Let’s talk about treating weight loss, cholesterol and PCOS with diet. What can an eighth of a teaspoon of onion powder a day do for body fat, and what can raw red onion do for cholesterol?
In one of my previous videos about onions, I talked about the data that supports the role of onions in increasing testosterone in men, protecting bone health, controlling allergies, and fighting the side effects of chemotherapy. What about weight loss? Enter “Effect of Steamed Onion Consumption (ONIRO) on Body Fat and Metabolic Profiles in Overweight Subjects.” The researchers used steamed onions, which are not as spicy and have a weaker smell, so they could better disguise them as a placebo. They dried them in onion powder and gave people a small amount of it – about an eighth of a teaspoon (300 mg) a day. Of course, a little bit of onion powder every day does not affect people’s weight. But check out the results reported in the abstract: Measurements using a DEXA scan showed a significant reduction in body fat mass, and a CT scan showed a significant reduction in visceral and skin fat areas.
Standing. If a little onion powder is so effective for weight loss, why isn’t it mentioned in my book How not to diet? Because, as often happens in research, the spin in the abstract does not accurately represent the real data. The DEXA scan results did not measure significant changes in body fat in the group that received the placebo capsules. They appeared to lose about a teaspoon (7 g) of body fat, while the group that unknowingly took an eighth of a teaspoon of onion powder in capsules lost about a pound and a half (0.64 kg) of body fat—a significant decrease from baseline, but not a statistically significant decrease compared to the placebo group. Same with the CT scan results: 5 times more loss of total fat and more than 30 times more loss of dangerous visceral fat, but the results were not statistically significant compared to placebo.
Latest research tried four teaspoons (9 g) of onion powder per day and similarly failed to accelerate visceral, total, or skin loss compared to placebo—but the placebo was also four teaspoons (9 g) of onion powder per day. They used yellow onions versus white onions, and it appears that both may cause abdominal fat loss, but there is no significant difference between them. Either way, you might look at these two studies and think, sure, but what are the downsides? It’s only an eighth of a teaspoon of onion powder a day, so why not give it a try? It may hurt, but we just don’t have enough evidence to be sure it actually helps.
Let’s talk about polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as PCOS. This is one of the most common hormonal disorders. effective 5% to 10% of women of reproductive age. In addition to symptoms like irregular periods, “PCOS is a pre-diabetic condition that reduces insulin sensitivity.” PCOS is difficult to treat due to the side effects of medications. So are there dietary options? How about a randomized controlled clinical trial of raw red onion consumption?
Why onion? Well, onion extracts can clearly improve blood sugar and insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats, and more importantly, it has been found to lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, but apparently not in people without diabetes. People with PCOS are pre-diabetic, so does this work for them? First, let’s look at those two other studies. To to read “The Metabolic Effects of Onions and Green Beans,” people with diabetes ate one small onion (60 g) every day for a week or a diet with about six cups (600 g) of green beans – and both approaches worked. Onions lowered people’s blood sugar levels by about 10% compared to a non-onion diet, while green beans lowered them by about 15% compared to controls.
Here is the study as it were shows It is not useful for people with diabetes. It’s true that onions don’t lower normal blood sugar levels, which is a good thing, but check out what happens when you feed people sugar. Have people consume about two-and-a-half teaspoons (50 g) of corn syrup and let their blood sugar levels rise for the next two hours before their bodies repress it. But give people the same amount of sugar along with as much onion extract as possible, and the blood sugar spike drops dramatically, almost as much as if you gave them an anti-diabetic drug instead, as you can see below and at 4:00 in my video. Onions are being tested for weight loss, cholesterol and PCOS treatment.
We see the same blunting effect on blood sugar when people get a shot of adrenaline and eat onion extract compared to getting adrenaline without onion extract, as you can see below and at 4:11 in my video.
So are there blood sugar benefits for both people with and without diabetes? There was no difference found in blood sugar levels or other indicators of insulin resistance between the high and low onion groups of PCOS patients, no were There is a difference in inflammation markers between the two groups. But women with PCOS aren’t just at higher risk for diabetes and inflammation—they are are also have a higher risk of cholesterol.
Women with PCOS are more than seven times more likely to have a heart attack, and heart disease is the number one killer of women. But eating raw red onions appears to be effective in lowering cholesterol, although the group that ate the most onions only reduced their LDL cholesterol by about 5 points (5 mg/dL), which was not significantly different from the group that ate the least onions.
I found this research from 50 years ago where researchers was filled people about a stick (100 g) of fat and their cholesterol increased by about 30 points within hours of consumption, but together with about a third of a cup (50 g) of raw or boiled onions only 9 points or 3 points. Moral of the story: Don’t eat a stick of butter.
Dr.’s comment
Check out the previous video mentioned: Friday Favorites: Are onions good for testosterone, osteoporosis, allergies and cancer?.
