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prickly pear
In praise of the prickly pear: Let they food be thy medicine
The same quality that make the cactus absorb and hold every last drop of water in the desert also makes them helpful in medicinal uses. The mucopolysaccharide gel in Prickly Pear flesh is strongly hydrophilic. The pads can be used as a drawing poultice for wounds and inflammation. Excess body fluids are absorbed osmotically through the skin and into the cactus. A small piece of cactus placed in the mouth against the gums works by the same principal to reduce inflammation and heal mouth sores. Cactus can soften and heal skin fissures. It has been used to stop the pain of bites and burns.
Early Americans used cactus pads as a splint by toasting off the spines, splitting the pads and tying them around a broken bone. Consuming cactus pads and fruit has been shown to be effective in reducing blood sugar in cases of diabetes. Interestingly, if blood sugar is normal eating cactus shows no change in this measurement. Cactus will lower low density (or 'lousy') cholesterol, but has no effect on high density ('healthy') cholesterol. It has also been shown to lower triglycerides. Drinking cactus juice or slurry is effective in reducing the pain of bladder inflammation but it does not affect any bacteria that might be present in an infection. The gel-like sap can be used as a hair conditioner.
It's all edible. Native Americans used the entire plant (roots, pads, flowers, fruit and seeds) for food. Cactus pads that have the spines removed can be substituted in any recipe calling for green beans. The fruits can be pressed in a press type juicer or blended either with or without the peel (spines removed) in a high speed blender to make a slurry. The slurry, juice and fillets will last for about a week in the refrigerator.
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8/6/2013, 6:59 pm
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pommegranet
How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit
A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis confirms that pomegranate extract may prevent and/or reverse the primary pathology associated with cardiac mortality: the progressive thickening of the coronary arteries caused by the accumulation of fatty materials known as atherosclerosis.
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10/9/2013, 8:13 am
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