allium cepa

→ Also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable and is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Cepa is exclusively known from cultivation and its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions. The onion plant is unknown in the wild but has been grown and selectively bred in cultivation for at least 7,000 years. Onions were taken by the first settlers to North America, where the Native Americans were already using wild onions in a number of ways, eating them raw or cooked in a variety of foods. They also used them to make into syrups, to form poultices and in the preparation of dyes. According to diaries kept by the colonists, bulb onions were one of the first things planted by the Pilgrim Fathers when they cleared the land for cropping. Onions were also prescribed by doctors in the early 16th century to help with infertility in women

Onions are high in vitamin C, a good source of fiber, and with only 45 calories per serving, add abundant flavor to a wide variety of food. Onions are sodium, fat, and cholesterol free, and provide a number of other key nutrients. Onions have an energy value of 166kJ 40 kcal per 100 g. With their unique combination of flavonoids and sulfur-containing nutrients, the allium vegetables—such as onions—belong in your diet on a regular basis. There’s research evidence for including at least one serving of an allium vegetable—such as onions—in your meal plan every day. Daily consumption of onion show robust benefits for bone density ←