What do any of you know about onions and their ability to fight off sickness?

Ok - so I'm sick today. Saturday I started out with what seemed like a sinus infection. Sunday, it grew into stuffy nose, blowing nose - basic head crud. Monday my nose was really stuffy and i had to keep blowing it - the people here at work love me right now. Today it's turned into a cough and stuffy nose.

I read over the weekend in one of those 'Organics' magazines of how people have used Onion to combat sickness. One excerpt talked about the flu pandemic of 1918-20 - it stated how a doctor entered a home right in the middle of sickness but none in the home were sick. He asked how that could be and the lady of the house stated because of the onions she had sitting around in bowls. He took and onion, tested it and found it to be full of the flu virus but no one in the house was sick. Another person had added their 2 cents that when little their grandma had made them eat a slice of onion with salt on it when they'd begin to feel ill - the next day, they'd be well.

I thought that by the time you felt the effects of illness (nasal congestion, etc) the virus was already thru your body thereby being too far along to beat with something like eating onion.

My boyfriend's father eats onion regularly - loves to eat it. He hasn't been sick in the 7+ years I've known him and he swears it's because of the onion he eats. I eat it a lot too, but usually cooked.

I've realized I get this crud every winter - sometimes twice. There's really no rhyme or reason why or when, but it does seem like when we get a warm up like we've had, I'll get it. I'm trying to figure out something to do to thwart it in future or get rid of it now. Drugs don't work except Nyquil at night - nothing stops it other than that and that only suspends it for a while.

Looking for experience or words of wisdom here on how to get rid of this crud and keep it away. Heck , I'd gladly force myself to eat a full slice of raw onion once a week if I thought it would keep this sickness away......