If you love having a cup of masala chai and experimenting with different types of flavours of tea, this will interest you. Undoubtedly tea has a lot of health benefits and every kind of tea whether it is green tea, black tea or cardamom tea, comes with its own benefits. You might have not heard about onion tea till now. Onion tea has a host of health benefits. Dhvani Shah, naturopathic nutritionist and author of Don t Just Feed Nourish Your Child, tells us how a cup of onion tea can help.
Onion tea is made from the onion skin or peels. The outer layer is high in a potent pigment known as quercetin. It is this pigment that adds to the therapeutic benefits of onion skin. It prevents clogging of arteries, reduces hypertension and treats insomnia. Apart from being rich in quercetin, the peels are also rich in antioxidants and have antifungal and anticancer properties.
Quercetin, with its anticancer properties, destroys free radicals. Studies have shown that onion extracts, when used to treat colon cancer, prohibit the cancer cells from spreading further [1].
The onion skin is also rich in insoluble fibre which helps in colon cleansing and proper movements of the bowel. It is the insoluble fibre in the skin that helps eliminate accumulated toxins from the intestine and prevents formation of cancer cells.
A 2011 study showed that onion peel extracts improve glucose response and insulin resistance associated with type 2 diabetes [2].
Including onion skin to your diet can help you fight diseases like
Follow these steps to make a cup of onion tea and enjoy its health benefits
Wash the whole onions thoroughly to remove dirt and pesticides. Peel the onions and keep the skins.
Place the skins in a glass jar. Then pour boiling water over them and cover the jar for 15 minutes.
Strain the tea. Drink onion tea before going to bed.
Note: This drink is not recommended for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
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References:
[1] He, Y., Jin, H., Gong, W., Zhang, C., & Zhou, A. (2014). Effect of onion flavonoids on colorectal cancer with hyperlipidemia: an in vivo study.OncoTargets and therapy, 7, 101.
[2] Jung, J. Y., Lim, Y., Moon, M. S., Kim, J. Y., & Kwon, O. (2011). Onion peel extracts ameliorate hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in high fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Nutrition & metabolism, 8(1), 1.
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