Originally published August 7 2005
Prickly pear cactus provides essential nutrients
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists have recently embraced the nutritional benefits of the prickly pear cactus, which eastern and Mexican healers have known about for years.
Well, you may want to take a second glance, because modern scientists-and savvy consumers-are discovering what traditional Mexican and Native American healers have long known: The prickly pear cactus is packed with nutritional power.
The cactus's flowers and fruit are loaded with flavonoids, plant pigments that have antioxidant properties.
Better yet, the prickly pear's leaf-like pads, known as nopals or nopales in Spanish, are rich in vitamin C, beta carotene and fiber.
But the real allure of nopals are the promise they show as a low-cost treatment option for diabetes.
The nutritious (and tasty) PERFECT PURE OF NAPA VALLEY PRICKLY PEAR FRUIT PURE can be used to make margaritas, sorbets or even barbecue sauce.
According to a scientific review in the February 2005 issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, prickly pear pads can help reduce blood sugar levels.
A 2003 study of diabetic pigs revealed reduced blood sugar levels just an hour after taking 250 mg of prickly pear extract per kilogram of body weight.
Researchers writing in the journal Phytotherapy Research concluded that a protein-like compound in the extract was probably responsible for these results.
This can help control obesity, a major risk factor of diabetes.
Want to take advantage of the healthful benefits of prickly pear?
There are plenty of ways to do it.
Nopals are available in fresh, jarred or canned forms.
They're also used in dietary supplements including powdered and liquid extracts.
When shopping, Ran Knishinsky, author of Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine, advises looking for standardized products with labels that indicate a guaranteed proportion of the plant's active compounds (pectin, flavonoids, etc.).
So the next time you see that funny-shaped, spiny whatsit, give it a chance.
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