What Are the Benefits of Cactus? A Complete Guide in One Article
Cactus is a fairly common plant, but do you know what its benefits are? Cactus is bitter and cold in nature and non-toxic; it can be eaten as food and also used as medicine. Its main functions include clearing heat and detoxifying, dissipating blood stasis and reducing swelling, promoting the flow of qi and blood circulation, and strengthening the stomach and relieving pain. In addition, cactus can remove the thick stratum corneum of the skin and has a skin-whitening effect. Its thorny sprout fruit has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. As for some psoriasis patients, because part of them suffer from endocrine disorders and toxins accumulating in the body, cactus has a certain auxiliary effect in treating psoriasis.
The benefits of cactus are mainly reflected in several aspects, including medicinal value, edible value, beauty value and environmental landscaping. Now please follow our editor to learn about these benefits of cactus!
The medicinal value of cactus
Cactus can not only clear heat and detoxify, dissipate blood stasis and reduce swelling, strengthen the stomach and relieve pain, and relieve cough. It is also used for gastric and duodenal ulcers, acute dysentery, and cough; for external use, it has special effects in treating mumps, mastitis, carbuncles, boils and swellings, hemorrhoids, snake bites, and burns and scalds. However, the spines of cactus contain toxic sap; after being pricked, a person is prone to allergic symptoms such as skin redness, swelling, pain and itching.
Edible cactus has the effect of lowering blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure. Eating one piece of edible cactus every day can eliminate excess cholesterol, fat and sugar in the body, thereby inhibiting arteriosclerosis and obesity, and playing a role in promoting the flow of qi and blood circulation, clearing heat and detoxifying, and promoting metabolism. Regular consumption of cactus can prevent the accumulation of too much glucose in the human body and has a certain blood sugar-lowering effect. Especially for patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes, after fasting for several hours, eating roasted cactus stem can effectively lower blood sugar, improve the body's efficiency in using insulin, and prompt glucose to enter human cells from the blood and be converted into fat-based energy. Because cactus contains relatively many nutrients and is also a low-fat, low-sugar food, it is very beneficial to human health and is an ideal food for controlling the condition of diabetes.
The edible value of cactus
Edible cactus contains 8 kinds of amino acids essential to the human body and various trace elements, as well as precious components such as Baobi Lian, Jiaodi Xian and Yufurong. It not only has many effects on the human body such as clearing heat and detoxifying, strengthening the stomach and tonifying the spleen, clearing the throat and moistening the lungs, and nourishing and protecting the skin, but also has an obvious therapeutic effect on conditions such as liver cancer, diabetes and bronchitis.
Cactus is high in potassium, low in sodium and low in sugar, and its sugar content is even lower than that of lettuce and cucumber.
Cactus has traditionally been a food in the Americas and is an indispensable specialty vegetable and fruit in people's daily lives. People wash and chop cactus and then cook it in soup, or roast it on a stove, or make it into pie filling, or directly pickle fresh cactus, and some also use cactus to brew alcohol (tequila). In the markets of Mexico, the tender stems of some flat-pad cacti can be sold as vegetables, and cactus can be eaten.
The landscaping value of cactus
Cactus mostly respires at night when it is relatively cool and humid. During respiration, it inhales carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, so cactus is also called a nighttime “oxygen bar.”
Do not underestimate cactus; it is also an expert at absorbing dust! In Stibium Star, placing a cactus indoors, especially a hydroponic cactus (because hydroponic cactus is cleaner and more environmentally friendly), can play a role in purifying the environment.
The beauty benefits of cactus
Cactus has a good antioxidant effect, eliminates free radicals and delays aging. The method is to cut open the cactus with a knife, take its juice and apply it to the face, then wash it off with water after 15 minutes; it has whitening and moisturizing effects.
In addition, cactus also has a significant anti-radiation effect.