Wednesday, 25 May 2011

health

Please pass this on to all you love and care about. 



ONIONS 


In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people, there was a Doctor who
visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.  Many of
the farmers and their family had contracted it, and many died. 

The doctor came upon one farmer, and to his surprise,  everyone in the
household was very healthy.  When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing
that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion
in a dish in the rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then).  The
doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and
place it under the microscope.  She gave him one, and when he did this, he
did find the flu virus in the onion.  It obviously absorbed the bacteria,
therefore, keeping the family healthy. 

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ.  She said that several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were
many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions
around in her shop.  To her surprise, none of her staff got sick.  It must
work... (And no, she is not in the onion business.) 

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around
your home.  If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under
your desk or even on top somewhere..  Try it and see what happens.  We did
it last year, and we never  got the flu. 

If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better.  If
you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case...Whatever, what have you
to lose?  Just a few bucks on onions!!! 

Now there is a P.S. to this, for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who
regularly contributes material to me on health issues.  She replied with
this most interesting experience about onions:         Thanks for the
reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but I do know that I
contracted pneumonia, and needless to say I was very ill.  I came across an
article that said to cut both ends off an onion.  Put one end on a fork, and
then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing the jar next to the
sick patient at night.  It said the onion would be black in the morning from
the germs.  Sure enough, it happened just like that...the onion was a mess,
and I began to feel better. 

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around
the room saved many from the black plague years ago.  They have powerful
antibacterial, antiseptic properties. 

This is the other note:  LEFTOVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!  I have used an
onion which has been left in the fridge.  Sometimes I don't use a whole one
at one time, so I save the other half for later.  Now with this info, I have
changed my mind.  I will buy smaller onions in the future. 

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of
mayonnaise.  Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the
Mullins family.  My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.  Questions aboutfood
poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.  The
guy who gave us our tour is named Ed.  He's one of the brothers.  Ed is a
chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula.
 He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's.  Keep in mind that Ed is
a food chemistry whiz. 

During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about
mayonnaise.  People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil.  Ed's
answer will surprise you.  Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is
completely safe.  "It doesn't even have to be refrigerated.  No harm in
refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary."  He explained that the pH
in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that
environment.  He then talked about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl
of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise
when someone gets sick. 

Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials
look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came
from (in the potato salad?).  Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as
it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors.  It's probably the
onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES. 

He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked
onions.  You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.  He says
it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your
refrigerator. 

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit,
that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you
put on your hotdogs at the baseball park!) 

Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll
probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put it on your
sandwich, you're asking for trouble.  Both the onions and the moist potato
in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial
mayonnaise will even begin to break down. 

So, how's that for news?  Take it for what you will.  I (the author) am
going to be very careful about my onions from now on.  For some reason, I
see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces
millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year. 

Also, dogs should never eat onions...  Their stomachs cannot metabolize
onions. 

Please remember it is dangerous to cut onions and try to use it to cook the
next day.  It becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates
toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess
bile secretions and even food poisoning. 

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