How Many Calories In An Onion?

Onions are used in a variety of dishes. So how many calories in an onion are there? There are 70 calories in 1 cup of chopped raw onions. Along with the very low calorie content, onions are very healthy. They are high in dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamin b6 and vitamin C. Along with the 70 calories in one cup of raw chopped onions there are .10 grams of fat, 6 mg of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar and 1.5 grams of protein.

Onions are not only low in calories they are very healthy. Onions have a lot of flavonoids in them that are very similar to antioxidants. Flavonoids are similar to antioxidants because they protect the body from sickness and disease by keeping the cell healthy and protecting it from free radical damage.

The best part of the onion is near the top of the onion. Over peeling the onion can compromise the flavonoids. Another important point is that the flavonoids in onions are not degraded that much even when the onion is cooked.

The particular flavonoid category found in onions is the polyphenol type. This type of flavonoid is one of the best at preventing disease. Some studies suggest that polyphenol flavonoids have a lot to do with the low disease rates in French citizens because their diets are high in onions and other foods with polyphenol flavonoids.