Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi All.
I saw an interesting program on C4 last night. 'Superfoods: The Real Story : Episode 8 - Watercress, Onions, Mangoes'
Available on catch up. It discussed onions as a uric acid lowering food. Worth a look if you are interested.
0 likes, 7 replies
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rustygecko alex247
Posted
This has been known for a decade, although how much is the effect I don’t know. Did they use raw onion? (I don’t have iPlayer - in Asia).
It works in a different way to allopurinol- so it may be useful as an enhancement to existing therapies. I’d guess the strong the onion the better, and best raw?
alex247
Posted
its on all4 which is channel 4's on demand service. I've not watched it myself. My mum gave me the heads up
. Ill watch it tonight and give you a heads up.
alex247
Posted
It was quite good actually, had a woman on from the royal gout sociatey to explain what gout was. Showed some example pictures. Explained it’s on the rise (1in40 in the uk) They showed a infographic on how uric acid is made etc.
The superfood in question contains something called polyphenol quercetin that’s in onions. Some scientist guy was running a study that gave 500mg (same as one red onion) a day to men with high uric acid levels. It brought the levels back down to what was Considered normal. It’s in all onions but red onions are best. They said it was no magic bullet but having quercetin a day can help reduce uric acid. They didn’t comment on if this polyphenol was degraded when cooking.
Interestingly they tested the presenter (female in her mid/late 30s) for uric acid levels using an Easysure CGU. Which read 8 mg/dl. The woman from the gout society said that it was on the high end of normal... but not in danger... the presenter was supprised. They then tested the sound man (also in his mid/late 30s) as it was said he drinks lots of beer. The number was 10 mg/dlAbove the normal range. Again they was surprised and he was shocked although never had a flare.
It was quite enlightening. For me thankfully I love onions.
Worth a watch.
rustygecko alex247
Posted
All onions are healthful, but not equally so, according to a study from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Disease-fighting chemicals are highest in shallots and yellow and red onions, and lowest in white and sweet onion varieties.
Shallots, and yellow and red onions also have a stronger flavor than white varieties, suggesting the more pungent the onion the more powerful the health-promoting properties, says Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD, associate professor of food science at Cornell.
Elsewhere I found that heating of the onion was ok up to 120 C at which point much greater destruction occurs; unless boiled, because when cooked in water the flavonoids are transferred to the water.
alex247 rustygecko
Posted
rustygecko alex247
Posted
Smaller onions were found to have higher levels of flavonoids than did the larger ones by weight. The small onion bulbs have 2.7 times as much flavonoid as the large onion bulbs, by weight. The outer layers of the onion had higher levels of flavonoids, with the amounts decreasing down to the seventh layer from the outside.
Commercial, dried onions had very low levels of flavonoids. Red onions have more flavonoids than yellow ones; yellow onions have more flavonoids than white ones. Flavonoids are highest in fresh green onions. Lactic fermentation alters onion flavonoid content. Sulfur compounds are responsible for the pungency of onions. More pungent onions have higher flavonoid levels than sweet onions.
Cooking onions resulted in the following percentage loss of flavonoids: frying, 33%; sauteing, 21%; boiling, 14-20%; steaming, 14%; microwaving, 4%; baking, 0%. Exposure of onions to fluorescent lights for 24 and 48 hours increased the amount of flavonoids. Storing onions for 6 months didn’t change their flavonoid content. Dehydrated onion products often have no flavonoids at all.
Guest alex247
Posted
I was recently told that red onions are better for gout than white. Apparently it doesn't matter if they raw, boiled, or fried.