Study says onion lowers blood sugar but then why are so many Indians diabetic still?

Should we always believe studies that gain traction in the West just because they go viral or do we contextualise it in the local scenario? This question follows a new study that has revealed that onion could be a miracle superfood that can lower blood sugar levels 50 per cent and can be considered for “potential use” in diets while treating patients with Type 2 diabetes.
According to The Independent, the findings were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 97th annual meeting in San Diego on August 25 and revealed that the extract of an onion bulb could “strongly lower” high blood sugar and total cholesterol levels when given alongside the anti-diabetic drug Metformin. The lead study author, Anthony Ojieh of Delta State University, in Abraka, Nigeria, was quoted as saying, “Onion is cheap and available and has been used as a nutritional supplement. It has the potential for use in treating patients with diabetes.” Of course, it must be noted that the researchers tested the theory on rats. In total, three groups of rats with medically induced diabetes were given various doses of the onion extract to see if it would enhance the drug’s effect.

Questioning the study, Dr Anoop Misra, Chairman, Fortis CDOC Center for Diabetes, said, “Going this logic, India wouldn’t have been the diabetes hotspot it is today. We consume a lot of onions, they are a kitchen staple and still we have so many people with diabetes. Yes, onions have a high fibre value but in India it is had in all forms, raw, as ringlets, munched down whole and used liberally in our cooking. So, till we get details about the mechanism which the onion extract brought about the blood glucose reduction, its impact on metabolism and whether its efficacy is as good as with other drugs, it will be too hasty to draw specific conclusions. We do not yet have an explanation and researchers have to work on it.”
However, he feels, that “These interesting findings in rats cannot be ignored totally and should be replicated in humans through clinical trials. And that too it must be tested separately on Indians who have traditionally lived on onions.”
The study found that of the diabetic rats, those given 400 mg and 600 mg per kg of body weight “strongly reduced” their blood sugar levels 50 per cent and 35 per cent respectively compared with a baseline level. The onion extract also lowered the total cholesterol level in diabetic rats, with the 400 mg and 600 mg having the greatest effects.