Shallots are alliums, a member of the onion family. In addition to plucking fruits and vegetables off of trees and shrubs, our ancestors spent a fair amount of time digging for the ones that hide in the soil, and this includes onions and all of their family members.
Nutrients Found in Shallots
Aside from offering a healthy dose of B vitamins, vitamin C, and trace metals such as manganese, iron, and phosphorous, shallots are especially valuable for the sulfur they provide. Although you might not hear much about sulfur in the media, it’s actually a vital nutrient that does a lot of helpful things for our health.
The Health Benefits of Sulfur
Sulfur is needed to produce taurine, which is vital in maintaining the health of our cardiovascular system, muscles, and nervous system. Sulfur is also a key ingredient in making insulin, a hormone that gets a lot of bad press in the Paleo/Primal world, but it is a hormone that we need.
Sulfur has also been shown to improve glucose tolerance in rats, and it may even have anti-cancer properties.
Terry Wahls recommends that we eat three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables every day and Mark Sisson has a whole post on the health benefits of sulfur to back her up.
