Aloe vera is a succulent plant from Africa whose green leaves have long been prized for the clear gel they contain. It is widely known as a remedy for burns and is often included in sunburn or after-sun lotions. However, aloe vera can also be ingested to help with a variety of ailments, from heartburn to insulin resistance. Always discuss your symptoms with your physician to decide whether a new supplement is right for you.
Laxative
According to "Natural Health, Natural Medicine" by Dr. Andrew Weil, ingesting aloe can have laxative effects. In high doses it can be an irritant, so he recommends staying below the recommended laxative dose and trying 1 tsp. after meals. He suggests you can use the fresh gel by opening the plant and putting the gel into pure fruit juice. Johnny Bowden recommends aloe vera capsules in his book "The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth." You can take two or three 500-mg capsules per day, just enough to maintain a soft stool.
Wound Care
Aloe vera can be used both topically and internally to help speed wound healing. Bowden also discusses aloe's antibacterial effects. A study published in 2008 in "Wound Repair and Regeneration" discovered that the oral administration of a mixture with aloe vera gel helped to heal wounds in diabetic rats faster than the control group. The plant contains many different constituents, among them vitamins C and E and zinc, which play a critical role in wound healing, according to acupuncture.com. The site also states that, unlike many other anti-inflammatory substances, aloe vera "stimulates fibroblast and connective tissue formation" and "stimulates the epidermal growth and repair process."
Anti-inflammatory
The juice of the aloe vera plant is also a potent remedy for internal inflammation like heartburn and diarrhea. The juice is made by pressing the aloe leaves and diluting it with water. Acupuncture.com notes that it balances pH in the GI tract, neutralizes stomach acid and helps gastric ulcers. Bowden discusses the use of aloe juice for inflammatory bowel disease. A study published in 2004 in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that the anti-inflammatory effects of aloe vera gel suggest that it may have a therapeutic effect in inflammatory bowel disease.
Detoxification
According to Johnny Bowden, aloe vera can help to detoxify the bowels when ingested, possibly relating to its laxative effects and its glutathione peroxidase constituent. Glutathione is important in liver detoxification pathways.
Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes type II and is often associated with hypertension and obesity. It occurs when the body's insulin receptor sites become insensitive and no longer accept the insulin attempting to remove glucose from the blood. This scenario can invariably lead to higher blood glucose levels. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine published a study in 2007 showing that aloe vera helped lower blood glucose as well as body weight in insulin-resistant mice.
References
- "Natural Health, Natural Medicine"; Andrew Weil, MD; 1995
- "The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth"; Johnny Bowden, PhD, CNS; 2008
- "Wound Repair and Regeneration"; A poly-herbal formulation accelerates normal and impaired diabetic wound healing; Gupta, A, et al; 2008
- "The American Journal of Chinese Medicine"; Effect of a polyphenol-rich extract from Aloe vera gel on experimentally induced insulin resistance in mice; Perez, YY, et al; 2007
- "Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics"; Anti-inflammatory effects of aloe vera gel in human colorectal mucosa in vitro; Langmead L, Makins RJ, and Rampton DS; 2004
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