You probably avoid onions during the day, and that’s fine – no one wants that person with the stinky onion breath in the office.

But you should find time to eat as much of this layered veggie as you can stomach, if not for its sweet taste, but its wonderful health benefits:

Onions are loaded with antioxidants

Onions aren’t overflowing with vitamins and minerals. A medium onion contains a modest 44 calories, 20% of your daily vitamin C needs, and between 5 and 10% of the daily recommendations for B6, folate, potassium, and manganese.

But they’re rich in antioxidants. They have dozens of useful types, including quercetin, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. Note that the outer layers of the onion pack the heaviest antioxidant punch.

Onions may protect against cancers

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers looked at how often people in Italy and Switzerland ate onions and another Allium vegetable, garlic.

They learned that there was a reverse link between the frequency of use of these veggies, and the risk of common cancers. This means that the more garlic and onions the people ate, the lower their chances of cancer.

Related: 4 Foods That Can Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Onions build bone density

One study that looked at perimenopausal and postmenopausal Caucasian women 50 and older found a connection between onion consumption and bone vitality.

Women who ate onions more frequently had better bone density, and decreased their risk of hip fracture by more than 20% compared to onion-free women.

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