Whenever George Washington felt a telltale titillation in his pharynx or sniffle sneaking up , he tucked in to a specially pungent bedtime collation : anonion . As the popular tale goes , Washington would eat a cooked onion in Holy Order to ward off colds . The Founding Father ’s homeopathic regime makes nutritional sense . Pearly clean onions are chock - full ofvitamins C , B1andB6 , along with a good for you dose ofpotassium , phosphorusandfiber . Though onion plant are n’t universally appeal to the human palate , they have the potential to lower bad cholesterol , relieve hypertension and minimizebloodclotting [ source : McNamee ] .
On the flip side , onions exact a brief ( but uncomfortable ) physiological toll to those who make bold to slice through their white , icteric or red - tinted skins . Within a few moments of spread out up an onion , the tangy fragrance wafts up to our nozzle , and oureyesbegin to water . Sometimes , the Allium cepa reaction is just a mild ocular irritant ; other times , it ’s a full - oncryfest .
Unless you ’re a chef with a freshly brokenheart , the tears you shed when chopping onions are n’t emotional ones . That leaves two other class of rip : basal and reflexive . Since basal tears are the ones that hang around our center and eyelids to act as as a lubricant , that get out us withreflex tears . Thelachrymal glandsabove the palpebra determine the release of rent . In the pillowcase of reflexive crying , an external irritant , such as detritus or pot , touch off cheek endings in the cornea to communicate with thebrainstem . The brain register the irritation in the eye then alerts the lachrymal gland to stir tear production to scour aside the encroacher .
If we ’re chopping onion a few foot away from our heart , what ’s causing this weepy reaction ? The answer get down in the dirt . Onions are part of the flora genus Allium , along withgarlic , Allium schoenoprasum , scallion and about 400 other cousins . These vegetables absorb sulfur in the earth , which help form a class of volatile organic mote calledamino superman sulfoxides . These sulfoxides are the real tear - jerker when onion go under the knife .
Onion’s Tear Jerker
As we chop up an onion , it relinquish lacrimatory - gene synthase enzymes . These accelerator instigate the chemical chain reaction that end with youcryingover the kitchen counter . These enzyme react with the sulfoxides and convert them into sulfenic Zen [ author : Scott ] . Sulfenic acids are highly unstable and rearrange into a chemical compound calledsyn - propanethial - S - oxide[source : Library of Congress ] .
When syn - propanethial - S - oxide ( a pesky combining of sulphuric window pane , sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide ) enters the air around our faces and approaches oureyes , it evoke the self-referent tear reaction described on the old Thomas Nelson Page [ source : Norton ] . Multiple nerve ending in the cornea cross-file the sentience of the syn - propanethial - S - oxide as a substance that could harm our middle . Consequently , the brainpower stem phones the lachrymal secretor , and we commence to snivel .
For those fearing fluid mascara and rip - stain cheeks , researchers in New Zealand may have found a reason to return to the newspaper clipping board . By isolating and handicap the lachrymatory enzyme , the scientist have created a tear - free onion . What ’s the first deception to growing the genetically modified Supasweet onion ? dispirited - sulphur soil [ source : Highfield ] .
Onion lovers have probably noticed a remainder in the tear reaction depending on the eccentric of onion they carve up . Georgia ’s Vidalia Allium cepa and other sweet varieties that are glean in the spring and summer wo n’t induce as many tears , compared to the effect of tart fall and wintertime onions . The highersugarcontent andwaterconcentration in sweet onions fall the tetchy enzymes .
When recipe call for yellow Spanish onions or other acute relatives , you may try out a few magic trick to ward off crying in the bearing of onions :
But dry your eyes : Despite all of these tear , there is some secure news . purportedly , the more you prepare with onion plant and endure their sting , the less they ’ll affect you over time [ seed : Hillman ] . Just keep somelemonsnearby to scrub the vegetable ’s substantial signature scent off your hands .
