Is cactus pear low-carb-compatible?

Watch for

• The seeds do not break down and can accumulate.In a published series of thirty adults hospitalised with seed bezoars impacted in the rectum, prickly pear seeds were the single most common culprit at twelve cases, and there is a case report of a bezoar causing rectal perforation in an elderly patient. Eat it in reasonable amounts, spit or strain the seeds if you are eating several, and take this seriously if you are older, prone to constipation or not drinking much
• Glochids are the real hazard in the kitchen.The hair fine barbed bristles on the skin embed in fingers, lips and the roof of the mouth, and they irritate mechanically rather than poison. Handle with tongs and gloves, scrub or singe the skin, and peel properly rather than biting into an unpeeled fruit
• Red and purple varieties will tint urine and stool pink or red for a day, in exactly the way beetroot does and for the same reason: betalain pigments passing through.It is harmless, but it alarms people who mistake it for blood
• Cactus pear and nopal pads are rich in mucilage, a soluble fibre gel.Soluble fibre is fermentable, so a large portion can still produce gas and looseness even though the FODMAP grades are A. Low FODMAP is not the same claim as low fibre
• If you are tracking oxalates for kidney stones, log the pads separately from the fruit.The fruit grades A, but nopal cladodes hold calcium oxalate crystals and grade B, and the two get conflated on menus and in supplements
• Nopal and cactus pear preparations are studied for lowering post meal blood glucose.That is a benefit for most people, but worth flagging to your doctor if you take glucose lowering medication