After Reading This You Will Never Throw Away the Onion Skins

Every time we buy an onion and we need it for cooking or salad we first peel it off, throw away the skin and eat just the onion, there’s no other way right? Surprisingly, we’ve been doing it wrong this entire time, because it turns out that the flaky, outer scales of onions are extremely beneficial. It’s not just onions; the melon rind and orange peel are also maybe the healthiest parts of the fruits.

It has recently been discovered that the outer shell of the onions is rich in flavonoids, among which quercetin, a very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.

Here’s everything onion skins can help you treat:

High LDL cholesterol and blood pressure
Allergies
Inflammation
Depression
Certain forms of cancer, and other conditions
They’re also good for muscle growth and function

Scientists have given an interesting explanation to why onion skins are so beneficial. They say that because plants are stationary they have to produce everything they need in order to be able to grow and stay healthy. The nutrients they have to produce to protect themselves from stress can help us in similar situations too.

Since the environmental conditions mostly affect the outer shell of the plants it’s reasonable to assume that that’s where they concentrate their protective compounds.

We know that the onion skin is not edible, but you can introduce onion skins in your regimen by adding them to soups and stews and just take them out when the meal is served. So remember this for next time when you cook something. Add the whole onion to your soup or stew and you can benefit from the quercetin and the other nutrients from the onion skin.

Other uses for onion skins

You can make a soothing onion skins wash and wash your face with it if you are having skin problems.

You can also use onion skins for hair care. Make an onion skins broth for smoother and silkier hair. Just rinse it with the onion broth after you’ve washed it and allow it to dry off naturally.