An onion a day is better than an apple for keeping the doctor away. Onions harbor an arsenal of disease-fighting phytochemicals. But all onions are not equal in this respect. Cornell University scientists recently studied shallots and 10 different onion varieties to learn which are the most healthful choice for consumers.

Their findings showed tiny, mild-tasting shallots to be the highest in phenolic content, as well as in antioxidant activity. Western Yellow onions were the highest in flavonoid content, with 11 times more flavonoids than Western Whites.

Western Yellow, shallots, New York Bold, and Northern Red showed the highest antiproliferative effects against cancer cells, while Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia onions had only a weak effect against the cancer cells. No matter what the variety, investigators found, the more onions you eat, the greater is their preventive effect. So, eat up!

"Onions can make even heirs and widows weep. " -- Benjamin Franklin

Eggs: Better Than They're Cracked Up to Be

Hard-boiled nutritionists once classified all eggs as cholesterol raisers and a cardiovascular risk. Now studies show the nutritionists were only partly right. A recent research study on the effect of eating eggs showed that eggs do increase certain fractions of LDL cholesterol. But the good news is, eggs don't increase the harmful fractions. The dietary cholesterol in eggs raises the LDL-1 and LDL-2 cholesterol fractions but does not alter the small, dense LDL-3 to LDb7 particles that scientists believe pose the real heart disease risk. This limited effect of eggs on LDL cholesterol was found even in people who are genetically predisposed to be sensitive to dietary cholesterol.

Health Hints for the Kitchen

• Use Romaine lettuce in salads. It has three times the vitamin C and six times the vitamin A found in common iceberg lettuce.

• Have a headache when you are cooking? Cut a lime in half and rub it on your forehead for fast relief.

• As a substitute for sour cream, blend 1 cup cottage cheese in a blender with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/3 cup buttermilk.

Bean Bonus

Beans, rich in protein, folate, calcium, and fiber, now have another nutritional feather to stick in their caps. The latest USDA studies have placed them at the top of the list of antioxidant-rich vegetables. In the bean world, black beans are highest in antioxidant content, followed by red, brown, yellow, and white. The level of anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant, in a serving of black beans is about 10 times the overall antioxidants in an equivalent serving of oranges. Beans rival grapes, apples, and cranberries in their antioxidant content. The second most antioxidant-rich vegetable appears to be the artichoke.

Foods Team Up For Health

It is better to eat broccoli with your chicken than to eat broccoli or chicken alone, say researchers at England's Institute of Food Research. The scientists are studying the synergistic effects of foods acting together to promote health. They have found that two foods can be more potent cancer fighters when combined in the diet. Examples are sulforaphane--a powerful anti cancer and possibly cancer-curative food component present in broccoli, sprouts, cabbage, watercress and arugula--and selenium, found in nuts, poultry, fish, eggs, sunflower seeds, and mush rooms, which may help prevent numerous forms of cancer when present in high-enough amounts in the diet. Too much of either selenium or sulforaphane can be toxic, but when the two are combined in the diet, less of each is needed to keep cancer at bay. Eating broccoli and chicken together may multiply their cancer-fighting effects by as much as 13 times.