Used as an ingredient in many recipes, green onion’s health benefits are plentiful. Otherwise called scallion or spring onion, this vegetable is a grass-like plant with long leaves that is grown for food and medicinal purposes.
Health Benefits of Green Onions
Green onions are good for you because they are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are also excellent for use as an antibacterial and antifungal remedy.
1. Fight Candida
Because of its potent antifungal and antibacterial properties, green onion can help with Candida overgrowth. Additionally, alliums help reduce water retention, a side effect of having candida in your body.
2. Help Prevent Cancer
Onion, with its many phytochemicals, helps reduce inflammation. It also helps eliminate cancer-causing toxins that are found in the gastrointestinal tract [1].
3. Relieve Mosquito Bites
Onion juice is an excellent remedy for mosquito bites. Simply crush and apply the juice or press an onion slice onto the affected skin area and hold for a few minutes.
If the symptoms persist, affix a slice to the area with a piece of medical tape for a longer period until the irritation stops.
4. Promote a Healthy Heart
Green onion, which is an excellent source of sulfur, has strong heart-health benefits [2].
Sulfur is known to reduce the clotting of blood platelets. Reducing clumping or clotting may well lessen the risk of a heart attack.
Sulfur-containing foods may also lower cholesterol, a risk factor that might increase the chance of developing heart disease.
5. Prevent Cold and Flu
The active compound, allicin, that is within scallions contains antiviral properties that fight off colds and flu.
Other Medicinal Uses
- Used as a stimulant for the respiratory tract that helps with the expulsion of sputum (phlegm).
- Helps stabilize blood pressure.
- It is good for the skin. Onions contain antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, as well as vitamin C, all of which promote healthy, glowing skin.
- Helps prevent diarrhea.
- While speeding up blood circulation, it absorbs vitamin B1, which helps decrease stress levels and reduce tiredness.
- It contains sulfur, which kills or helps prevent fungal infections.
- The benefits of scallion leaves include their being an excellent source of folate, vitamins, and minerals.
Nutrition Facts
One hundred grams of raw green onions contain [3]:
- 32 Calories
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Calcium: 72 mg
- Iron: 1.48 mg
- Potassium: 276 mg
- Protein: 1.83 g
- Vitamin C: 18.8 mg
- Magnesium: 20 mg
- Phosphorus: 37 mg
- Carbs: 7.34 g
Scallions vs. Green Onions
There is no difference. The terms are used interchangeably to represent the same thing in different regions.
Scallions vs. Spring Onions
Spring onions are different in some ways. Scallion stems are thin and not-so-bulbous, while spring onions have larger bulbous stems.
But they both have white stems and green stalks and are harvested alike. They also display the same properties and nutritional values.
Chives vs. Green Onions
Chive is an herb, while green onion is a vegetable.
Moreover, the green onion plant has a slender, long green stalk with a slender white bulb at the end, while chives are wholly green with no visible bulbs.
How to Grow
Green onions are a fun, great, and versatile vegetable. They’re easy to grow and perfect for a wide variety of different dishes. Below is a basic growing guide.
1. Planting
Onions grow year-round. Growing them from store-bought seeds is your best bet if you’re just starting out.
For those wondering how to grow onions from scraps, they are grown by splitting and planting single stalks that still have roots attached.
They require rich soil that drains well. Plus, it’s best to plant them tightly together to retain this moisture and keep out weeds as best as possible.
When planting onions, you can either plant the seeds directly in the ground outside or transplant them outdoors after germinating indoors for four to eight weeks.
You can even buy scallions from the grocery store or market and plant them if they still have roots.
Dig down about ¼ inch into the ground following the final frost. Keep them about ½ inch apart from one another for optimal spacing.
Moreover, green onions can even grow in a glass of water indoors. This method works well if you live in an apartment and don’t have easy access to soil.
2. Partial Shade or Full Sun?
Scallions are among the vegetables that can survive in partial shade, but your best bet is full sun when at all possible. If you do plant them outdoors in full sun, be sure to give them plenty of water.
3. Fertilizing
They’d be happy with a little natural, nitrogen-rich fertilizer every month. We recommend fish emulsion fertilizer.
4. Weed Control
Regular weeding is highly advised since the scallions are already tightly packed and weeds can choke them. So, get down and pull out those weeds.
5. Dealing With Pests
When it comes to garden pests, you won’t have a ton to worry about with scallions.
Besides, you can always rotate the next crop to another patch of land if you do start to notice anything.
The allium leaf miner is one pest that affects scallions. Other pests include armyworms, thrips, slugs, and snails. The beet armyworm is one of the most damaging pests affecting green onion farmers in some areas.
5. Harvesting
Harvesting is best when the plants are about 5 to 6 inches tall, about the width of a pencil. Like an onion, you pull the entire plant out of the ground, bulb and all.
At the end of the season (6 to 8 weeks), you can lift the whole clump out of the ground and replant one or two stalks so you have more the following season.
Another option is to pull it. This is when you leave one or two stalks of each clump in the ground to create new plants.
How Do You Use It?
Most recipes use only the white root and the pale green portion of the onion. However, the green leaves are just as important.
When finely chopped, they can be used as a delicious garnish for any dish.
You can eat green onions either as a side dish with seasonings or as seasonings themselves. They can even replace fresh chives in any recipe.
- In Soups. Add 2-3 stalks of scallion to a boiling pot of soup or sprinkle it finely chopped over a bowl of soup for a fantastic garnish.
- Seasoned Fried Rice: Gather up some leftover rice, veggies, eggs, and green onions in a hot pot and cook until crispy.
- Salads: Add scallions to your salads for a bit of crunch, flavor, and color.
- Sandwiches: Perk up your sandwich with some scallions for a mouth-watering meal.
Storing
To keep them fresh, pour some water into a glass jar and place the root section in it. You can then cover the jar with a plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator. But, be sure to replace the water every 3 to 4 days.
Additionally, you can wrap the end (root section) in a damp paper towel and place the entire plant in a storage container or plastic bag.
Takeaway
Green onions can help improve your health, as you can see from the list of benefits above.
Additionally, growing your own organic supply would be a great venture, as there are no known side effects to consuming organically grown vegetables.
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