Women need not cry over onions anymore. A new study conducted by the Kumamoto University in Japan has found that the good ol’ onion has anti -cancer properties against ovarian cancer.
The World Health Organization puts epithelial ovarian cancer as the most common form of cancer in the world and the 5 year survival rate is merely 40%. It’s life risk is less than 1 %, but a positive family history raises the risk to an alarming 40%.
The researchers found out that a natural compound called onionin A (ONA), showed good results on an Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) model. The substance showed suppression of tumor cell growth which could, in future, make way for new anti-cancer drugs for the deadly ovarian cancer.
The studies were conducted on mice to investigate the effects of the ONA compound. ONA effectively halted tumor growth in them without any side effects.
Women sure have a reason now to smile while chopping onions!
But what is ovarian cancer?
Ovarian cancer is an uncontrolled cell growth of one or both the ovaries in a woman.
What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?
Usually, ovarian cancer shows no symptoms in the early stages.Even in the later stages, the symptoms are usually non specific in nature. It is very important to identify the subtle signs and symptoms and visit your gynaecologist immediately. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are:
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Pain in the abdomen and pelvis
- Bloated feeling in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, change in bowel movements
- Feeling of a lump in the abdomen, the abdominal girth increases due to presence of growth
- Back pain
- Constipation
- Changes and irregularities in menstrual cycles
- Pain during intercourse
If you experience one or more of these, then visit a gynecologist immediately.
Onions don’t just help BEAT ovarian cancer, but also help these conditions:
- Protects against allergies, cold and respiratory disorders
- Maintains bone health
- Helps in improving digestion
- Reduces glucose levels
- Improves hair growth
- Lowers cholesterol levels
- Prevents oral infections
