THE CACTUS Nopal

BY:Johanna Rodriguez

2012

What is the Cactus Nopal?

• Nopal is a wild plant that survives in cold desert regions. It doesn’t requires a lot of water for cultivation, so it is a good source of income for many farmers who lack the necessary resources and live in arid or semi-arid areas. Is said to have an important ecological role, as it stops deforested land degradation, unproductive lands becomes productive lands.

Cultural Beliefs• Nopal cactus has long been used in

traditional Mexican folk medicine for treating diabetes, and American Indians used it for treating burns. Today, it is used in juices, alcoholic drinks and as a medicine. There are a wide variety of medicinal uses for nopal cactus, but more scientific information is needed from human studies to rate its efficacy for any health problem. Therefore, talk to your doctor before using nopal cactus.

History

• The word "nopal" comes from the indigenous Nahuantl word "nopalli”. This cactus is a type of prickly pear that grows throughout most of Mexico. Evidence suggests that the people of Mexico were eating nopal 11,000 years ago. Plant specialists dating the remains of seeds and pieces of the pads - called "pencas" - believe that the cultivation of nopal as a food crop began about 5,000 years ago.

Nutritionals Properties

• The cactus is used as fodder, but also tender pads are marketed as vegetables, they can be prepared pickled, cooked broths and soups, in salads or cooked in dishes, like snacks, sauces, beverages, desserts , and jams. It’s rich in properties which allows human to give them an endless use in the cuisine.

Nutritionals Properties

• A cup of raw nopales (86 g approximately) is equivalent to 2.9 g of carbohydrates and 1.1 g of protein and only 14 calories. But its main attraction is that it contains a lot of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble): 2 g of fiber in a cup. There is a 30:70 ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber can prevent and relieve constipation and hemorrhoids while prevents the development of colon cancer. They are also a good source of calcium, as in 100 g of nopals, there are about 80 mg of calcium.

As Preventing Medicine

Help control the disease more easily like:1. Obesity. It has become fashionable in every diet you take a cactus with orange juice or other

fruit, its helps to prevent obesity.

2. Diabetes and hyperglycemia. There is also talk that helps people with diabetes.

3. Cholesterol. In people with high cholesterol has been shown that consumption of nopal, preventing helps eliminate absorbed much of it and so does not accumulate in veins and arteries. 4.

Property antibiotic. The nopals are natural antibiotics, this property is related to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant, which, in the cactus inhibits or stops the growth of several bacterial species

5. Cancer. In an experiment with mice with cancerous tumors were administered aqueous extracts of Opuntia maximum (substance found in the nopal) and found the prolongation of the latent period of these malignancies. No cancer cured but stopped. No one knows the cause, but several studies are being made about it.

My Challenge

• My challenge is to create an exotic recipe from this wonderful vegetable. Something that no one else have created yet, that will be my challenge from this research.

What I learned from it

• I learned that is a great vegetable no only to created different types of dishes but is a wonderful mineral to prevent some diseases and that for Mexican culture has a cultural historical belief .

Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QcmYMX5Cm0&feature=related

Questions

Questions

REFERENCES• Beth Israel (2012). Cactus Noapal benefits. Retrieve from:

http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/HolisticHealth/HerbsandSupplements.aspx?ChunkID=21820

• Demand Media (2012). Cactus cultural belief. Retrieve from:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/144882-nopal-cactus-benefits/

• Oro Verde Export (2009). The cactus nopal. Retrieve from:http://www.nopalexport.com/What.htm