Onion

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What onions offer, and the catches

EVIDENCEGUIDE 1

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Cutting an onion makes you cry because, once it is cut, a dedicated enzyme turns its sulfur compounds into a tear-inducing molecule. The chapter on why cutting onions makes you cry walks through that chain of reactions. Onion also carries something with two faces: its fructans feed gut bacteria, and they also make people with irritable bowel syndrome () bloated.

Onion (Allium cepa) is in the same allium family as garlic and is also a bulb made of wrapped layers. It is one of the most-eaten vegetables in the world, often not the star of a dish but the thing that sets its base flavor.

It is among the richest dietary sources of flavonoids, especially quercetin, while claims such as "a cut onion absorbs germs and prevents flu" have no basis.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

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Onion

Read full story

Stop 1/6

What onions offer, and the catches

EVIDENCEGUIDE 1

READ THE ORIGINAL

Cutting an onion makes you cry because, once it is cut, a dedicated enzyme turns its sulfur compounds into a tear-inducing molecule. The chapter on why cutting onions makes you cry walks through that chain of reactions. Onion also carries something with two faces: its fructans feed gut bacteria, and they also make people with irritable bowel syndrome () bloated.

Onion (Allium cepa) is in the same allium family as garlic and is also a bulb made of wrapped layers. It is one of the most-eaten vegetables in the world, often not the star of a dish but the thing that sets its base flavor.

It is among the richest dietary sources of flavonoids, especially quercetin, while claims such as "a cut onion absorbs germs and prevents flu" have no basis.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.