Sometimes, the best medical advice comes from wise folks with tried-and-true remedies. One day, an old Chinese woman told my aunt that she and her husband cured their diabetes by consuming cactus petals. My aunt was dubious yet desperate. Anxious to test out the theory, her husband followed the woman’s instructions on preparing the cactus petals and my aunt drank a little each morning and night. Her blood sugar numbers plummented. Her doctor reduced her medication dosage. Today, even if she eats the occasional sweet, her blood sugar numbers never go above 110. Usually, her pre-meal reading is in the high 80s or mid 90s.
For centuries, Mexican Indian tribes have known about the therapeutic benefits of cactus. Prickly pear cactus (opuntia ficus indica) is a succulent fruit- and flower-bearing plant that grows wild in desert-like conditions. Long enjoyed as a food source, both the petals and pads of the cactus are eaten fresh or made into a variety of dishes including salads, soups, jellies and candies. Indigenous peoples also value cactus petals, or nopales, for its many medicinal and health benefits. Now clinical studies have shown that the alkaloids, vitamins and mucilage in the cactus petals can have the following effects, which supports centuries of anecdotal evidence:
-lower HDL cholesterol levels
-stabilize or decrease blood sugar levels
-increase insulin sensitivity
-promote wound healing
-protect against ulcers
-anti-inflammatory effects for arthritis
-bolsters the immune system
-reduce effects of alcohol consumption
Benefit For Diabetics
These promising health benefits are of particular interest to diabetics who struggle with insulin resistance and face serious damaging effects from high levels of sugar in their blood. The prickly pear pectin is a sticky, gelatinous substance that is rich in fiber which naturally slows down the digestion of carbohydrates.
Although there are opuntia-containing dietary supplements in powder and pill form, fresh nopales provides demonstrable health improvements. Many people enjoy eating fresh nopales in dishes like salads and omelets but there is no evidence that shows if its effectiveness is compromised when the cactus is cooked.
The following recipe for fresh cactus petal juice should be taken twice a day. Two tablespoons in the morning and two tablespoons with the evening meal.
Fresh Cactus Juice (A Natural Food Supplement for Diabetics)
Prepared fresh nopales, without the prickly thorns, can be purchased at Hispanic food markets. Cactus comes either in whole pads or chopped into 1” slices and bagged. Choose the sliced “nopalitos” for convenience.
2 cups fresh nopalitos (chopped nopales/cactus pads)
1/2 cup fresh water
Place two cups of fresh nopalitos in a blender. Add ½ cup of fresh water and puree until smooth. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Take out the cubes and store in an air-tight bag or container. To use, thaw one or two nopalitos cubes in the refrigerator. Drink two tablespoons in the morning and two tablespoons with the evening meal.
*Do not stop your regular diabetes medication regimen while taking cactus juice. However, do continue to monitor your blood sugar levels and inform your doctor of any changes. If you’re not seeing a doctor or testing your blood sugar on a regular basis, you safely can consume nopales in any amount as long as you’re not taking blood sugar lowering medication.
I highly encourage you to take cactus petals as part of your daily diet (fresh or in pill form) to naturally regulate your blood sugar levels.
——-What I really did:
This morning, I did drink the requisite two tablespoons of cactus juice that I defrosted from the frozen cubes I made earlier. I’ve gotten used to the taste. At first, the flavor and texture made me queasy but I got used to it. It helps greatly to add more water and then freeze it. Thin and cold is more palatable.
Unfortunately, I also ate 3/4 cup of white rice at breakfast with two fried eggs, ketchup and soy sauce (I’m from Hawaii and we eat eggs that way!) The rice was leftover from a family get-together the night before and I didn’t want to waste it. Oh, and I also ate two sweet, pickled scallions with this. The rice, ketchup and onions: boo. The eggs: yea. Three boos and one yea for breakfast.
For lunch, we went to Arby’s. I ate a regular Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich. NO FRIES. Yea! Instead, we split a small salad as the side. Yea! Uh, okay…and I’ll admit I ate two jalapeno poppers (stuffed with cream cheese, breaded and fried) Boo. But I skipped sodas and had some ice cold water that I brought along. Yea! Three yeas and one boo. Getting better.
Now, this is getting just plain embarrassing. For all the research and newfound knowledge, my actual diet is dismal. I need to get better prepared for healthful cooking and eating. For dinner, we threw together some leftover appetizers: the small amounts of shrimp ceviche, homemade bean dip and homegrown cherry tomatoes were good choices. But I decided that wasn’t enough for my family so I threw onto the tray what was left of the onion dip and crab pate with crackers, potato chips and Fritos. And because my husband was watching a ballgame and felt the need for hot dogs, I made a small batch of homemade corn dogs. Oh, but it gets worse. Having run out of vegetable oil, I resorted to frying in butter-flavored Crisco shortening. And then, I drank some root beer.
The only good news was that the portions I ate were very small, but I still felt fatigued from the carbs. Not a good start. So far, the only “self treatment” I’ve managed is talk. bleh.
