{"id":5461,"date":"2023-08-20T13:13:39","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T13:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=5461"},"modified":"2023-08-20T13:13:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T13:13:39","slug":"the-health-benefits-of-prickly-pear-cactus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=5461","title":{"rendered":"The Health Benefits of Prickly Pear Cactus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-1024x658.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-5462\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-1024x658.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-1024x658.png 1024w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-770x495.png 770w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-293x188.png 293w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134-390x251.png 390w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-134.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the American Heart Association, once you get past the dangerous-looking spines, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus has some amazing health benefits, including lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beneath those intimidating spines, which are there to discourage predators, are flower blossoms that yield an oval fruit that packs a nutritional punch, including vitamin C, minerals, and fiber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPrickly pears are considered to have many health benefits,\u201d said Hope Wilson, a dietitian and nutritionist with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. \u201cThey\u2019re low in sodium, low in fat, and have zero cholesterol\u201d \u2013 all of which can contribute to heart disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prickly pear cactus \u2013 part of the Opuntia genus\u2013 has been prized as food and medicine by Indigenous people in the Southwestern US and Latin America. It\u2019s commonly known in Spanish as nopal or cacto. North of the border, Texas adopted the cactus as its official state plant in 1995, and Arizona, New Mexico, and California have showcased its attributes in festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the drought-tolerant plant is native to the Americas, particularly in desert areas, different varieties grow throughout the world, including Australia. \u201cI got a phone call from someone doing a documentary in Kenya, and they said, \u2018We found a prickly pear,&#8217;\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She touts the benefits of the prickly pear through her outreach work on food safety and nutrition in central Arizona. While talking about preparing different foods, she has observed that more people seem to be familiar with the fruit \u2013 tuna in Spanish \u2013 than the pads of the cactus, which are also edible and high in nutritional value, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilson compared the taste of the fruit to that of watermelon. It\u2019s often turned into jams, jellies, and even cocktails. The fruit\u2019s hairlike prickles, called glochids, should be peeled and the flesh scooped out. \u201cBut it\u2019s not as common for people, especially those who are coming from outside the desert,\u201d to consider eating the pads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If wrestling with spines doesn\u2019t appeal to you, Wilson suggests checking grocery stores for ready-to-eat tunas and nopales \u2013 fresh or canned \u2013 but check labels for added sugars or high levels of sodium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prickly pear is popular in jelly form, she said, but use it sparingly on desserts, snacks, or sandwiches because of the fruit\u2019s high sugar content, which helps with preservation and its gel-like texture. \u201cIf making prickly pear juice at home, remember to dilute the juice with water because drinking a lot of prickly pear juice all at once can cause stomach discomfort and possible nausea,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you\u2019re ready to meet the prickly pear head-on, equip yourself with a good pair of tongs. It may be the best way to avoid a prickly encounter \u2013 just ask Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She once tried to get a close-up picture of a colorful tuna and promptly felt the defensive sting of the prickly pear in her bare hand. \u201cJust be safe and wear heavy gloves,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/longlifeandhealth.org\/the-health-benefits-of-prickly-pear-cactus\/#google_vignette\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the American Heart Association, once you get past the dangerous-looking spines, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus has some amazing health benefits, including lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease. Beneath those intimidating spines, which are there to discourage predators, are flower blossoms that yield an oval fruit that packs a nutritional punch, including vitamin C, minerals, and fiber. \u201cPrickly pears are considered to have many health benefits,\u201d said Hope Wilson, a dietitian and nutritionist with the University [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5461"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5463,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461\/revisions\/5463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}