You may have heard that people are slicing onions to put on their feet before bed. So out of curiosity, you wondered what would happen.

In this article, we will look at the reasons you should put onions against your feet and in your socks before you go to bed, and why you might want to try this interesting health remedy.

Here’s What Happens When You Put Onions On Your Feet Before Bed

Our skin is our body’s largest organ and it can absorb chemicals, ions, minerals, drugs, cosmetics, and other things that we put on it. Transcutaneous absorption is the name for the process by which substances are absorbed through the skin.

Studies show that it is possible that you can absorb some of the nutrients from onions when you put them on your feet as you sleep. Researchers studying the skin of newborns found that coconut oil and safflower oil rubbed onto a baby’s skin resulted in a rise in the triglycerides and fatty acids in the bloodstream of the baby. The oil that was rubbed onto the skin actually showed up in the bloodstream as though the babies had eaten it.

Foot reflexology, Ayurvedic medicine, acupressure, acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine all have healing practices that involve stimulating areas on the feet that correspond to the health of our overall body. The points at which you stimulate the feet correspond to energy meridians that lie in the body.

Antibacterial Properties of Onions

whfoods.org says that onions are similar to garlic in their antibacterial properties, but have not been as widely researched as garlic has been. The San Francisco Globe’s online newspaper quotes Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, who says: ‘Onions feature a variety of sulfur compounds that have antibacterial activity. … Furthermore, cutting an onion triggers the release of enzymes that initiate a chemical reaction producing propenesulfenic acid, which in turn decomposes to yield sulphuric acid … sulfuric acid also inhibits the growth of bacteria.’

How To Put Onions On Your Feet Before Bed

Slice any type (white, yellow or red) to about a half-inch thickness. Place a slice of onion against the bottom of your foot covering the bottoms of the toes and slide your sock on over your foot and the onion until it covers the first onion slice. Add a second or third slice of onion to cover the arch and heel of your foot before pulling your sock on all the way.

If you have any hard skin growths on your feet, also known as corns, onion can also help remove them while you sleep. First, soak a slice of onion in vinegar and then place it on top of the corn on your foot before you slip on socks and go to bed. The combination of the acetic acid in vinegar and the sulfuric acid from the onion will help soften the skin of the corn and may make it easier to slough off the skin on the corn when you use a pumice stone or foot file.

Nutritional Benefits Of Onions

Onions are a stinky food that we love to add to pizza, salads, salsa, sandwiches, and other foods to enhance the flavor of the other ingredients. The stinky reason that onions smell this way is sulfur.

Sulfur is a very important nutrient in our diet because it helps the formation of proteins. When you put onions on your feet before bed, you are making a source of sulfur available to your body to absorb while you rest.

Sulfur is important to building healthy hair and fingernails, for making insulin in the body, and for building muscles. Putting onions on your feet before bed allows the onion oil to penetrate your skin, providing sulfur for your body. Of course, you can eat onions to get this benefit as well, just don’t eat the same ones.

Health Problems That Improve By Putting Onions On Your Feet

Onions have been used to ‘purify the blood’ for centuries as far as folk remedies are concerned. There are several health problems that may be helped when you put them on your feet before bed.

Liveandfeel.com lists the following health problems that you might help by applying onion oil to the skin:

• Common cold and flu
• Gland imbalance
• High blood pressure
• Immune system complaints
• Inflammation
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Weakness

Buying oil in concentrated form is also an option for those not looking to wear slices of onions to bed. Look for a high-quality, organically grown essential oil variety. To apply the oil to your feet before bed, mix 2 drops per teaspoon of carrier oil like coconut, jojoba, or avocado oil. Rub the mixed oil on the soles of both feet before bed and wear socks to keep your sheets from getting messy.