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Nopal Powder?. Or have people being using this for ages without me noticing in a vain attempt to compensate for their unhealthy lifestyles?

Well I never heard of it, but then again, I am never looking for that sort of thing so that doesn't mean it isn't well known in the whole "herbal health" circuit.

I've seen nopal advertised, but not specifically in a powder form.

Nopales are a good healthy vegetable, but no more than that. This is just the latest "take a healthy food and find a way to sell it as snake oil" out there.

Nopal powder has been for sale from yerberias and Latin American farmacias for decades. It is used as a cheap way to (supposedly) maintain blood sugar levels for hypoglycemics and diabetics. It's also considered a weight loss preparation. Oddly, it seems to be an appetite suppressant and a digestive aid. I don't think any formal medical studies have been done, but it's a very popular herbal "remedy" in Latin America.

peterb

There's plenty of formal studies, although I don't think you'd call any of them clinical trials. Here's several PubMed results of some studies on several different Opuntia species for hypoglycaemic effects. I couldn't find anyone who has found an active ingredient, although one study specifically claimed that the effects didn't seem to be caused solely by the dietary fibre from the Opuntias (which was my first thought).

ah, thanks for those links. Interesting.

peterb

As I understand it, Opuntia is extremely high in fiber as local Mexicans that eat it here have attested to with a knowing laugh.

Culturally, anything that has that "effect" on a person is automatically going to hailed as excellent for your health. It seems there are entire movements about having a movement.

daiv wrote:It seems there are entire movements about having a movement.

A sure sign that some people have waaaay too much time on their hands (and who knows what else!)

A sure sign that some people have waaaay too much time on their hands

It is amazing the effort some people will put into not having to put in the effort to be healthy

i was once told by a coworker that if we pooped like birds, we may live twice as long, theory being poo is fairly toxic and we tend to keep it in us for longer than in needed for nutrient uptake, and it can become toxic to us....any truth to that?

Sounds oversimplified to me and like pure conjecture.

I've already lived longer than most birds lifespan. Some captive birds are known to have lived into their 80's, but lots of people do that too. So why would it make us live 120-160 years if birds don't?

On the other hand, tortoises do live from 120-160 years on a regular basis. And they are much slower at everything than we are.

I thought that Opuntias have lots of weird chemicals in them. I also seem to remember reading that "a few members may contain mescaline in them." so maybe the one that everyone thinks has health benefits really has a lot of mescaline in it and therefore gives everyone a strange trip!

Peterthecactusguy wrote:I thought that Opuntias have lots of weird chemicals in them. I also seem to remember reading that "a few members may contain mescaline in them." so maybe the one that everyone thinks has health benefits really has a lot of mescaline in it and therefore gives everyone a strange trip!

lol i seen a infomercial on them the other day

haha Interesting. I saw an ad on wikipedia.org or maybe it was on yahoo search for stuff from PP that cost 45 bucks for a gallon bottle that was supposed to last a month.
oh well.
I'd rather spend 45 bucks on cactus that I can grow!