I found an interesting video recently. It claims that eating the fruit of the saguaro cactus can help keep a person hydrated. If true, this would be highly relevant for many parts of the United States at the moment – in the Northeast we have been baking in temperatures close to or above 100°F (that’s 38°C for those readers outside the US). The humidity is also very high here, so the temperature is well above 100º.

The saguaro cactus is unique to the Sonoran desert, although it does not grow in all parts of it. The National Park Service has a nice informational pdf available for free download that provides a lot more information about the cactus. It is noted that the fruit can be used for food, but nothing about helping to guard against dehydration, so I wonder if it is true? A search on Google did not find any evidence of that use, but apparently the Seri indians use it for the treatment of rheumatism. I did not find any other references to medicinal uses.

NaturalNews is a nonprofit sites, so has no advertising. Some of the content may be a little controversial, but there are interesting snippets of information for those who are interested in alternative treatments. Also, in the case of the video above, it provides food for thought about plant sources of medicines. I would be very interested to know what is actually responsible for the help with hydration that the cactus is supposed to provide.

Let me know what you think about the video, and some of the thoughts that it stimulates. If I do find out more about this interesting plant, I will make another post.

 

Filed under: Plant medicines

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