Could the answer to preventing, controlling and reversing your type 2 diabetes be found in the juice of a common cactus?
The Opuntia Ficus-Indica is known as the Nopal cactus but is most commonly referred to as the prickly pear cactus.
Nopal grows wild and abundant in desert climates such as Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California. Prickly pear cactus juice has been used medicinally for hundreds of years in Latin folk medicine and by southwestern Native American cultures.
Its high levels of insoluble fiber help ward off diabetes. The fiber found in the flesh of the cactus slows the rate at which your body absorbs sugar, thereby keeping your glucose levels steady.
Instead of sugar rapidly entering your bloodstream and causing insulin to spike, the juice of the prickly pear cactus acts as a gatekeeper by slowing down the absorption of sugar and naturally lowering your risk of diabetes.
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, the prickly pear cactus juice can still help control symptoms by lowering your blood glucose levels.
Six different medical studies have proven that eating broiled prickly pear cactus reduced glucose levels between 10 to 30mg/dl in as little as 30 minutes to three hours.
Nopal provides a true positive metabolic effect and a natural way for type II diabetic patients to possibly avoid diabetes medication, control blood sugar with diet alone, and avoid negative side effects.
Type 2 diabetes is 100% preventable. If you already have diabetes, it is 100% reversible.
Prickly Pear Packed with Vitamin C & Even Lowers Cholesterol
Prickly pear cactus juice is extremely high in vitamin C – as well as vitamins E and A, iron, calcium, carotenoids and quercitin. The combination of antioxidants found in the plant work more efficiently than vitamin C does alone.
In fact, a 2004 study — conducted by the University of Palermo in Italy and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition — that compared Vitamin C and prickly pear juice found that only prickly pear juice reduced oxidative stress throughout the entire body.
Young Nopal plants have anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties that were documented by scientists at the University of Las Palmas in Spain. The results of their study, published in The Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 1999 also noted the pain-relieving effects of the prickly pear cactus juice.
During clinical trials Nopal was also found to have a positive effect on lowering cholesterol. Heart disease is the number one killer in America so the importance of continued research – using Nopal to overcome this silent killer – is imperative.
Prickly pear cactus juice benefits:
- Reduces Inflammation
- Fights Diabetes
- Boosts insulin sensitivity
- Normalizes blood sugar
- Lowers LDL cholesterol levels
- Soothes ulcers and colitis
- Treats whooping cough and asthma
- Reduces Cancer and Tumors
- Relieves Hangovers
Hangover Help!
Did you know…Nopal can help you ease the pain of a hangover? There is nothing more imperative than finding relief the morning after you have had a little too much fun the night before.
The Muy Bueno Cookbook website offers the following recipe to soothe the worst of your hangover symptoms – it helps with weight loss, too!
Licuado de Nopal (Prickly Pear Cactus Juice Smoothie)
Yield: 2 drinks
Ingredients:
½ cup nopal (cactus pads cleaned, spines removed), julienned
½ cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 cup water
Crushed ice (optional)
Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend. If you want your smoothie to be less chunky then blend longer or add more water. Drinking first thing in the morning will boost your metabolism, flush toxins and increase your insoluble fiber intake while replacing the crucial hydration you lost when you consumed alcohol. Julienned Nopal can be stored in the freezer for added convenience.
According to the Tulane Health Sciences Center, drinking prickly pear cactus juice before you drink alcohol cuts your risk of hangover in half and fights nausea, dry mouth and loss of appetite after you’ve over-indulged.
The juice from the prickly pear cactus is often used in smoothies, jellies and candies. It can be used regularly in salads, combined with grilled peppers and onions, and added to soups and stews as natural source of vitamin C. It’s one of the most promising natural ways to control Diabetes (Mellitus) Type II.
