Since the time of the Aztecs, there has been a very special cactus plant with stunning red, purple or yellow blossoms that has provided food and medicine for generations.

Its medicinal properties are astonishing. It is a wonder food and is nowadays made into a wonder juice.

The cactus has many, many names, including the Prickly Pear Cactus, the Nopal Cactus and Opuntia littoralis.

When it is prepared into a juice it is usually called nopalea. These very special cacti are natives of the American southwest and Mexico and known for their origin in the Sonoran desert. They also like to grow in warmer coastal regions. In Mexico , it is said that at least 10,000 farmers grown the Prickly Pear Cactus as a crop. It is both sold locally and exported in jars.

In Mexico , the plant is used as food, but also for medicine. Did you know that it is said that Mexicans eat cactus like Americans eat cauliflower?

There are many ways to eat the plant. You can eat the pads, which are called nopalitos, (which means cactus stem), and you can eat the fruit of the cactus which is the “pear” in the name Prickly Pear Cactus. The beautiful pads are usually a green or purple. The gorgeous fruit or flowers can bloom yellow, red or purple.

You can grill the pads or boil them. It is said the pads cooked taste like tart green beans or asparagus.

Along with just serving it up with a little butter or olive oil as a vegetable, it also can be used as a staple in many other foods. It is made into salsa, jelly, cooked up with eggs, combined with tuna for salad, added to beans and made into soup, made into chili or stew or eaten raw. If you visit a restaurant specializing in Mexican food, you might see them on the menu. A popular dish is to serve them with eggs, known as huevos con nopales. In addition, they can be served in tacos, as well.

The pads are extremely nutritious, much like a vegetable would be. They are high in dietary fiber. In addition, the cactus is chock full of vitamins, including vitamins A, B6, C and K. The nopales also is rich in minerals such as potassium, iron and magnesium, all especially important for older women.

The plant is used as a dietary aid to help people lose weight, keep their cholesterol down and even help with diabetes.

The fruits are edible and so are the pads. The fruits, which are often a brilliant red, are called figs. They can be cooked up for jellies after the prickly needles are removed, but it is a bit of work.

The juice is most often drunk whole, naturally sweetened with agave nectar or other natural fruit juices. Along with drinking the juice by itself, the nopalea juice can be used to make and flavor candy, such as Swedish fish.

The juice is also used to make salad dressings. It has been used to flavor alcoholic drinks (it is said to have properties to reduce or eliminate hangovers) and can be used in making all sorts of different types of confections.

Some people actually grow and harvest the plants themselves, but getting rid of the spines and preparing them to cook or juice is truly an endeavor. Usually it is much easier to find the plants bottled, canned, dried or made into juice.

It is surprising that such a seemingly inhospitable plant can offer up so many benefits to people.

Author Bio: Frank Yocanis has been researching and writing about the health benefits of Nopalea for the past decade. He has even traveled to the Sonoran desert half a dozen times so he can study the Nopalea Cactus in its homeland. He is excited to share how this antioxidant-rich drink can change your life.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: nopalea, nopalea juice, nopalea side effects