User:Kasspena

Bio

About me

Some things I like to do in my free time are hiking and spending time with friends and family. Some people may not consider listening to music a hobby, but I definitely consider it one of mine. Apart from the fact that there is always new and different music to listen to, music boosts the body's immune system function and diminishes stress. As a student it is important to learn ways to both manage stress and de-stress, and I think music is an excellent way of relaxing. Something else I like to do to is bullet journaling. Not only does this allow me to relax, but it also helps me stay organized as I plan out my daily and weekly tasks.

My wikipedia interests

I am currently pursuing a Pre-Nursing Degree and therefore, if I were to continue on Wikipedia, some of my content might revolve around nursing. More specifically, I hope to be able to publish things that may help students like me. For example, I am interested in creating flow charts and breaking down hard concepts, into ways that anyone would be able to understand. I acknowledge that nursing school may seem incredibly difficult for many students, and even I am scared too. Apart from trying to provide my own way of thinking, I could link videos or other student's notes that I found helpful as well. Another thing I could share are study habits and tips that I have learned or have used over the years. After all, nursing and school in general is about really comprehending concepts and this sometimes means referencing multiple sources to truly get a better understanding of the topic.

Article Evaluation

One of the many foods that I enjoy eating are nopales. Nopales are species of cacti, most popular in Mexico. I visited the Nopal article on Wikipedia, and found three aspects of it worth commenting on: its nutrition, its lack of citations, and its lack of medicinal benefits.

Nutrition

As the nopal is a food, it is important to acknowledge its nutritional properties. The page mentions that nopales are an excellent source of manganese, vitamin c magnesium and calcium. Yet, there are many other properties left out. One of which is that nopales are also an excellent source of fiber, containing about 1.9g per cup or 8% of the daily intake. People with diabetes sometimes turn to eating nopales because of the fiber qualities, to help manage their diabetes.

Citations

Throughout the page there are many citations and references embedded within the text. However, there are citations missing in the “Economic Value” section. These specific points missing the citations, are numerical data explaining the amount of land used to plant nopales and the people planting them. To rely on the information, it would be helpful if there is a source to verify it.

Medicinal Benefits

In Mexico, nopales are known to have many medicinal benefits, and there are none mentioned in the article. Some of these benefits include controlling diabetes and cholesterol. Nopales help improve levels of fatty substances in the blood. There was an experiment made revolving around the idea that nopales and blood sugar.  Fourteen people with type 2 diabetes were split into two groups, one which consumed nopales during breakfast and one that did not. After the meal, the group of people who consumed nopales had significantly lower blood sugar and insulin levels compared to the group of people who did not eat nopales. Overall nopales can be beneficial to people with certain health conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol.