When I look for foods to incorporate into a biscuit, it is typically because I meet a horse who has a particular problem and get curious. I want to know if there is a natural way to safely affect a change to improve their life. One such horse, a gorgeous and incredibly sweet gelding who looked like a mini-Clydesdale, put me on the path to Prickly Pear. This sweet guy suffered from the foot pain often associated with insulin-resistant horses so his owner and management at the barn limited his grazing to help keep him happy, healthy and sound.
The first question I needed to answer was, "what in the world is a prickly pear?" The short answer is that it is the fruit from one of the prickly pear cactus plants. The prickly pear fruit in my Prickly Pear Chia is Nopales Opuntia. I purchase my puree from the Arizona Cactus Ranch where they wildcraft (handpick) the fruit from land above the mines in Southern Arizona. The plants are not chemically sprayed and the fruit is not soaked or cooked before being processed into a vibrant, ruby-red pulp.
Prickly Pear fruit is high in dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin C, a spectrum of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, copper, taurine, flavonoids, polyphenols, and betalains; not to mention, horses LOVE it!
Let's dig in a little further because it is helpful to know what some of the nutrition terms are when evaluating foods. Like... flavonoids and polyphenols. Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through cell signaling pathways and antioxidant effects. Polyphenols are micronutrients with antioxidant activity that play an important role in preventing and reducing the progression of a number of chronic health problems. Polyphenols also play an important role as a prebiotic, increasing the ratio of beneficial bacteria in your gut. So, plants rich in flavonoids and polyphenols are very, very good for a body.
Beyond their helpful nutritional profile, ongoing research at the NIH (and elsewhere) shows that regular consumption of prickly pear can lower glucose levels and improve lipid function in humans and animals. This is great news for people AND animals suffering from Type II diabetes and several other problematic disorders.
Below is the abstract of one study on prickly pear published by the NIH but there are many others available. If you are a geek like me and want to learn more about this fascinating food and what scientists are discovering about it, check out the NIH website or look for University studies. Fortunately, most of them are written in plain English so the objectives and the outcomes are easy to understand, and reading them can be more fun than you think. Enjoy!
Click
here to shop our Prickly Pear Chia products.
"Effect of prickly pear on glucose- and lipid-metabolism in non-diabetics with hyperlipidemia - a pilot study."
Wolfram RM1, Kritz H, Efthimiou Y, Stomatopoulos J, Sinzinger H.
Author information
Abstract:
Background
Besides others pectin, a soluble fibre, has been reported to be effective in lowering cholesterol levels in both animals and man with hyperlipidemia as well as being able to slow carbohydrate absorption and hence reduce the postprandial rise in blood glucose and serum insulin in patients with type-II diabetes. Aim of this pilot study was to assess the effect of prickly pear consumption on glucose- and lipid metabolism.
Design
In 24 non-diabetic, non-obese males (aged 37-55 years) suffering from primary isolated hypercholesterolemia (n = 12; group A) or combined hyperlipidemia (n = 12; group B) respectively, the influence of prickly pear pectin (Opuntia robusta)-intake on glucose- and lipid metabolism was examined. After an 8 week pre-running phase with a 7506 KJ step-I diet (phase I), 625 KJ were replaced by prickly pear edible pulp (250 g/day) for 8 further weeks (phase II).
Results
Prickly pear leads to a decrease of total cholesterol (12%), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (15%), apolipoprotein B (9%), triglycerides (12%), fibrinogen (11%), blood glucose (11%), insulin (11%) and uric acid (10%), while body weight, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and lipoprotein(a) remained unchanged.
Conclusion
The hypocholesterolemic action of prickly pear may be partly explained by the fibre (pectin) content, but the hypoglycaemic actions (improvement of insulin sensitivity) in the non-obese, non-diabetic need further investigation to get more insights on the potential advantage of treating the metabolic syndrome.
~ From the desk of Mary Hartman, CEO and Founder
*This is a personal blog. Any information herein is not to be construed as medical advice.
