Have you ever cried like a baby while trying to chop an onion?
We cry, and sometimes laugh at ourselves when we chop onions withtearsstreaming down our cheeks.
Crying usually occurs about 30 seconds after you cut an onion open.
Capelle.r / Getty Images
The tearing starts to slow down after about five minutes of cutting.
Why does this happen?
Your brain says, There is something in my eye!
Your tear glandsbegin secreting tearsto potentially dilute or wash out the offending agent.
Here are some of the most effective:
A Tear-Free Onion?
Block E.Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science.
RSC Pub; 2010.
2017;12(9):2296-2304. doi:10.1021/acschembio.7b00336
Mukamal R.Facts about tears.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Published online Dec. 21, 2016.
Mukamal R.All about emotional tears.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Published online Feb. 28, 2017.
Published online June 20, 2017.
Aldridge S.Tear-free onions.Nat Biotechnol.
2008;26(4):365. doi:10.1038/nbt0408-365a
Spiewak A.SUNIONS The game-changing ‘cepas’ that wont make you cry.
Published online Nov. 19, 2020.
