Herb of the Day: Onion

What plant is most often depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings? What plant did the Greeks and Romans come to have a love-hate relationship with, both praising its healing properties and condemning its rank odor? What plant did Alexander the Great feed to his troops to give them strength for battle? The humble onion. 

As a medicine, onions contain smaller doses of garlic's antibacterial and antifungal components. A paste of onions is said to prevent infection in wounds and burns. Other extracts inhibit blood clotting and seem to reduce cholesterol levels in people who eat high-fat diets. Experiments have shown that rats injected with an onion extract had lower blood pressure. And recent research suggests that onions increase the production of high-density lipoproteins, which in turn are believed to help clear the arteries of fatty deposits. 

Gardeners recommend planting onions with beets, cabbages, lettuce, and strawberries to enhance their growth. They'll also tell you to keep onions away from beans, peas, and sage. Reportedly, onions repel cabbage loopers, Colorado potato beetles, carrot flies, and imported cabbageworms. 

Source: Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs