Everyone knows that there are many health benefits to eating fruits and vegetables. However, experts are now saying that there are other ways that fruits and vegetables can benefit your health as well.

One vegetable that we take for granted are onions. While an onion is healthy to eat, it can also help your health in other different ways.

Onions have various sulfuric compounds that have been found to be effective in reducing the risk of cancer and detoxing the liver. Red onions in particular are full of quercitin, an antioxidant that is believed to lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, fight diabetes, asthma and other chronic breathing problems. Europeans have been using onions since the early 1900s to manage complications brought on by the plague. In addition, people who practice Ayurvedic medicine have used an onion poultice to cure flus, colds, coughs, joint pain and inflammation.

If you cut up and onion and put it on your bedside table, it can help reduce the risk of getting the flu. Onions can provide natural relief from the nasty symptoms brought on by the influenza virus and other bacteria. It can soak up the harmful organisms, toxins and pollutants in the air that take a toll on your health.

Experts say that just cutting an onion in half and placing it in a bowl or cup on your night stand overnight to prevent pathogens from entering your system.

With winter coming, this could be the perfect hack to make sure you don’t get the flu!