Onions have a good dose of vitamin C and healthful phytochemicals that help your body fight inflammation and blood sugar spikes. One way to make onions tastier is by grilling them. Watch the type of oil you use and your cooking methods, however, if you want your grilled onions to stay diet friendly. Also remember to add the higher calorie number and fat grams into your daily allotment if you are counting these.
Calories
Raw onions have 46 calories per cup, most of which come from carbohydrates, and are virtually fat free, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database. Onions grilled or sautéed with oil have 115 calories per cup, with the difference in calories supplied by fat calories. If you are limiting your fat intake, you must factor in the 9.4 g of fat that the cooked onions have.
Fat
Many diets, such as the heart-healthy diet recommended by the American Heart Association, require you to watch the type of fat you consume. Eating onions that are grilled in a partially hydrogenated vegetable oil will raise your trans fat intake and raise your risk for high cholesterol. Instead, choose onions grilled in a more heart-healthy mono- or polyunsaturated fat like safflower, olive, canola or macadamia nut oil. When you grill onions yourself, brush thickly sliced onions only lightly with your oil to reduce calories and fat, recommend Fred Pescatore and Jeff Harter, authors of "The Hamptons Diet Cookbook."
Blood Sugar Effects
Raw onions are a diet friendly food because they have blood sugar-lowering effects thanks to their allyl propyl disulfide, or APDS, content as well as their allicin content. However, while it may be possible that onions help keep your blood sugar low and even help you manage diabetes, more research is needed to determine this effect, according to the World Health Organization. You may counteract the effects of allicin if you grill your onions too soon. That's because allicin is formed from the enzyme alliinase when an onion is cut or crushed. This enzyme can be inactivated by heat. To partially conserve the allicin-producing alliinase, let your onions "stand" for about 10 minutes before exposing them to heat, according to Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute.
Glycemic Load
Onions have a low glycemic load, just like most other vegetables. Raw vegetables have a lower glycemic load than grilled veggies. However, you are only converting your onion from a low-glycemic food to a low-moderate glycemic food. Thus, if you are following a plan that calls for avoiding high-glycemic foods, you are still okay, note Meri Raffetto and Rosanne Rust, authors of the "Glycemic Index Cookbook for Dummies." One thing that lowers a food's glycemic index is fiber. Both raw and grilled onions supply dietary fiber. Raw onions give you 2 g fiber per cup, while grilled have 1.5 g fiber per cup, notes the USDA. Eating foods with more fiber helps you feel full with fewer calories. Fiber also is essential for a healthful diet.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Nutrient Database (Onions, Raw, and Onions, Yellow, Sauteed)
- American Heart Association: Fat
- "The Hamptons Diet Cookbook"; Fred Pescatore and Jeff Harter; 2006
- "The pH Miracle for Diabetes"; Robert O. Young, et al.; 2004
- World Health Organization: Bulbus Allii Cepae Monograph
- Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute: Garlic and Organosulfur Compounds
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