Decoding a familiar vegetable: Research shows it can kill 50% of cancer cells within 40 hours. Is it true?
A study by Zhejiang University found that onions can kill 50% of cancer cells within 40 hours. Researchers found that quercetin and sulfides, compounds found in onions, inhibited some types of cancer cells.
In tests, these compounds were able to significantly reduce the rapid growth rate of cancer cells. However, it is important to note that these experiments were done in cell cultures in the laboratory and have not yet been validated in human trials.
While these findings are encouraging, they also remind us that laboratory data cannot be directly compared to everyday effectiveness. Scientific research tells us that onions have health benefits, but they are not “miracle drugs,” so understanding and properly using foods’ health effects is key to fighting disease and improving quality of life.
Can onions really kill cancer cells?
When many people see headlines like “Onions can kill 50% of cancer cells in 40 hours,” their first reaction is surprise. How can a simple vegetable like onions do such a huge job? But let’s calm down and think carefully before believing it. We need to understand the scientific logic behind the phrase “kills cancer cells.”
Scientific research has found that onions contain some special compounds such as quercetin and sulfides. These compounds work wonders in the lab. Researchers put cancer cells in a petri dish and added onion extract. They found that the growth rate of the cancer cells slowed down, and some cells were even attacked and died. This is the “cancer killing” effect referred to in the study.
However, the “killing” here is not what we imagine, that eating onions can cleanse cancer cells. Laboratory research and real life are completely different things. The laboratory environment is very safe. The quercetin and sulfide used by researchers are also highly pure, and have a direct effect on cancer cells.
But our bodies are not that simple. When onions enter the mouth, they have to go through the process of digestion, absorption and metabolism. Finally, when they enter the bloodstream, these components are greatly diluted. Whether they can reach cancer cells is still a question that needs to be studied further.
So, onions do have some cancer-fighting potential, but it’s probably only part of a long-term healthy diet and is not a “miracle drug.” We can’t just go crazy eating onions and hope to prevent cancer. On the contrary, eating too many onions can cause stomach upset and bloating, which is not beneficial at all.
In conclusion, should you eat onions or not?
Of course, eating onions is good! Although it is not a quick cure for cancer as many people are shocked, it has many health benefits.
For example, the antioxidants in onions can help us fight free radicals in the ทางเข้า ufabet https://ufabet999.app body and reduce the risk of cell damage. Free radicals are the “bad guys” in the body, they can damage cells and cause chronic diseases. Eating onions can help us “cleanse” these bad guys.
In addition, the sulfides in onions have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, helping us boost our immune system. Although these benefits are not directly anti-cancer, from a preventive perspective, it is always right to stay healthy.
It is important to remember that we cannot rely on one type of food to solve all our health problems. Eating a variety of foods and paying attention to nutritional balance are the basics to consider.
The gap between scientific experiments and reality
Many people like to read news stories about certain foods that can fight cancer, and often feel like they have found a miracle weapon for their health in a simple and miraculous way. But the question is, are these claims about “cancer-fighting foods” really credible?
There is always a gap between scientific experimentation and daily diet. Laboratory studies often look at single chemical components, such as quercetin and sulfides in onions, and if these compounds can cause cancer cells to “kill themselves” or stop growing, the experiment is considered a success.
This type of research is important because it is the first step in scientific discovery and helps us identify compounds that may be beneficial. The problem is that the laboratory environment and the human body have completely different concepts. A cancer cell in a petri dish is an isolated island, nothing compared to the complex ecosystem in the real human body.
Our bodies have thousands of different types of cells, and as we move through them, we also have to deal with digestion, absorption and metabolism. Whether a food ingredient can play any role in the human body depends on how much remains after passing through these checkpoints.
If you eat a small piece of onion, it is first “washed” by stomach acid, then absorbed by the intestines and broken down into small molecules. These molecules move throughout the body in the blood. Instead of specifically seeking out cancer cells to “fight,” when they reach the cancer cells, they are subject to minimal dilution. The concentrations that directly affect the laboratory and the concentrations that can actually be achieved in the human body are often extremes.
More importantly, fighting cancer is a very complex problem involving genes, the immune system, lifestyle, environmental factors… Diet is just one part of it. Onions may indeed have health benefits, but expecting them to be able to fight cancer cells on their own is an overestimate.
After all, the right attitude is not to blindly worship “cancer-fighting ingredients.” The importance of a healthy diet is not the magic of a few ingredients, but the overall balance and variety.