Onions affect people differently

on July 23, 2008 at 8:27 AM, updated July 23, 2008 at 2:02 PM

Q: I have been microwaving Vidalia onions for three minutes and adding them to my salad. They are wonderful. I also have lots of gas. Can onions cause gas? Do they have any nutritional value?

-- M.F., Grand Rapids

A: Yes, onions can cause gas, but not everyone has trouble with them.

All plants in the onion family (including green onions, garlic, chives and leeks) have gas-forming potential. Perhaps limiting the onions to every other day could help your tolerance to them.

Onions have about 30 calories per 1/2 cup and provide a small amount of vitamin C and calcium.

Q: Is there a health benefit to the all-natural plain yogurt vs. the Light & Fit yogurt since the Light & Fit has gelatin added to it? I love the Kroger brand of fat-free yogurt -- are the fat-free varieties virtually the same, nutritionally speaking? For that matter, I've heard dairy can cause inflammation, and one should go easy on it. I enjoy yogurt but have cut back to one 6-ounce cup per day instead of two.

I also try to watch my sugar intake (and save my sugar/fat/calories for dessert) and am wondering if the sugar in yogurt -- as in the fat-free variety with no added fruit -- can be considered a "healthy" sugar.

-- J.I.S., Springport

A: It's difficult to give you an exact answer without the labels of your yogurt choices in front of me. However, it's likely the all-natural plain yogurt has a higher amount of protein and calcium than the Light & Fit variety because it doesn't have the gelatin filler.

The fat-free varieties of yogurt have all the nutritional value of the other yogurts, except there isn't any fat in it, so it has fewer calories.

There have been many claims that milk can cause or contribute to health problems, including inflammation. But I have not seen any evidence to back up those claims. I still consider cow's milk a good source of nutrition.

And last, about the sugar listed on the plain yogurt's Nutrition Facts label: That is the natural sugar, lactose, found in milk.
