Nopal Cactus Fruit Relieves Pain, Inflammation
Powerful Nopal (Prickly Pear) Betalain Antioxidants Fight Disease
Jul 6, 2009
Inflammation is a complex and often beneficial biological process: the body uses inflammation to defend itself against injury and infection, and begin natural healing. For example, joint inflammation–of the knee, hip, wrist or ankle–is a common outcome of athletic activity and strenuous and repetitive motions. But chronic inflammatory pain and disease are serious degenerative conditions that sap vitality, cause premature aging and threaten overall health.
Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation causes a wide variety of disorders, from stroke to arthritis to diabetes to heart disease. Inflammation was the subject of Time magazine's February, 2004, cover story titled, "The Secret Killer, The surprising link between inflammation and heart attacks, cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases."
Inflammation arises from more than trauma and illness. The body is constantly assaulted by dangerous toxins that degrade and poison the vital fluid that surrounds the cells and keeps them healthy, resulting in inflammation, pain and disease. Toxins are everywhere: in the air, our water and food, and from pollution, cosmetics, smoke, plastics, to name a few. Toxins also arise from allergies, nutritional deficiencies, emotional distress, indigestion and hangovers. Consequently, many people have chronic inflammation that often goes untreated.
Inflammation can affect many organs and bodily systems. According the the Cleveland Clinic, inflammatory disease causes a host of ailments, including shortness of breath, leg swelling, asthma attacks, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and colitis-induced diarrhea.
Oxidants, Antioxidants and Inflammation
When a cell’s capacity to protect itself fails, oxidative stress occurs. Researchers reported in the May, 2004, edition of Current Medical Chemistry, in an article titled "Potential therapeutic effect of antioxidant therapy in shock and inflammation," that "Oxidative stress results from an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance, an excess of oxidants and/or a depletion of antioxidants. A considerable body of recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress plays a major role in several aspects of acute and chronic inflammation."
Key Antioxidant Foods
According to the USDA's antioxidant "scorecard" as published in a January, 2006, online edition of Prevention magazine, many foods–notably spices, herbs nuts and "superfruits" like blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries and apples–pack high concentrations of inflammation-fighting antioxidants. Many of these are eaten infrequently, or in small amounts, and thus have limited benefit.
Nopal Cactus: Unique Among Plants
The Nopal or Prickly Pear cactus–one of the world’s first domesticated plants–is a unique superfruit. Nopal's health benefits have been known for thousands of years by the indigenous people of the the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, California and Mexico, where it grows in one of the most hostile and inflamed climates on earth. Nopal has been intensely studied. It's therapeutic effect has been validated.
Nopal is the only plant among tens of thousands of botanical species that contains all 24 of the known betalains, which are potent anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Although some grocers sell Nopal fruit, it tends to be pricey, and few people know about or buy it. Thus, betalains are almost entirely absent from the average diet (the only other common source is the red beet, which contains only a few betalains).
Nopal Science
- Researchers at the University of Palermo reported in the August, 2004, edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that consuming prickly pear had a positive and complete effect on the body’s redox (oxidant/antioxidant) balance: "Our findings of improved body redox status suggest major benefits from diets including cactus pear, which may reduce the risk of age-related and degenerative diseases in which the level of body oxidative stress may play a pathogenic role."
- A meta-analysis of studies reported by the National Institutes of Health done on Prickly Pear and diabetes has strongly suggested that ingestion of the fruit has a true metabolic effect on persons with the disorder and reduces serum glucose levels.
- As reported in the March, 2001, edition of Fitoterapia, a journal dedicated to medicinal and bioactive plant products, researchers at College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea, found that extract of Nopal cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) showed potent anti-inflammatory action.
- In a November 6, 2002, article published in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, researchers reported that betalins contribute to the free radical-scavenging and antioxidant activities of Prickly Pear fruits. Betalains are polyphenolic pigment compounds found in beets and a few other plants. Betalains give Nopal cactus fruit their purple-red and yellow-orange colors. The Nopal cactus alone among plant species contains all 24 of the known betalains, which are also a class of rare and potent healing antioxidants.
A manufacturer of a wellness beverage made from Nopal cactus fruit reports improvements in cell function, immunity, cell detoxification and especially a reduction in inflammation and associated pain. According to this company, 287 scientific papers have been published on the benefits and attributes of Nopal, and that these studies are found in high quality, peer-reviewed journals supported by the National Institutes of Health database to insure that the conclusions are valid.
For information on the company and its Nopalea anti-inflammatory wellness drink product, contact the author.
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