by Dana Taylor

Yesterday morning my daughter, Sara, called and said, “Pray for your grandson. He is throwing up all over the house.”

Great. I wasn’t too concerned about four-year-old, Will, our Reiki baby. He has a stellar immune system and I knew his body was just taking care of business. My greater worry was for my daughter, her husband, and baby sister not getting the flu also. So I sat down in my prayer chair and asked for protection for them.

I immediately received an instruction. “Tell her to put cut onions around the house.”

My reaction–Seriously???

I recalled reading something about onions being used against illness, but it is not something I have ever tried or seen. But, I called Sara and told her the impression I had we received. We both began an Internet search for more information. What we found told of “old wives tales” about placing onions around the house to kill off “poisonous” air. Many articles debunk the myth such as:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medical/a/swine_flu_facts_onions_and_flu.htm

However here is a quote from Healthiertalk.com that was more “pro” onion therapy:

In an early 1900’s Los Angeles Times article, the following suggestion was offered to the public:

“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.”

Onions are known for both their anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also high in sulfuric compounds such as thiosulfinates, sulfoxides, and other odorous cysteine sulfoxides. These compounds give onions their pungent flavor and are what make you cry when cutting them. Research shows that the thiosulfinates in onions are responsible for their antimicrobial properties. Thiosulfinates have even been shown to kill off salmonella and E. coli. Sulfuric compounds also play a role in cancer and heart disease prevention, and therefore act as a great immune-boosting food for general disease prevention.

Read the entire article at http://www.healthiertalk.com/will-onions-help-fight-flu-1163

When my son-in-law, Aaron, came home last evening, he asked Sara, “Why is there an onion in the bathroom?” She told him her Mom had instructed her to place onions around the house to help prevent spreading the flu. Aaron has gotten used to our eccentric ways and took the news in stride.

This morning, Will woke up feeling fine after a day of retching and resting. So far, the family is flu-free. Was it the onions? Who knows? But, they couldn’t hurt, right?

*****

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