Health Secrets of the Sonoran Desert
An excerpt from TriVita VitaJournal, Nov. 2010
 VitaJournal is pleased to offer this interview with Dave Morris, a Native American (Choctaw) naturalist who works with the Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix
(phoenixgov/parks/pueblo.html). An expert on the plants of the Sonoran Desert, which stretches through the southwestern
U.S. and Mexico, Dave has a great deal to share about the vegetation that has helped people for centuries.
You've described the Sonoran Desert as a "drugstore and a grocery store." Could you elaborate?
The creosote bush is thought of as the "drugstore of the desert." It has many healing properties, from germ-killer to possible tumor-fighter. Teas from plants like the brittlebush and Mormon tea were sipped as treatments for colds and allergies. Mesquite beans provided the main source of meal (flour) for breads and cakes. Many plants played a dual role in the native lifestyle. Prickly pear cactus, or Nopal, served not only as a food source but also as a healing plant. The juice of the cactus worked well on burns and minor cuts.
Does the Nopal cactus have a role to play in immune health?
The compounds known as Betalains (found in the Nopal cactus) have been shown by modern science to be of help with the immune system. It's wonderful that these healing compounds are conveniently available today in the wellness drink Nopalea'. Traditionally, the Nopal cactus was a very important food source. While the native people certainly had no knowledge of Betalains, it's certain they realized that the combination of desert plants they gathered for food provided for a healthy life.
Are there other plants in the Sonoran Desert that aid our immune system?
Echinacea is one of the plants found in the southwest that is used as an immune boost. It is widely available in health food stores. Traditionally in the Sonoran Desert, the leaves and bark of the elephant tree are used as a tea or tincture to help strengthen the immune system. The one drawback with this treatment is the taste The tea tastes really bad. But you know it has to be good for you!
It sounds like the Sonoran Desert is not some arid wasteland, but a real oasis of healing and nurturing.
Traditionally, there is hardly a plant in the Sonoran Desert that doesn't have some use, whether it was as a food, medicine or of spiritual purpose. While there are periods of time in the desert where there is little plant production overall, the Sonoran Desert plant community has provided for the needs of the native people for thousands of years.
Could you contrast the historic use of these plants with how they're used today? Unfortunately, most of the plants that were used for food and medicine have been abandoned and replaced with modern counterparts, and not always with positive results. For example, the replacement of mesquite meal and traditional tepary beans with wheat flour and modern beans, both lower in soluble fiber, may have contributed to high blood sugar problems in today's native communities.
 The Sonoran Desert has the greatest diversity of vegetative growth of any desert in the world. More than 560 plant species grow in the extremely harsh conditions of drought and heat, and interact in a variety of ecological relationships that add to the complexity of the community.
(Nabhan, G. P., and M. J. Plotkin. 1994. Introduction. G. P. Nabhan, and J. L. Carr, editors. Ironwood: An Ecological and Cultural Keystone of the Sonoran Desert. Conservation International, Washington, D.C.)
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