to the wound. Hold it in place for a few minutes and the pain should quickly start to ease.

For further relief, whip up two or three egg whites in a bowl and use them to cover the affected area. Hold the mixture in place using a breathable bandage for a natural, protective layer that will quicken your recovery.

6. Onions can Provide Cough Relief
The use of onions as part of a cheap, effective cough remedy is another practice which dates back centuries. It is best employed with a few other basic ingredients and there are a couple of things you can try.
Firstly, peel a red or white onion, and cut it into large slices. Layer the slices in a sealable jar and place brown sugar on top. Close the lid of the jar and let it sit for some time (around 6 hours is optimum). A syrup will form in the jar. Take a spoonful of the syrup as regularly as needed. The brown sugar makes the syrup more palatable and the resulting mixture does not taste too bad. Re-make the syrup every couple of days, replacing the old mixture with the new.
If you want an alternative, pour honey over the sliced onion instead of the brown sugar (use both if you have a particularly sweet tooth). Add a sprinkling of grated garlic for an extra health boost. 

7. Onions Can Remove Eye Irritation
An onion's ability to remove eye irritants is derived from its most widely known feature - its ability to make our eyes water when chopped. This is a great property if you need to flush out an unwanted bit of dirt, a pesky fly or any other small irritant before it turns your whole eye red. Simply chop an onion and let nature takes its course! Make sure you don't touch your eye after chopping the onion though - that will add to your pain. Wash your hands thoroughly before you do so.

8. Onions Can Fight Insect Stings
Here is where the antihistamine properties of an onion come in handy. If you got stung by a bee or wasp, then a bit of crushed or grated onion applied directly to the skin can be extremely beneficial for pain relief.

The antihistamine will prevent an allergic reaction while the anti-inflammatory qualities of the onion will reduce any associated swelling. Keep the onion in place until the pain has subsided by using a breathable bandage that you should replace regularly.

this is only for your information, kindly consult your doctor for medications, exercises and so on.

for recipes, you're free to view my recipe blog-
 https:// gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

AGEING PROCESS OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY !

How Different Parts Of Our Body Start Ageing At Different Times

 

 

 

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young."

Henry Ford

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians
have revealed
the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming
being the
brain and the lungs.


Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the Daily
Mail, the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle with

time.


*BRAIN *- 

Starts raging at 20.
As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease.
We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s, this number starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day,affecting memory, co-ordination and brain function.*

*GUT* -

Starts ageing at 55.
A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria.
But levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55,
particularly in the large intestine, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts Medical School in London . As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk
of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from
the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine slows down..

 *
*BREASTS* - 

Start ageing at 35.

BY their mid-30s, woman's breasts start losing tissue and fat,
reducing in size and its fullness.
Sagging starts at 40 and the areola (the area surrounding the nipple)
can shrinks considerably.*

*BLADDER* -

 Starts ageing at 65.
Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65.
Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause,
declining oestrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through
which urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person
- about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old....*

*LUNGS* 

- Start ageing at 20.
Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20.
By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness.

This is partly because the muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.*

*VOICE* -

 Starts ageing at 65.
Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in
the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and
quality of the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch,
whereas a man's might become thinner and higher.*

*EYES* 

- Start ageing at 40.
Glasses are the norm for many over-40s
as failing eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness,
affecting our ability to see objects up close.*

*HEART* -

 Starts ageing at 40.
The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older.
This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or
become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries
- caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is
then reduced, resulting in painful angina.
Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack.*

*LIVER*

 - Starts ageing at 70.
This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the ageing process.*

*KIDNEYS *

- Starts ageing at 50.
With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste
from the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.*

*PROSTATE* -

 Starts ageing at 50.
The prostate often becomes enlarged
with age,leading to problems such as increased need to urinate,
says Professor Roger Kirby,
director of the Prostate Centre in London . This is known as benign
prosthetichyperplasia and affects half of men over 50,
but rarely those under 40.
It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the
male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells
in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut,
but the condition can increase this to the size of a tangerine.*

*BONES*

 -Start ageing at 35.
'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts
and replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts -
a process called bone turnover, explains Robert Moots,
a professor of rheumatology at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool . Children bone growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely.

In adults, this can take ten years.
Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss
begins as part of the natural ageing process.*

*TEETH* -

 Start ageing at 40.
As we age, we produce less saliva,
which washes away bacteria, so teeth
and gum are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gum - when tissue is lost
from gums around the teeth
- is common in adults over 40.*

*MUSCLES*

 - Start ageing at 30.
Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process
which is well balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30,
breakdown is greater than build up,
explains Professor Robert Moots.
Once adults reach 40,
they start to lose between 0.5 and
2 per cent of their muscle each year.

Regular exercise can help prevent this.*

*HEARING* -

 Starts ageing by mid-50s.
More than half of the people over 60 lose hearing because of their age,
according to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.*

*SKIN* -

Starts ageing by mid-20s.
The skin starts to age naturally
in your mid-20s.*

*TASTE AND SMELL*

- Start ageing at 60.
We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue.
This number can halve later in life.
After we turn 60, taste and smell
gradually decline, partly as a result of
the normal aging process.*

*FERTILITY* 

- Starts ageing at 35.
Female fertility begins to decline after 35,
as the number and quality of eggs
in the ovaries start to fall.
The lining of the womb may
become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilized egg to take, and also creating an environment hostile to sperm.*

*HAIR*

- Starts ageing at 30.
Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s.
Hair is made in tiny pouches just under the skin's surface, known as
follicles.
A hair normally grows from each follicle
for about three years, is then shed,
and a new hair grows.
Most people will have some Grey hair
by the age of 35. When we are young,
our hair is colored by the pigments
produced by cells in the
hair follicle known asmelanocytes.

 

Dr. Venugopal S. Reddy MD, MRCP
Physician & Life Skills Coach

New York, USA

Urine jet can indicate prostate problems

The force and shape of one's urine jet could show up whether one has prostate problems, a British study says. Researchers  have discovered that deviation from the characteristic arc-shape of your urine jet could indicate problems with its flow and in turn, the prostate.

A material scientist, explained: "We found there was an excellent correlation between the shape of the urine stream and the urine flow rate."

The prostate is a small, doughnut-shaped gland directly under the bladder and surrounds the urethra (tube that clears urine from the body). It grows as men age, and can start to compress and narrow the urethra.

The bladder then has to work harder to empty, and as a result men have difficulty passing urine. This lack of flow could also affect the shape of a man's urine stream. Researchers found there was an "excellent correlation between the shape of the urine stream and the urine flow rate".

The new research is the first study to analyse the specific pattern a man's urine makes and whether it could be used to detect prostate problems.

Medical engineers used 60 healthy volunteers and 60 patients to test whether self-measurement of the shape of the urine stream could be used to predict maximum urine flow rate.

They found the men were able to self-evaluate their arcs to determine whether their flow rates were indicative of some kind of urinary problem such as those associated with prostate enlargement.

Prostate Cancer UK - estimates that 40 percent of men over the age of 50 and 75 per cent of men in their 70s have urinary symptoms that may be caused by an enlarged prostate.

Goodness of Pumpkin, cucumber, melon seeds

all these seeds are good sources of protein & fiber, They're valuable sources of Vitamin E & B-complex. Pumpkin seeds are rich in panagamic acid, an antioxidant. These seeds are useful in stimulating 'anti stress' hormones & fighting fatigue. They also boost immunity, lower cholesterol, prevent arthritis & reduce food cravings. Pumpkin seeds are believed to positively influence prostrate health.

Diabetes & prostrate

Men with chronic high blood sugar and those who are obese are at elevated risk of suffering from prostate enlargement, according to one study. The study was conducted by University of California researchers and published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Researchers studied more than 400 adult males between the ages of 27-84, finding the overall rate of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) to be 22% on average. However, the rate of prostate enlargement among only those patients with high blood pressure was three times higher. Obese patients, meanwhile, suffered a 3.5 times higher risk of BPH than their peers. Chronic high blood sugar is a known precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes.