Prickly Pear Cactus
The importance of the prickly pear cactus is unquestionable, as it is well-known for its benefic medical effects. But what can the prickly pear do for you? In this article, we’ll reveal facts and discuss a couple of ideas about this special cactus!
Some people know the prickly pear cactus by its other name: the nopal cactus. If you ever read anything about nopal or prickly pear, you can be certain that the two are the very same. By checking the food culture related to this cactus, we can quickly find out that the prickly pear fruit, the wonder-making fruit of this cactus, is often used in the Mexican cuisine. However, as Mexico-specific foods have already gained popularity around the world, the same goes for the prickly pear fruit.
Firstly, you should know that the nopal cactus is one of the most powerful antioxidants. Doctors all recommend the consumption of antioxidants, as these are crucial fur the overall health. Antioxidants are also believed to prevent cancer and more and more specialists claim that this is true. Although it might not be confirmed on a scientific level, chances for this affirmation to be true are very high.
Another good thing about the nopal cactus is that it will reset the cholesterol balance in your body. What cholesterol balance am I talking about? In the human body there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Cholesterol problems usually occur when the bad cholesterol takes up more “room” than the good cholesterol. You don’t need to worry about that – the prickly pear fruit will certainly lower the bad cholesterol level, resetting the cholesterol balance in your body, being a huge health benefit.
Doctors have also realized how the nopal cactus fruit helps diabetes patients. Patients who had just fallen into diabetes recently, not into any severe or advanced form of this sugar imbalance, have healed a lot easier by consuming nopal cactus fruit. Also, patients who were already lost hopes as far as hope of healing was concerned did notice positive changes in their symptoms. All of this happens because the prickly pear fruit doesn’t allow your blood sugar level to grow above normal limits. It’s a special fruit that helps keep the sugar balance inside.
Most people might ask themselves how to eat a spiky cactus fruit and what would it taste like? First of all, you need to know how to collect the prickly pear fruit. Usually collecting is done with special gloves or towels to grab the fruit. Although apparently you might never notice, the prickly pear fruit also has spikes which will end up torturing you if you don’t wear any protection. However, it is not necessary that you harvest your own prickly pear cactus in the backyard, since you will be able to buy cactus fruit in various markets and magazines. Always remember that it needs to be peeled before consumption and that all spikes are to be removed before peeling. Even if you buy the prickly pear fruit from somewhere, you should still check for spikes. The taste – well, it’s unique. Think of it like this: if so many people had no complaints when eating the nopal cactus fruit, then it can’t be so bad!
