Red onions are better.
Minute For Your Health #35
The darker the colour of a fruit or vegetable the richer it is in health boosting properties.
If you make just one change this year to improve your health then try to eat each colour of the rainbow at least once a week.
And by that I don’t mean skittles or M&Ms, I mean fresh foods like vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, nuts and seeds.
Each colour has different health promoting properties - and to illustrate I thought this week we’d look at the health promoting properties of onions.
The health benefits of onions:
Anti-tumour activity (beneficial for cancer)
Anti-microbial activity (supporting good gut health)
Anti-histamine effects (beneficial for allergic conditions and asthma)
Anti-diabetic effects
The cool thing about onions is that the beneficial compounds which have these health effects (known as antioxidants) don’t seem to be significantly reduced by boiling, blanching, frying and even microwaving.
Why red is better.
As you may have noticed, red is a much richer colour than white. This means there is a rich concentration of certain health promoting antioxidants. Indeed research shows that red onions contain significantly more antioxidants than white onions.
Purple colours indicate a particularly rich content of quercetin, a specific antioxidant. Quercetin is anti-inflammatory, protects from DNA damage, supports optimal immune function and has anti-histamine effects. Red onions have far more of this antioxidant than white onions.
In fairness I should also say though that some studies have found that yellow onions are much richer in nutrients like zinc and magnesium than red onions.
Which takes me back to my other point - eating the rainbow each week is probably one of the best things you could possibly do for your health.
Rainbow Foods Guide:
Below is a link to one of my favourite handouts on the health benefits of different coloured fruits and vegetables (including example foods for each colour).
[I can’t remember where I found this, so I unfortunately can’t point you to the original source.]
Summary:
The richer the colour of a whole food the denser it tends to be in health promoting antioxidants. Different colours indicate different antioxidants, which have specific health promoting properties. Try to eat each colour of the rainbow every week to optimally support your health.
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Links and References:
Shon, M.-Y., Choi, S.-D., Kahng, G.-G., Nam, S.-H. and Sung, N.-J. (2004). Antimutagenic, antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of ethyl acetate extracts from white, yellow and red onions. Food and Chemical Toxicology, [online] 42(4), pp.659–666. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691503003508 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].
Acs.org. (2018). Comparison of the Main Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities in Garlic and White and Red Onions after Treatment Protocols. [online] Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf800038h [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].
Jurgiel-Malecka, G., Gibczynska, M. and Nawrocka-Pezik, M., 2015. Comparison of chemical composition of selected cultivars of white, yellow and red onions. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 21(4), pp.736-741.
Pérez-Gregorio, R.M., García-Falcón, M.S., Simal-Gándara, J., Rodrigues, A.S. and Almeida, D.P.F. (2010). Identification and quantification of flavonoids in traditional cultivars of red and white onions at harvest. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, [online] 23(6), pp.592–598. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157509002634 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].
Gökçe, A.F., Kaya, C., Serçe, S. and Özgen, M. (2010). Effect of scale color on the antioxidant capacity of onions. Scientia Horticulturae, [online] 123(4), pp.431–435. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304423809004919 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].
Lee, E.J., Patil, B.S. and Yoo, K.S. (2015). Antioxidants of 15 onions with white, yellow, and red colors and their relationship with pungency, anthocyanin, and quercetin. LWT - Food Science and Technology, [online] 63(1), pp.108–114. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023643815001814 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2021].
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