*ONIONS* : PLEASE READ TO THE END: *IMPORTANT*

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.. Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that *she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home*, *(probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and placed it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, *he did find the flu virus in the onion*. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that *I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. ..sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better*.

This is the other note.

Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. "Onions ABSORB BACTERIA" is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason *we should NOT eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open*.

*LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS*
When food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

*Onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions*. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. It's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). If you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

PLEASE REMEMBER IT IS DANGEROUS TO CUT AN ONION AND TRY TO SAVE IT TO COOK WITH THE NEXT DAY, IT BECOMES HIGHLY POISONOUS FOR EVEN A SINGLE NIGHT - AS IT CREATES TOXIC BACTERIA WHICH CAUSE ADVERSE STOMACH INFECTIONS BECAUSE OF EXCESS BILE SECRETIONS AND EVEN FOOD POISONING

*Shocked*