Natural Home Cures Freeze Dried Nopal Powder Capsules (Prickly Pear) Contain Pectin

(*) See References and Disclaimer at the bottom of the page. 

Our Freeze Dried Nopal Powder Capsules (Prickly Pear) contain pectin. Pectin is the name for a naturally occurring polysaccharide found in the cell wall of terrestrial plants (and a few other places within the cell as well). It's used as a gelling agent, emulsifier, and thickener for food(1*).

Like other thickeners or stabilizers such as agar and gelatin, pectin gives an even color and smooth consistency to artificially sweetened beverages, chocolate milk, frozen desserts, candies, and ice cream. Without thickeners or stabilizers, chocolate particles would separate in chocolate milk, and ice crystals would form in frozen desserts like ice cream. The stabilizers or thickeners are used to hinder deterioration and evaporation of the compounds giving flavor to puddings, cakes, and other food items.

Fruit remains firm and keeps its form because of the pectin found in the cells: it is the glue that holds the cells together. The pectin in fruit breaks down into simple sugars as it ripens, and this is part of the reason that fruit softens as it ripens. Pectin is a carbohydrate with no nutritional value aside from being a fiber source(2*).

The pectin in Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) provides water-soluble fiber and can withstand digestion (like all fiber)(3*).

Clinical research into our Natural Home Cures Freeze Dried Nopal Powder Capsules has demonstrated that the pectin found in Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) can significantly decrease LDL (low-density lipoprotein; the bad cholesterol) and blood cholesterol levels while not affecting HDL ("good" cholesterol). Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) pectin prevents cholesterol from sticking to the body's arterial walls and by attaching to the cholesterol found in the intestines and carrying it out of the body during bowel movements.

Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) pectin's effect is more physical than chemical: it cleans the intestines like a broom sweeping a floor rather than by some complex chemical reaction(4*). The body cannot digest fiber, so it is pushed out. The cleaning effect happens because while the fiber is being passed, it takes other potentially harmful compounds.

The pectin found in Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) lessens the rise in blood sugar levels when consumed with food. The National Diabetes Associations of Australia, Canada, England, and the United States strongly support the role of pectin and other dietary fibers in treating diabetes and intestinal ailments(4*).

Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear) pectin is useful in treating dumping syndrome(6*) as it slows down carbohydrate absorption. Dumping syndrome is when food is consumed and then "dumped" into the small intestines soon after digestion. Thus, the food in the intestines is largely undigested. 

Undigested food can create uncomfortable symptoms—indigestion being the least of them. Dumping syndrome is more common in people who have undergone vagotomy (partial or total severance of the vagus nerve in the stomach)(7*) and those who have had portions of their stomach removed.


Sources of Pectin

Apples, Bananas, Beans, Grains, Grapefruit, Oranges, Pears, and our Natural Home Cures Freeze Dried Nopal Powder Capsules Nopal Cactus (Prickly Pear).

     Source References
(1) Wikipedia: Pectin
(2)
WebMD: Pectin

(3) LiveStrong: Food Sources of Pectin
(4) Medical-Notes-Help.com: Pectin Sorbents Clean The Intestines
(5) E-how: List of Foods Containing Pectin
(6) Drugs.com: Pectin
(7) WiseGeek: What is Pectin