College of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion

College of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion

 

AYURVEDIC FOODS

Yellow Onion Benefits (According to Ayurveda)


How Does This Ayurvedic Food Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Recipes with Yellow Onion: Coconut, Turmeric & Tomato Sambar Soup
Recipes with Yellow Onion: Coconut, Turmeric & Tomato Sambar Soup
Onions are cooling topically but heating internally. They are a strong laxative when raw, and a mild laxative when cooked. Raw onions are a strong diaphoretic, meaning they flush the pores of the skin and induce sweating. The laxative and diaphoretic qualities of raw onion are particularly useful for a late spring cleanse whenever the feet or hands feel swollen.

Psychological Effects of Onion

Onions are grounding and can make a person sleepy (tamasic) when cooked. Cooked or raw, onions are a stimulate desire (rajasic). They are considered an aphrodisiac. The longer they cook the sweeter and less Pitta aggravating they become.

About Yellow Onion

Like all roots cooked onion brings a grounding feel. Yellow onions are the standard onion in American grocery store shelves. White onions tend to be sweeter and crunchier. Red onions are best if raw onions are required.

Buying & Preparation

As they rot, onions can get mushy and the outer layer soft and smelly. Be careful to look for mold. I chop the tips, slice in half, then peel. Finally, I slice the onions very thin for maximum flavor, or coarsely chopped for texture. When served raw, I thinly slice or finely chop the onions.

Cooking Yellow Onion

Onions are mostly water. When sauting, the water in the onions keeps the temperature of the oil close to boiling. As they cook, the onions progress from opaque to translucent, then slices get dessicated and thin. As the water in the onions boils off, the temperature begins to the rise and the onions start to brown. Keeping onions close together in the center of the pan will help onions brown at the same rate.

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Is Yellow Onion Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether 'Yellow Onion' is a good fit. Complete the basic quiz in 1 minute, or go deeper with additional quizzes at your own leisure to learn more about your body.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

Metabolic Nature of Yellow Onion

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

METABOLIC NATURE

Metabolic Nature

Ayurveda assesses metabolic imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating them weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which biocharacteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct metabolic imbalances before you get sick. Every biocharacteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite biocharacteristic.

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EASY

ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly.

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY

TASTES

The 6 Tastes

Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?

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SWEET

ABOUT SWEET BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEET

DOSHAS

The Three Doshas / Body Types

Ayurveda is a metabolic theory of medicine that explains individual health, tendencies, and disease patterns through the concept of doshas, which can be understood as your metabolic patterns and tendencies.

Each dosha reflects a distinct metabolic nature and describes strengths & weaknesses in bodily function, and how these affect energy levels, digestion, susceptibility to disease, and many other tendencies.

Your metabolic nature not only affects your physical characteristics, but also influences your mental thought patterns, confidence, and enthusiasm.

Ayurveda balances these metabolic strengths & weaknesses to support your body's vitality and prevent recurrent disease cycles. This support is a critical aid, especially in chronic or incurable disease conditions.

The 3 metabolic body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).

Through dosha, Ayurveda empowers people to identify metabolic imbalances early, break repetitive patterns of disease, and cultivate habits that support long-term vitality and well-being.

Ultimately, these metabolic patterns also provide a framework for understanding yourself, including body, mind, and spiritual tendencies.

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PACIFIES
Pitta pacifying Vata pacifying
AGGRAVATES
Kapha aggravating

GREEK MEDICINE / TEMPERAMENTS

The Four Temperaments / Humors

Ayurveda & Greek Medicine were the dominant form of medicine along the Silk Road from England to China and South Asia. They work by assessing your metabolic type, patterns, and nature. Greek medicine recognizes 4 metabolic temperaments, Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.

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PACIFIES
CHOLERIC

ABOUT CHOLERIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Has a hot and dry metabolic nature. Enthusiastic, vibrant and bright. In excess burns up fluids and ojas, irritable. Corresponds to high bilirubin in the blood that irritates and heats up the body and liver.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHOLERIC

MELANCHOLIC

ABOUT MELANCHOLIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Cold and dry with a slow, variable or erratic metabolism. Colicky, tense. Withdrawn, pensive, anxious, and hesitant. Analytical, intelligent, detail oriented and creative. Prone to ojas depletion, dehydration, an overactive nervous system, and depression.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MELANCHOLIC

AGGRAVATES
PHLEGMATIC

ABOUT PHLEGMATIC BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Wet & cold. When out of balance becomes congested, stagnant, and overweight. Loving, trusting, and patient.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PHLEGMATIC

SANGUINE

ABOUT SANGUINE BIOCHARACTERISTIC

Hot and oily with a moderate metabolism and a well nourished body. Vigorous, vivacious, outgoing and generous, and prone to impulsivity and self indulgence. Bullish and intense when out of balance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SANGUINE

Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Yellow Onion
Experiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

(see all)
Makes You Tired

MAKES-YOU-TIRED

Induces drowsiness and promotes sound sleep.

SEE ALL 'MAKES-YOU-TIRED' FOODS / HERBS

,
Sedative

SEDATIVE

Sedative herbs create a sense of calm in the mind and body by specifically calming or quieting the nervous system. Excellent for anxiety, stress and chronic pain.

SEE ALL 'SEDATIVE' FOODS / HERBS

Mucolytic

MUCOLYTIC

An herb that breaks apart mucus, liquefying the mucus.

SEE ALL 'MUCOLYTIC' FOODS / HERBS

Antihistamine,
Flushes Membranes

FLUSHES-MEMBRANES

Herbs in this category stimulate mucus membranes to release fluids, flushing them out.

SEE ALL 'FLUSHES-MEMBRANES' FOODS / HERBS

, Mast Cell Stabilizer,
Repairs Membrane

REPAIRS-MEMBRANE

Reduces inflammation and allergen reactivity by restoring epithelial barrier function. Repairs tight cell junction in leaky gut, interstitial cystitis, eczema, asthma, etc.

SEE ALL 'REPAIRS-MEMBRANE' FOODS / HERBS

Galactagogue

GALACTAGOGUE

Increases production of breast milk, often by raising prolactin and diaphoresis.

SEE ALL 'GALACTAGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS

Constituents:
Polysaccharides,
Saponins

SAPONINS

Can be used to make soap. Saponins stimulate mucus membrane secretion, liquefying mucus for easy removal (expectorant).

SEE ALL 'SAPONINS' FOODS / HERBS

, Sulfated Polysaccharides, Sulphur

Foods with a Similar Nature to Yellow Onion

  • Green Onion

    Green Onion has these Actions in Common

    Flushes-membranes, Mast-cell-stabilizer, Sedative, Galactagogue, Mucolytic, Antihistamine, Makes-you-tired, Repairs-membrane

    LEARN MORE

  • Red Onion (raw)

    Red Onion (raw) has these Actions in Common

    Galactagogue, Repairs-membrane, Antihistamine, Mast-cell-stabilizer, Flushes-membranes, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE

  • Garlic

    Garlic has these Actions in Common

    Galactagogue, Repairs-membrane, Makes-you-tired, Sedative, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE

  • Beer

    Beer has these Actions in Common

    Galactagogue, Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Turkey

    Turkey has these Actions in Common

    Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Oat Milk

    Oat Milk has these Actions in Common

    Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Oat Flour

    Oat Flour has these Actions in Common

    Sedative, Makes-you-tired

    LEARN MORE

  • Spelt Flour

    Spelt Flour has these Actions in Common

    Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • White Flour (wheat)

    White Flour (wheat) has these Actions in Common

    Sedative, Makes-you-tired

    LEARN MORE

  • Cream of Wheat

    Cream of Wheat has these Actions in Common

    Sedative, Makes-you-tired

    LEARN MORE

Herbs & Supplements with a Similar Nature to Yellow Onion

  • Ashwagandha

    Ashwagandha has these Actions in Common

    Mast-cell-stabilizer, Sedative, Galactagogue

    LEARN MORE

  • N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

    N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has these Actions in Common

    Mucolytic, Repairs-membrane

    LEARN MORE

  • Bhringaraj Oil (4 fl oz)

    Bhringaraj Oil (4 fl oz) has these Actions in Common

    Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Mullein

    Mullein has these Actions in Common

    Mucolytic, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Sniff raw onions, chopped

    Sniff raw onions, chopped has these Actions in Common

    Flushes-membranes, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE

  • Lavender Essential Oil

    Lavender Essential Oil has these Actions in Common

    Makes-you-tired, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Vasaka / Vasa

    Vasaka / Vasa has these Actions in Common

    Mucolytic, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Skullcap

    Skullcap has these Actions in Common

    Antihistamine, Sedative

    LEARN MORE

  • Hot Shower

    Hot Shower has these Actions in Common

    Flushes-membranes, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE

  • Inhale Steam

    Inhale Steam has these Actions in Common

    Flushes-membranes, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE

  • Hot Bath

    Hot Bath has these Actions in Common

    Flushes-membranes, Mucolytic

    LEARN MORE


Joyful Belly is a recognized college of biocharacteristics medicine.

TRADITIONALLY INDICATED FOR
THESE SYMPTOMS

Yellow Onion may be beneficial for these symptoms. The suitability of any food for a condition is highly dependent on the individual. Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.

CONTRAINDICATED FOR
THESE SYMPTOMS

Yellow Onion may be harmful or contraindicated for these symptoms. Note this is not a complete list of all possible contraindications. Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.

Herb Drug Interaction Risk

Here are some potential herb drug interactions with Yellow Onion. Please see your health care provider for more information.

View other ingredients
for Autumn-Winter

Yellow Onion is recommended for Autumn-Winter. Check out these other Autumn-Winter foods here.
VIEW ALL AUTUMN-WINTER FOODS MORE FOODS FOR VATA / PITTA MAIN INGREDIENT PAGE

HOW DOES EATING AYURVEDICALLY MAKE YOU FEEL?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. Food digests with ease when right for your body type (dosha). Healthy digestion is seen as the cornerstone of well-being in Ayurveda. Healthy digestion generally prevents illness. If you do get sick, a strong digestive fire reduces the severity of illness and increases your resilience. It also improves your mood. Once you begin eating Ayurvedically, you will feel refreshed, vital and strong.
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About the Author

John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda. His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful. John also directs the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda, offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.

John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy, & botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University. His wife and family of 7 kids live in Asheville, NC.

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