2. • Nopal is a wild plant that survives in
cold desert regions. It doesn’t requires a
lot of water for cultivation, so it is a
good source of income for many farmers
who lack the necessary resources and
live in arid or semi-arid areas. Is said to
have an important ecological role, as it
stops deforested land
degradation, unproductive lands
becomes productive lands.

3. Cultural Beliefs
• Nopal cactus has long been used in
traditional Mexican folk medicine for
treating diabetes, and American
Indians used it for treating burns.
Today, it is used in juices, alcoholic
drinks and as a medicine. There are a
wide variety of medicinal uses for
nopal cactus, but more scientific
information is needed from human
studies to rate its efficacy for any
health problem. Therefore, talk to
your doctor before using nopal
cactus.

4. • The word "nopal" comes from
the indigenous Nahuantl word
"nopalli”. This cactus is a type of
prickly pear that grows
throughout most of Mexico.
Evidence suggests that the
people of Mexico were eating
nopal 11,000 years ago. Plant
specialists dating the remains of
seeds and pieces of the pads -
called "pencas" - believe that the
cultivation of nopal as a food
crop began about 5,000 years
ago.

5. • The cactus is used as
fodder, but also tender
pads are marketed as
vegetables, they can be
prepared pickled, cooked
broths and soups, in salads
or cooked in dishes, like
snacks, sauces, beverages,
desserts ,and jams. It’s rich
in properties which allows
human to give them an
endless use in the cuisine.

6. • A cup of raw nopales(86 g approximately)is
equivalent to2.9 g of carbohydrates and 1.1 g of
protein and only 14 calories. But its main
attraction is that it contains a lot of dietary fiber
(soluble and insoluble): 2 g of fiber in a cup.
There is a 30:70 ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber.
Insoluble fiber can prevent and relieve
constipation and hemorrhoids while prevents the
development of colon cancer. They are also a
good source of calcium, as in 100 g of
nopals, there are about 80 mg of calcium.

7. 1. Obesity. It has become fashionable in every diet you take a cactus with orange
juice or other fruit, its helps to prevent obesity.
1. Diabetes and hyperglycemia. There is also talk that helps people with diabetes.
1. Cholesterol. In people with high cholesterol has been shown that consumption
of nopal, preventing helps eliminate absorbed much of it and so does not
accumulate in veins and arteries.
2.
Property antibiotic. The nopals are natural antibiotics, this property is related to
crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant, which, in the cactus inhibits or stops
the growth of several bacterial species
1. Cancer. In an experiment with mice with cancerous tumors were administered
aqueous extracts of Opuntia maximum (substance found in the nopal) and found
the prolongation of the latent period of these malignancies. No cancer cured but
stopped. No one knows the cause, but several studies are being made about it.

8. • My challenge is to create an exotic recipe from
this wonderful vegetable. Something that no
one else have created yet, that will be my
challenge from this research.

9. • I learned that is a great vegetable no only to
created different types of dishes but is a
wonderful mineral to prevent some diseases
and that for Mexican culture has a cultural
historical belief .

10. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
QcmYMX5Cm0&feature=related

12. REFERENCES
• Beth Israel (2012). Cactus Noapal benefits. Retrieve from:
http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/HolisticHealth/HerbsandSupplements.aspx?ChunkID=21820
• Demand Media (2012). Cactus cultural belief. Retrieve from:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/144882-nopal-cactus-benefits/
• Oro Verde Export (2009). The cactus nopal. Retrieve from:
http://www.nopalexport.com/What.htm