The Onion Is A Powerful Natural Remedy. 12 Surprising Uses Of Onions You Might Not Know About

Jun 16, 2017 by apost team

Most of us are familiar with the onion as the smelly vegetable that makes you cry when you slice it and adds a satisfying flavor and crunch to many of our favorite dishes. However, that isn’t the whole story. The truth is, the onion is also a powerful natural remedy to treat a variety of common ailments. It has been used by ancient cultures for centuries and continues to enjoy popularity to this day.

To help you harness the incredible yet surprising natural benefits of the onion, below are 12 surprising ways that you can use onions to improve your health:

1. Purify the Air

You might think that the opposite would be true, considering how smelly this vegetable is when sliced (it is considered an “aromatic” vegetable, after all). And yet, the onion has highly absorbent properties, making it an excellent DIY air purifier.

Just slice up an onion and leave it in the room you want to clean. It will absorb any bacteria and viruses, making it a great option if a cold or flu is making the rounds in your household.
 

2. Cough Suppressant

Due to the sulfur contained in onions, an onion makes for a natural antibacterial. To keep a cough at bay, you can mix up your own remedy by slicing up half of an onion and adding brown sugar to the slices, leaving them covered for at least an hour.

This makes the onion easier to eat so your body can get to work fighting off the bacteria causing your cough. Onions also work as anti-inflammatories, so the remedy can also reduce painful inflammation in your chest and lungs.
 

3. Ease Chest Congestion

To ease chest congestion, make a paste by crushing up onion and coconut oil. Apply to your chest and cover with a towel. The vapor coming from the onion will loosen the congestion in your chest, allowing you to cough it out. 
 

4. Prevent Hair Loss

The antimicrobial properties of onion can help keep dandruff at bay, while antioxidants work to stop hair loss and help your hair grow in healthy and shiny. Simply boil an onion in water and rinse your hair in the onion water before you shampoo.
 

5. Alleviate Itchy Bug Bites

We all know the torment of an itchy bug bite. The pain and irritation can keep you up at night desperate for relief. Fortunately, onions can help.

All you have to do is place a slice of raw onion or onion juice on the bite. The anti-inflammatory properties will draw out the inflammation (the source of the itch).
 

6. Soothe a Colicky Baby

If your colicky baby is keeping both of you awake at night, you can make an onion tea. To make the tea, dice a yellow onion and boil it in some water, then strain out the onion.

You can feed a teaspoon of the tea to your baby every hour to soothe stomach irritation, regulate digestion, and relax the muscles.
 

7. Treat Ear Infections

Due to its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, you can also use onions to treat an ear infection. Chop one up, place it inside of a sock, and secure the opening. Secure the sock over your ear and hold it in place until the pain goes away.
 

8. Disinfect Cuts and Scrapes

For minor cuts and scrapes, you can place onion skin over the wound to stop the bleeding, disinfect the wound, prevent infection, and speed up healing. 
 

9. Stop Vomiting

Not only can an onion soothe an upset stomach, you can also use it to stop vomiting, especially if you use it in conjunction with peppermint tea. 

Make a juice from the onion by grating it, squeezing with a cheesecloth, and collecting the juice that you squeeze out. Start by drinking two teaspoons of the onion juice. Five minutes later, drink two teaspoons of the peppermint tea. Repeat the process until you have stopped vomiting. 
 

10. Treat a Fever

One traditional remedy for using onions to reduce fever is to coat the bottoms of your feet with coconut oil and place thin slices of onion on the arches. Secure in place with plastic wrap and cover your feet with socks, and leave the poultice in place overnight to leach out toxins and bacteria.
 

11. Alleviate a Sore Throat

We have all heard of gargling salt water to soothe a sore throat, but another option is to use onion instead. Crush up some onion skin and add to water for gargling. The taste might not be too pleasant, so you can always add honey and lemon (which will provide additional relief to your throat).

The anti-inflammatory properties will reduce the painful swelling in your throat. If your sore throat is caused by a bacterial infection, the anti-bacterial properties will also help your immune system fight the infection.
 

12. Treat Minor Burns and Sunburns

This last use is perhaps the most surprising when you consider the onion’s tendency to burn your eyes to the point of tears. However, the same sulfur compounds in onion can also treat minor burns and sunburns. 

Simply slice an onion in half and rub it into a fresh wound. This will help prevent infection, reduce pain, and speed up recovery. 

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As you can see, the humble onion has a lot of different surprising uses that benefit your health. What other unconventional uses would you add to this list? If you enjoyed this article and found it useful, please hit share and share with your friends and family on social media!