Unknown Health Benefits of Onion Peels

An indispensable vegetable in the Mediterranean pantry is the onion. In Spain in 2021, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, consumption per person per year was 7.6 kg.

This bulb is a source of minerals, especially potassium, necessary for the proper functioning of the muscles and nervous system; vitamin C to strengthen the immune system and flavonoids, which are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

But what we do not eat from onions, in what we usually throw away, in their peel, is the best source of nutrients for this vegetable.

In 2011, in a study by the Autonomous University of Madrid and Cranfield University (UK), leather “can be used as a functional ingredient rich in dietary fiber (mostly insoluble type) and phenolic compounds such as quercetin. and other flavonoids (plant metabolites with medicinal properties).

“Onion leftovers can be used as a natural source of ingredients with high functional value, as this vegetable is rich in compounds beneficial to human health,” said Vanesa Benitez, one of the researchers at the Department of Chemistry, in an interview with SINC Agriculture. Autonomous University of Madrid.

How can we take advantage of these benefits? If we do not want to add the skin to soups, creams or broths, it is best to make an infusion from them. It is enough for us to boil the onion peel in 250 ml of water and let it brew for 10 minutes,