Re: snopes.com: Onions Versus Swine Flu

November 20, 2009

Onions to reduce fever was a bit confusing for me as i still remember when i

was a kid i used to put the peeled onion in armpit for 10-15 minutes to

increase the body temperature and tell mom that i have fever and i cant go

to school, onion increases the body temperature for sure because it is a

proven thing.....but reducing the fever and other stuff, i am not aware

of...its good for stomach as well and during the hot summers in south asia

onion is eaten as salad because it protects you from cholera, heat stroke,

upset stomach and lots of other summer related sicknesses in south

asia....it is also advised that one must not eat raw onion at night,before

going to bed, not for any other reason but you may get nightmares and

gastritis kind of symptoms.....Onion soup is recommended if you have flue

because of its warm affect on the body.....good luck!

On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 11:41 AM, Battaglia <fbattaglia@...>wrote:

>

> Home > Medical > Swine Flu > Onion Fielded

> CATEGORIES:

> Autos

> Business

> Cokelore

> College

> Computers

>

> Crime

> Critter Country

> Disney

> Embarrassments

> Fauxtography

>

> Food

> Glurge Gallery

> History

> Holidays

> Horrors

>

> Humor

> Inboxer Rebellion

> Language

> Legal

> Lost Legends

>

> Love

> Luck

> Media Matters

> Medical

> Military

>

> Movies

> Music

> Old Wives' Tales

> Politics

> Pregnancy

>

> Quotes

> Racial Rumors

> Radio & TV

> Religion

> Risqué Business

>

> Science

> September 11

> Sports

> Travel

> Weddings

> E-mail this Share this

> Onion Fielded

>

> Claim: Onions placed about the home fight the flu virus.

>

> FALSE

>

> Example: [Collected via e-mail, September 2009]

>

> Onions, for collecting the flu virus:

>

> 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 placed 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 virus, 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!

>

> Origins: Although influenza is no longer the unchecked grim reaper of

> years past (in 1918 it killed half a million Americans and twenty to forty

> million folks worldwide), it continues to present a very real danger even in

> these more modern times. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),

> millions of people in

>

> the United States — about 10% to 20% of U.S. residents — will get the flu

> each year. Influenza also costs Americans $10 billion annually in lost wages

> and medical expenses. Worst of all, every year about 36,000 people in the

> United States die from it, and 114,000 have to be admitted to the hospital

> because of it. The flu is not just a week of feeling lousy and missing work;

> it is a disease that can, has, and does kill.

>

> The outbreak of H1N1 (swine) flu has brought home even to those who don't

> normally ponder such matters the danger posed by contagions dismissively

> regarded in other years as mere seasonal flu, maladies that are thought of

> as wholly unpleasant but not life threatening. In 2009, people are far more

> aware of the sniffles and sneezes around them. Also, unlike in other years,

> more folks are actively looking for ways to avoid catching the flu.

>

> In addition to the good advice about washing one's hands frequently and

> avoiding the company of those who are obviously under the weather, folks

> looking to sidestep being felled by the flu are subject to toutings of a

> variety of folk remedies, each of which is presented as a surefire and

> deadly preventive. The missive quoted above about onions absorbing the virus

> is one such offering.

>

> There's nothing magical about peeled or cut onions - they don't act as

> sponges that soak up whatever viruses or other nasty microbes are in their

> immediate vicinity. However, the belief that they would act in this fashion

> predates the 2009 flu outbreak by at least 100 years. Long-standing

> superstition asserts that keeping raw onions in the house (either cut or

> whole; different folks swear by different methods) will draw illness-causing

> germs from the air, thereby rendering the home free of contamination. These

> print sightings gathered by folklorists Iona Opie and Moira Tatum showcase

> that belief:

>

> [1956]

>

> The onion is cut up and stood in an old tin-plate. Then you place it in the

> room where the sick child sleeps. The onion draws the complaint into itself,

> and when the child is better care must be taken to see that the onion is

> properly burnt.

>

> [1964]

>

> When there's flu about, I puts a plate of cut up onion in every room.

> That's what keeps colds away ... All the cold germs goes into they.

>

> [1978]

>

> I fondly remember the smell of my mother's window sill adorned with half

> onions. She swore by the legend that the onions captured any incoming germs

> and purified the air.

>

> Even older print sightings exist, however. One of the earliest we've

> located (from 1900) calls the practice " an old custom, " which means even at

> that early date, the belief's origins were lost in the mists of time.

>

> [Chambers' Journal, 1900]

>

> In remote country villages one sometimes sees an old custom which, in its

> essence, is wise, though the performers do not know its why or wherefore; as

> their forbears did, so do they. This is to place plates full of sliced onion

> at the side of any bed or coffin wherein lies the body of a person dead of

> infections [sic] disease. This good and shrewd practice was based on the

> observation of the blackening of the onion and practical experience of the

> usefulness of the habit, not on scientific knowledge. But the floating germs

> were attracted to that blackening onion, and settled on thickly, the result

> being the onion's discoloration and the great purification of the air in the

> death-chamber. The story is true of a house wherein ropes of onions intended

> for sale were hung escaping a smallpox epidemic, which attacked the

> neighbouring houses.

>

> [Los Angeles Times, 1913]

>

> In a sickroom you cannot have a better disinfectant than the onion. It has

> a wonderful capacity for absorbing germs. A dish of sliced onions placed in

> a sickroom will draw away the disease; they must be removed as soon as they

> lose their odor and become discolored, and be replaced by fresh ones.

>

> [The Chicago Defender, 1922]

>

> In remote villages the old custom still exists of placing a plate full of

> sliced onion beside the bed of coffin of any persons who had died of an

> infectious disease. Although those who follow this practice cannot explain

> it, the fact is that the raw onion destroys germs and purifies the infected

> air of the death chamber.

>

> Some insist plates of sliced raw onion should be left at various points

> around the home; others avow that whole onions must be hung on strings

> affixed to the domicile's ceilings, some further asserting the bulbs must be

> hung in front of doorways to better filter incoming contamination. As to

> what sorts of contamination the onion is purported to overcome, at various

> times it has been said to kill flu virus, diphtheria, smallpox, the cold

> virus, and even whatever nastiness a rotting corpse might be venting into

> the air, especially one that reached that condition via infectious disease

> of any description. Onions are also, according to lore, to be placed in any

> sickroom no matter how that room's occupant came to require bedrest.

>

> While this folk belief is indeed an old one, there's precious little reason

> to place any store in it. No scientific studies back it, and common sense

> rules it out: cold and flu viruses are spread by contact, not by their nasty

> microbes floating loosely in the air where the almighty onion can supposedly

> seek out and destroy them. As the Wall Street Journal noted of such claims:

> Biologists say it's highly implausible that onions could attract flu virus

> as a bug zapper traps flies. Viruses require a living host to replicate and

> can't propel themselves out of a body and across a room.

>

> The idea that onions have medicinal properties goes back millennia and

> spans many cultures. Egyptians thought onions were fertility symbols.

> Ancient Greeks rubbed them on sore muscles, and Native Americans used them

> to treat coughs and colds. Herbalists note that the World Health

> Organization recognizes onion extracts for providing relief in the treatment

> of coughs, colds, asthma and bronchitis. As with most home remedies, there

> have been few scientific studies with humans — and none on record involving

> raw onions placed across a room.

> Superstition also asserts that it is unlucky to keep cut onions around, as

> these further sightings gathered by Opie and Tatum demonstrate:

>

> [1855]

>

> To have a cut onion lying about in the house breeds distempers.

>

> [1891]

>

> An old servant (Essex) ... recently complained that ... Spanish onions ...

> were too big. When an obvious method of getting over that difficulty was

> suggested, she replied, 'Oh, no! that would never do! It's so unlucky to

> have a cut onion in the house.'

>

> [1958]

>

> Special small onions are being grown for me as I am liable to keep half a

> cut onion from one meal to another, which I am assured is highly dangerous.

>

> Onions — cut, peeled, or otherwise — aren't going to secure your living

> space from the flu virus, either 2009's swine version or any other year's

> contagion. Instead, if you want to stay healthy, wash your hands and avoid

> being around sick people.

>

> Mind you, if you choose to place a few onions around your home, the only

> downside would be that your nearest and dearest will regard you as somewhat

> eccentric.

>

> Barbara " as if they didn't already " Mikkelson

>

> Additional information:

> The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

> (Molly Billings, Stanford University)

> Last updated: 3 November 2009

>

> The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/onion.asp

>

> Mikkelson.

> This material may not be reproduced without permission.

> snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.

>

> Sources:

> Beck, Melinda. " Home Flu Cures: Bad Medicine? "

> The Wall Street Journa. 3 November 2009 (p. D8).

> Opie, Iona and Moira Tatum. A Dictionary of Superstitions.

> Oxford University Press; Oxford, 1992. ISBN 0-19-282916-5 (pp.

> 293-294).

> Chambers' Journal. " The Onion is Not Merely a Vegetable. "

> 1 September 1900.

> The Chicago Defender. " Onion Diet Will Rout' All Germs. "

> 10 June 1922 (p. A8).

> The Hartford Courant. " Worried About Flu? Old Onion Remedy Hailed. "

> 24 January 1972 (p. I9).

> Los Angeles Times. " Healthfulness of Onions. "

> 4 June 1913 (p. I15).

>

> Battaglia

> Hm 818 897 8500

> Cel 818 268 5395

> fbattaglia@...

>

November 20, 2009

Thank you for sharing the snope info with us. I just want to add a word of

caution when taking anything to heart. I haven't bothered to investigate so I

don't know if onions working in such a fashion is true. However, I certainly

will not take any one source's info as gospel and that includes snopes. Let us

remember that there are always vested interests who do not want natural medicine

info disseminated. Mainstream medicine can't turn a profit on it. Let us also

remember that all mainstream media and no doubt, including snopes is owned by

corporations who have an interest in convincing us of the " silliness " of natural

medicine.

In this case, I'd say if one can't find true purveyors of natural medicine to

either say yay or nay on the onion issue, then how 'bout we use our brains to

form our own conclusions rather than allowing any " expert " to tell us what to

think. How 'bout just cutting up some onions, putting them in a bowl and see

what happens. Now of course if I had someone sick in the house, I would not rely

solely on onions. I'd be doing all the other things I know to do such as

vitamins D, C and A and perhaps oregano capsules.

And especially if it is anything that might in the slightest makes us less

afraid of disease, resulting in us not being doped into taking their precious

flu vaccines, they go into overtime to discredit any natural means of disease

prevention and cure.

Wanna hear another use of onion? It's awesome cool! I can't take credit for it.

My husband discovered it watching a hunting show on tv. He heard that if you

slide half an onion over a hot grill, food won't stick to the grill. Now, did he

run to snopes or anything else? Nope. He tried it! What happened? It really did

work. :-)

Kathleen

www.MedinaForTexas.com

" Vaccination is a monstrosity, a misbegotten offspring of error and ignorance;

it should have no place in either hygiene or medicine....Believe not in

vaccination, it is a world wide delusion, an unscientific practice, a fatal

superstition with consequences measured today by tears and sorrow without end. "

- Rauta, Professor of Hygiene and Material Medical University of Perguia

in an article that appeared in the New York Journal of Medicine in July 1899

snopes.com: Onions Versus Swine Flu

November 20, 2009

Well, south asians like myself cant live without onions, tomatos, red chili

pepper, turmeric and salt...these are the essential ingredients of any south

asian recipies. Discussing the benefits of onions may be a strange thing

for many europeans/americans however onion is not something that sounth

asian would take very seriously because it is always there in their kitchen,

we the family of 5 consume around 15-20 lb of onions a month. same is teh

amount of tomatoes. So i was sharing the information based on what we

learnt from our forefathers. I would also suggest that ONION is NOT at all

a good thing for people with problems with their livers and gallbladders,

because people with jaundice and gallstones are strictly advised to sat away

from onions consume NO onion in either form, raw or cooked. This is a

forum to share information, and experiences, it is not all holistic clinic

to write a prescription. If something appeals, try it, takeit, if not,

simply ignore it......it is so simple....

On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:51 PM, <HolisticMomma@...> wrote:

>

> Thank you for sharing the snope info with us. I just want to add a word of

> caution when taking anything to heart. I haven't bothered to investigate so

> I don't know if onions working in such a fashion is true. However, I

> certainly will not take any one source's info as gospel and that includes

> snopes. Let us remember that there are always vested interests who do not

> want natural medicine info disseminated. Mainstream medicine can't turn a

> profit on it. Let us also remember that all mainstream media and no doubt,

> including snopes is owned by corporations who have an interest in convincing

> us of the " silliness " of natural medicine.

>

> In this case, I'd say if one can't find true purveyors of natural medicine

> to either say yay or nay on the onion issue, then how 'bout we use our

> brains to form our own conclusions rather than allowing any " expert " to tell

> us what to think. How 'bout just cutting up some onions, putting them in a

> bowl and see what happens. Now of course if I had someone sick in the house,

> I would not rely solely on onions. I'd be doing all the other things I know

> to do such as vitamins D, C and A and perhaps oregano capsules.

>

> And especially if it is anything that might in the slightest makes us less

> afraid of disease, resulting in us not being doped into taking their

> precious flu vaccines, they go into overtime to discredit any natural means

> of disease prevention and cure.

>

> Wanna hear another use of onion? It's awesome cool! I can't take credit for

> it. My husband discovered it watching a hunting show on tv. He heard that if

> you slide half an onion over a hot grill, food won't stick to the grill.

> Now, did he run to snopes or anything else? Nope. He tried it! What

> happened? It really did work. :-)

>

> Kathleen

>

> www.MedinaForTexas.com <http://www.medinafortexas.com/>

>

> " Vaccination is a monstrosity, a misbegotten offspring of error and

> ignorance; it should have no place in either hygiene or medicine....Believe

> not in vaccination, it is a world wide delusion, an unscientific practice, a

> fatal superstition with consequences measured today by tears and sorrow

> without end. " - Rauta, Professor of Hygiene and Material Medical

> University of Perguia in an article that appeared in the New York Journal of

> Medicine in July 1899

>

> snopes.com: Onions Versus Swine Flu

>

November 20, 2009

Here here and in support I offer this

The latest " placebo " results released by AMA study where the placebo outperforms

the drug in control group studies!

Onward and upward

FB

On Nov 20, 2009, at 9:51 AM, HolisticMomma@... wrote: