Understanding how different foods interact with your levels of blood serum cholesterol is an effective tool to help reduce your risk for circulatory problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Red onion juice, a dietary supplement distributors claim as a cure for high cholesterol, may have a positive effect on your cholesterol levels.
Red Onion Juice
Red onions are a sweeter, less hot, variety of the common onion and a traditional ingredient in dishes from India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. You can buy red onion juice at some health food stores, or make your own in a juicer or blender. The high water content means you can simply squeeze the liquid out of the onion, or liquefy the vegetable.
Nutrition Value
Red onions contain no appreciable amount of fat, according to LIVESTRONG.com's MyPlate nutrition resource website. Unless you buy a commercially produced onion juice with fatty additives, you will take in no fat from red onions. This means that red onion juice won't stimulate your body to create harmful LDL -- "low-density lipoprotein" -- choleseterol. The lack of unsaturated fats in red onions, however, means it won't make you produce any of the HDL -- "high-density lipoprotein" -- cholesterol that lowers your total cholesterol count.
Ongoing Research
CBS News reports a 2010 study of hamsters who were given crushed red onions. Within eight weeks, LDL levels in test subjects had fallen 20 percent, while beneficial HDL cholesterol levels remained the same. This may mean that red onion juice or extract can help to reduce human cholesterol levels. As of 2011, however, no additional research has been done to isolate the cause of this effect, or to expand the research to include other animals.
Bottom Line
The problem with herbal or dietary supplement cures is that the distributors are not legally required to back up their claims of health benefits with actual research. In the case of red onion juice, the nutrition content will have no effect on your cholesterol levels. Research into other mechanics that would help you with your cholesterol is ongoing, but as yet inconclusive.
References
- CBS News: Red Onion vs. Heart Disease
- "You: The Owner's Manual"; Dr. Mehmet Oz & Dr. Michael Roizen; 2005
- Livestrong MyPlate: Red Onions
