Aloe Vera & Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a distinction it shares with ulcerative colitis. Both diseases are thought to be incurable, and consequently treatments focus on alleviating symptoms and inducing remission, a purpose for which numerous marketers claim aloe vera to be effective. Nevertheless, no scientific evidence for aloe vera's effects on Crohn's disease exists and, for several reasons, Crohn's sufferers should exercise extreme caution in using this supplement.

Features

Crohn's disease is characterized by the formation of ulcers in the lining of the stomach and intestines. While the cause of Crohn's has not be established, it is believed to result from a faulty, overactive immune system that attacks the stomach lining as if it were a foreign entity, resulting in ulceration. Some believe that aloe vera extract may assist in healing these ulcers and prevent further ulceration.

History

Used to speed up wound healing in Ancient Egypt, aloe vera has, despite limited scientific evidence of its efficacy, made its way into numerous cosmetic and dietary products. The latter is due to the substance's reputation as an aid to digestion and its popularity as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Crohn's sufferers have been frequently misled by these claims due to the incorrect popular mistaking of IBS with IBD. While scientists have never been able to discern an organic cause of the discomfort IBS sufferers experience, the cause of the pain IBD sufferers experience is easily observed by gastroscopy.

Benefits

Aloe vera gel contains over 200 nutrients and, owing to its high polysaccharide count, may indeed be beneficial in the treatment of wounds and ulcers. Nonetheless, even advocates of alternative medicine warn that it may cause intestinal cramps resulting from gas formation. For Crohn's sufferers with scarring and strictures from long-term ulceration, this can be particularly uncomfortable, even dangerous. In addition, the prevailing wisdom does not link Crohn's to dietary factors, making it unlikely that nutritive effects will help to alleviate symptoms.

Effects

In a study of patients with ulcerative colitis, ingesting aloe vera gel was shown to produce significantly higher rates of remission than a placebo. Colitis, like Crohn's, is characterized by ulceration. However, these ulcers tend to be far more superficial, not penetrating into the deep layers of the intestinal walls to produce the fistulae with which many Crohn's sufferers live. Thus the question of whether aloe vera might be potent enough to treat Crohn's ulcers is an open one. At any rate, its anti-inflammatory effects are not going to be as powerful as scheduled 5-ASA mesazilic drugs like Asacol and Pentasa. In addition, aloe vera may actually reduce the effectiveness of your medication.

Warning

The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America lists aloe vera juice as a complementary therapy, but also cautions that aloe vera has a laxative effect. Laxatives speed the passage of ingested substances through the bowels, thus reducing the degree to which those substances are absorbed by the mucosal lining. Hence, aloe vera may actually prevent your medication from being absorbed. "In addition," the CCFA continues, "It has properties of an 'immune booster.'" Since Crohn's probably occurs due to your immune system attacking your bowels, aloe vera might amplify this action and induce a flareup of your disease.