Eating Onions can help Hayfever Victims

Last year the UK’s 15 million hay fever sufferers braced themselves for what was forecast to be one of the worst pollen seasons ever, however there was some welcome news from an unlikely source – the everyday onion.

Whilst over-the-counter anti-histamine medication is known to alleviate symptoms amongst most sufferers, there is growing demand for naturally occurring remedies, the most potent of which is quercetin which occurs naturally in a range of foods, but particularly richly in onions.

Onions contain an average of 385 mg/kg, three times as much as kale - the next richest source - and over ten times as much as the next best source, broccoli. In addition, the absorption rate from onions is at least twice as good as any other food.

Experts recommend eating between one and two medium sized onions a day to maximise the effects, but any onions consumed will help. The best way to preserve the quercetin level is to cook onions slowly, for about 10 – 15 minutes over a low heat, or in the Mediterranean way, raw in salads.

Increasing mild winters are thought to be the reason why hay fever is becoming an increasing problem, with one in three children in the UK suffering. But in the Mediterranean and India, where there are high levels of onion consumption, hay fever levels are dramatically lower - nearly half of those in the UK.