If you like to cook and love exotic ingredients, you should check out one of the new wonder foods that is skyrocketing in popularity for it’s nutritional and health benefits.

The Nopal Cactus is a natural anti-oxidant and natural anti-inflammatory and is being used to treat everything from acne to diabetes and is believed to even help prevent certain cancers.

This plant, a native of the Sonoran desert, has been used as both a food and medicine since ancient times. Its popularity dates back to the time of the Aztecs. Spanish explorers immediately recognized its value and brought specimens back to their homeland.

Now, even popular talk show hosts like the infamous Dr. Mehmet Oz, have touted the benefits of this plant. On one episode of his show, Dr. Oz, who is renowned for his books on health, called the plant one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The Nopal Cactus is also known as the Prickly Pear Cactus, which is the word Oz used on his show. During another episode, Oz recommended the plant to help with the pesky symptoms of overindulging in alcohol.

People who are gourmet cooks can find all sorts of uses for this plant, which can now be found in many American markets. Once the prickly spines are removed, the plant can be cooked like any other vegetable. It can be grilled, boiled, broiled, and so on.

Other less adventuresome cooks can get the benefits of ingesting the Prickly Pear Cactus by drinking Nopalea Juice. The main ingredient the juice, besides water, comes from the cactus.

The popularity of this drink has soared as people around the globe hear testimonials about how drinking the juice has helped them fight a variety of ailments. Trivita, the company that makes the juice publishes stories in its magazine that people send in. The testimonials talk about people finding relief from acne, migraines, joint pain, back pain, swelling, and other painful and pesky conditions.

Most of the people who claim these amazing benefits say they started on a regimen of drinking the juice on a daily basis.
On one of his shows, Dr. Oz did a demonstration that showed how eating the prickly pear cactus could actually help with diabetes. The theory is that the plant is so incredibly fibrous that it regulates sugar entering the bloodstream and therefore helps regulate blood sugar levels.

What makes the plant especially popular is the belief that it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. Stomping out inflammation has become even more crucial after a Time magazine article made the underlying connection between chronic inflammation and a variety of other serious health conditions.

Inflammation – the body’s natural response to invaders – sometimes goes haywire. When this happens the inflammation actually begins to attack the body itself, which can cause all sorts of problems. That is why fighting inflammation is becoming increasingly important as one method to know only maintain good health, but to prevent future illnesses and serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and even cancer.

Author Bio: Frank Yocanis has been researching and writing about Nopal Cactus for the past decade. He has even traveled to the Sonoran desert half a dozen times to study how Nopalea contains amazing properties that help with all kinds of joint pain, including pain relief. He is excited to share how this antioxidant-rich drink can change your life.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: nopal cactus benefits, reducing swelling, pain relief, joint pain relief, nopal cactus