Chopping onions is a task worth shedding a few tears over because their benefits far outweigh those moments of discomfort. While yellow and red onions have slightly more nutritional value than white onions, and cooked onions are slightly better for your health than raw onions, all varieties of onions do good things for your body. Fortunately, you can include both raw and cooked onions in just about every meal of the day.

Nutritional Facts

Low in calories and fat, both cooked and raw onions contain from 15 to 20 grams of carbs, meeting 5 to 7 percent of your daily needs. More importantly, the vegetable is rich in soluble fiber, containing about 3 grams total fiber, or 11 to 12 percent of your daily recommended amount. Onions are the main dietary source for a soluble fiber called fructan, which provides beneficial digestive bacteria that can help with colon health and reduce inflammation and may reduce your risk for colon cancer.

Vitamins and Minerals

Onions contain 11 to 12 milligrams of vitamin C, or 18 to 20 percent of your daily needs, helping your immune system function and keeping your skin and hair healthy. They contain 30 to 32 milligrams, or 8 percent of your daily requirement, of folate, B9, which assists cell growth. They contain under 1 milligram, which translates to 10 to 14 percent of your daily need of vitamin B6, and 234 to 349 milligrams, or 7 to 10 percent of your daily requirement of potassium, which can lower blood pressure and protect your heart.

Other Chemicals

Like other fruits and vegetables, onions contain chemical compounds that may decrease your risk of heart disease by preventing blood clots from forming and even preventing some types of cancer. All onions contain some antioxidants and flavonoids that provide these healthy benefits, but raw onions and red and yellow onions are richer in all types of these compounds than cooked or white onions. Yellow onions have nearly 11 times more antioxidants than white onions.

Other Benefits

While scientists don’t know the exact way that onions provide some of their nutritional value, some studies continue to report benefits. In both animal and human studies, raw onions reduced blood sugar levels, important for those worried about diabetes. Other studies showed that regular onion consumption may help protect against bone loss and might increase bone density. And several studies suggest that onions can help reduce your risk of stomach, breast, colon and prostate cancer, with red onions especially promising for further research.

Cooking With Onions