Onion

In 1919 when the flu killed 40



million people there was this Doctor that visited the 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 this one



farmer and to his surprise, everyone 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 NZ. 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 farmers story... but, I do know that I



contacted 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.







But here is the other



important side to remember.







LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS







I have used an onion which



has been left in the fridge, and sometimes I don't use a



whole one at one time, so save the other half for later.







Now with this info, I have



changed my mind...... 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 about food 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 quaint essential



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 in 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 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.