Woman Shares Hack To Stop Onions Making You Cry

As much as we love onions, we've all been reduced to tears while preparing them for a meal.

Cutting onions without crying seems virtually impossible. Luckily for us, TikTok user @gnthompson29 has created a simple hack to stop the tears flowing during meal prep.

Watch the video below:

One TikTok user called the hack “life changing”.

However some people weren’t convinced, with one keen cook writing: “I just tried this it didn’t work I’m definitely crying.”

When onions grow and mature underground, they produce enzymes and sulfenic acid to serve as a defense mechanism to prevent animals such as voles from nibbling on their roots.

Unfortunately, this also means that when humans cut into an onion, the enzymes and sulfenic acid reacts with our eyes when the onion’s skin is broken.

These compounds react together and produce propanethial S-oxide, a gas which irritates the eyes and leads to tears.

Pexels)

The tears are actually helpful in this instance. Just like onions have a defense mechanism to protect themselves, so do our eyes. When the nerves in our eyes detect a lachrymatory agent, they produce tears, or “cry” to flush it out.

For some amateur chefs, wiping away tears can be annoying.

In other onion-related news, we learned that onions are one of the foods to avoid if you have trouble sleeping.

 The Sleep Association said: “Onions create gas as they move through your digestive system."

"That gas affects the pressure within your stomach, which can send acid back up your oesophagus, especially when you’re lying down flat.

"Sadly, both raw and grilled onions have this effect.”

@gnthompson29/TikTok)

Wellness experts at Eden's Gate were in agreement, they added: "Onions can often cause symptoms such as heartburn, bloating, abdominal discomfort nausea and vomiting; this is more common when eating onions raw rather than cooked."

"Therefore, it’s best to keep away from onions before bed as the discomfort they bring to some throughout the night isn't worth the taste!"

You can read about the other foods to avoid before bedtime here.

Topics: Food and Drink

Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.