Is it possible to be allergic to onions? Or even, just *raw* onions?

I don't know if it's just something recent with me, or if I've only ever noticed it recently...

But last Wednesday or so, my sister and I ate at a Greek restaurant. We both had exactly the same thing -- falafel sandwiches with no sauce. Well, shortly after the meal I got burpy (sorry, it's gross) and my stomach became painfully bloated. Even when I tried to make myself burp to get some of the air out, it only seemed to make it worse. She was fine after the meal, so there wasn't anything wrong with the food itself. However, there were raw onions on it.

Then yesterday I made salsa for a party, with raw onions in it. I ate a little in the process to test spices, etc. and eventually I got that painful bloated feeling...it really sucked.

I searched for stuff on the web but a lot of people are allergic, it seems, to all allium family members, raw or cooked, and suffer from different/more severe syptomes (naseua, vomitting, drowsiness, headaches, etc.)...I've only recently made the connection between raw onions and myself...but don't really want to test my theory. I don't recall getting that way with cooked onions, either.

:help: ?

:nigel: C.

After many years of not being able to pinpoint it, I figured out that I too am sensitive to onions, moreso if they're raw. I get bloated and queasy and gassy (clearing the room sort of gassy :o) and just feel ick afterwards. I can handle cooked onions better, but the smaller quantity the better. I hate how EVERY vegetarian recipe calls for onions though, and I don't know how to replace them effectively.
I don't think allergy is necessarily the correct categorization. I just think they don't agree with me.

Thanks, RC, for your response...

"Good" to know I'm not the only one with an onion "sensitivity" :p

:nigel: C.

For years I didn't eat tomato sauce because it upset my stomach (we always made homemade) and figured it was the acid in the tomatoes but as I got older and started cooking more "outside the box" I started making pastas with fresh diced tomatoes and it never upset my stomach. Then I kind of put a few things together in my brain and realized its probably the ONION in the sauce that upset my stomach, and sure enough if I make tomato sauce without onion it doesn't bother me.

I'd love to find a good sub for onions when recipes call for them.

I'd love to find a good sub for onions when recipes call for them.

Certain religious sects (especially in India) discourage consumption of onions and garlic (they supposedly incite too much passion), so their followers use asafoetida (http://www.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Feru_ass.html) (sometimes "asafetida" or "hing") to give food an onion-like flavor. You can find the stuff wherever Indian spices are sold. Use it sparingly though!

I think it really depends on the recipe. Onions are a tough flavor to replace, and asafoetida won't be appropriate in all recipes that call for onions. You really have to think about what role the onions play in the dish. Sometimes it might just be appropriate to increase the other seasonings, or add a lot of fresh herbs for flavor. In a recipe that caramelizes the onions, adding a little sweetener might be a good idea. Etc etc.

I wouldn't call that a true food allergy, but a sensitivity or digestion problem. But yes, you can definitely have a problem with onions. How about cooked ones?

I'd love to find a good sub for onions when recipes call for them.
leeks? That's the one thing I can think of. It's from the same family and has an oniony taste to it.

To my knowlege, I do not have an onion sensitivity, but I wanted to extend my condolences.

Leeks sound like a good alternative, and if it's texture you want, cabbage might suffice.

Have you tried different varieties of onions? The cooking onions are the most common, but you might not be sensitive to vidalias or red onions. Depending on how much you like the taste of onions, it might be worth a test.

Fennel bulbs make a very good substitute in things like tomato sauces, anywhere where you would caramelise onions in fact. do them in butter and it's difficult to tell the difference. The good thing here is that unlike leeks, the fennel bulb is not of the same plant family so if you have a reaction to leeks garlic onions etc this can sort you out.


I discovered this when my daughters mum was breastfeeding, onions are a big part of the stomach cramp problem of new borns, so for the duration of Hiske being a milk factory, we cut onions out of our diet completely and replaced them with fennel. although it didn't get rid of the cramps completely, the situation was better than most. Other parents we insanely jealous of this peaceful little new born.

luvs
iain

I'm allergic to onions (and the family: leeks, chives, and garlic). So yes, it's possible! In general, though, onions are difficult for a lot of people to digest.

I feel your pain! Onions make me very sick too, especially raw...I sometimes eat cooked green ones (like leeks, chives, etc) but NEVER white/red/purple ones unless I have free time to feel like complete crap (gassy, bloated, heartburn, burps, chest pain) for the next two days. I once ate some potato salad that had onion in it, and it resulted in indigestion and chest pain so severe, I was one second away from going to the hospital before I managed to burp (tmi? oh well).

I find that eating raw onions results in congestion. It took me years to figure it out, but one night I awoke in the middle of the night feeling like I had bronchitis, and in a state of self pity thought that not only did I have bronchitis, but I had onion breath. I then realized that those two symptoms have often been paired for me.
Susanna

I wouldn't call that a true food allergy, but a sensitivity or digestion problem.

:yes: Like others recommended you can try to see if you tolerate them better caramelized or try related veggies for the same flavor.