Onion: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

You almost certainly have the most widely used medicinal plant in Ayurveda sitting in your kitchen right now. Onion (Palandu), botanically Allium cepa Linn., is described in the Bhavaprakash Nighantu as one of the most universally used vegetables in Indian cooking, used in virtually all Indian preparations and valued as both food and medicine.

What makes onion distinctive is how much it changes with heat. It tastes pungent (Katu) when raw and sweet (Madhura) when cooked, and Ayurveda treats those two forms almost as different remedies. Its qualities are heavy (Guru), oily (Snigdha) and sharp (Tikshna), with a heating potency (Ushna Virya), meaning the warming effect it has on the body.

The classical texts prize onion as strengthening (Balya) and as a strong aphrodisiac (Vrishya), a substance that supports sexual vitality. It comes in white, red and pink varieties, and the red onion is considered more potent than the white. If you are curious how an everyday ingredient earns a place in a medical tradition, onion is the clearest example.

Onion's classical actions come from two texts in particular: the Bhavaprakash Nighantu, which lists its therapeutic actions (Karma), and Charaka Samhita, which uses it in the treatment of hemorrhoids. Kitchen-pharmacy tradition adds a set of simple home remedies built on onion juice.

Strength and Vitality

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu classifies onion as strengthening (Balya) and as a strong aphrodisiac (Vrishya). Its heavy, oily quality and sweet post-digestive effect (Madhura Vipaka), the taste-effect a food leaves after digestion, are the properties Ayurveda associates with building tissue rather than depleting it.

This is why onion is linked with weakness and debility and with impotence. A traditional remedy for sexual debility is 1 tablespoon of onion juice mixed with 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, taken twice a day.

Digestion and Parasites

Onion is listed as an appetizer (Deepana), a substance that kindles digestive fire (Agni), the body's capacity to digest and transform food. Tradition connects it with indigestion and nausea and vomiting.

It is also classified as anthelmintic (Krimighna), meaning it works against intestinal worms, which links it to parasites and worms.

Hemorrhoids

This is onion's best-documented classical use. In the hemorrhoids chapter of Charaka Samhita, onion is given cooked with buttermilk for bleeding piles, and taken alone or with meat soup, vegetable soup or thick gruel for excessive bleeding with aggravated Vata.

Onion taken alone or along with meat soup, khada (pungent drink), yusha (vegetable soup) and yavngu (thick gruel) cures excessive bleeding and aggravated vata.

Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana, Chapter 14: Arsha Chikitsa

A home version for hemorrhoids mixes 1 tablespoon of onion juice, 1 teaspoon of rock candy or organic sugar and half a teaspoon of ghee, taken twice a day.

Cough, Breathing and the Ears

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu notes onion juice with honey for cough, and tradition also links onion with asthma. For ear disorders, the same text describes onion juice warmed and instilled for earache.

Heart and Cholesterol

Kitchen-pharmacy tradition uses onion juice for the heart. For rapid heartbeat, 2 teaspoons of onion juice are mixed with half a teaspoon of Sitopaladi, taken twice a day. For high cholesterol, 1 teaspoon of onion juice with a pinch of Trikatu is taken before lunch and supper. Onion is also linked with heart disease more broadly.

First Aid: Fainting, Convulsions and Fever

Onion's sharp, heating qualities make it a classic revival aid. For fainting and convulsions, the remedy is to cut an onion and inhale the aroma until the tears come. Tradition also links onion with epilepsy and convulsive Vata disorder.

For high fever, grated onion pulp is wrapped in a wet cloth and applied to the forehead and then the navel for about 10 minutes at each spot. Onion is also traditionally linked with arthritis and boils.

Onion is used mainly in three ways: as cooked food, as fresh juice mixed with a partner ingredient, and externally as a cut bulb, pulp or warmed juice. The partner ingredient matters; Ayurveda calls this vehicle the anupana, the substance a remedy is taken with to steer its effect.

Raw or cooked?

This is the most important choice. Raw onion aggravates Vata and Pitta while soothing Kapha. Cooked onion calms Vata and Kapha, but can still aggravate Pitta when eaten in quantity. For everyday use, cooked onion is the gentler form.

Onions are pungent and heating with a sweet vipak. Raw onions are aggravating to vata and pitta, and soothing to kapha. When cooked, they calm vata and kapha, but still can aggravate pitta when taken in quantity.

• Convulsions and fainting: Cut an onion and inhale the aroma until the tears come.
• Epileptic convulsion: Squeeze 2 drops of fresh onion juice in each eye to help stop the convulsion.
• Hemorrhoids: Mix 1 tablespoon of onion juice, 1 teaspoon of rock candy or organic sugar and ½ teaspoon of ghee. Take internally twice a day.
• High fever: Wrap grated onion pulp in a wet piece of cloth and apply to the forehead and then the navel for about 10 minutes at each location.
• Sexual debility: Take 1 tablespoon of onion juice mixed with 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, 2 times a day.
• Rapid heartbeat: Take 2 teaspoons of onion juice mixed with ½ teaspoon sitopaladi, 2 times a day.
• High cholesterol: Take 1 teaspoon of onion juice mixed with a pinch of trikatu, before lunch and supper.

As a common food, onion is familiar and widely eaten. The cautions Ayurveda raises are about heat and about which form you use.

Pitta and heat

Onion has a heating potency, and both raw and cooked onion can aggravate Pitta, the dosha of heat and metabolism, when taken in quantity. The Ashtanga Hridaya also notes that onion increases Pitta. If you run hot or are prone to acidity, flushing or inflammation, keep amounts modest and favor cooked onion.

Raw onion and Vata

Raw onion aggravates Vata, the dosha of movement and dryness, even though cooked onion calms it. If you tend toward Vata imbalance, use onion cooked rather than raw.

First-aid uses need medical backup

Onion's traditional roles in fainting, convulsions and fever are first-aid measures for the moment, not treatments for the cause. Any fainting episode with chest pain or palpitations, any seizure, and any fainting that does not resolve within a minute or two needs prompt medical care.

The texts in our records do not address specific drug interactions, pregnancy or overdose. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medication, or planning to take onion juice daily as a remedy, check with a qualified practitioner first.

Onion's closest comparisons in Ayurveda are the other aromatic revival agents used for fainting, plus the choice people make most often: raw versus cooked onion.

The classical sources in our records give little population-specific guidance for onion. What follows applies onion's known properties with caution; treat anything beyond normal food use as something to discuss with a practitioner.

Pregnancy & Nursing

Onion as ordinary cooked food is part of everyday Indian cooking. The texts we hold do not address medicinal doses of onion juice in pregnancy or nursing, so avoid concentrated juice remedies unless a qualified practitioner advises them.

Children

No pediatric doses are given in our sources. Cooked onion in family meals is the safe default; skip the juice remedies for children unless guided by a practitioner.

Elderly

Onion's strengthening (Balya) action and its link with weakness and debility make cooked onion a reasonable part of the diet. Older adults often lean toward Vata imbalance, which cooked onion calms and raw onion aggravates, so cooked is the better choice.

Athletes

Ayurveda's view of onion as heavy, nourishing and strengthening fits an active body's need to rebuild. Cooked onion in meals is the simplest way to use it; athletes who run hot should keep amounts moderate because of its heating effect on Pitta.