Aloe Plant & Health Benefits

Aloe vera is an herb and medicinal plant with a 4,000-year history. Sumerian tablets dating to 2100 B.C. mention the aloe plant. Currently, there are more than 400 species of aloe, but the main one used in health and medicine is Aloe barbadensis Miller, notes Aloe Vera Aid. While this plant has been used for thousands of years, current research is still finding uses for it, from healing burns to helping relieve symptoms from degenerative disorders.

History

The Ancient Egyptians used aloe, with Cleopatra and Nefertiti using it as a skin and beauty supplement. The early Philippines mixed aloe vera gel with milk and used it for digestive and kidney problems. Alexander the Great mentioned using the plants to help heal wounds of his soldiers. Mentions of aloes for various ailments are also in the Bible. When word of its healing abilities reached Europe, it was grown and its health benefits scoffed at until after World War II. At that point American researchers started studying the plants, finding scientific support for many of the medicinal claims.

Growth

Originally, aloe was thought to grow in warm, dry climates, such as those of the Middle East and parts of Africa. It is a tropical plant that prefers a dry soil. Because the plants do not require much water, they make easy-care houseplants. The plant readily forms new plants from offshoots or cuttings. It is better to underwater than over water the plants. Over watering will make the leaves look wilted.

Uses

You can buy aloe vera juice from health food stores and use it as a supplement. The freshest way to have aloe is to grow a plant in the home. When you need the aloe, cut open the leaves and spread the juice on your skin or scoop the gel out of the middle with a spoon. Aloe is also a digestive aid and laxative. The gel is also sold over the counter to use on sunburns to help relieve pain and help the skin heal faster.

Nutrition

The inside of the aloe plant contains vitamins, sugars, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and fatty acids. All in all, the plant contains more than 200 nutritional components. In April 2009, the "Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity Journal" published a study looking at all of the components of the aloe vera plant. This study compared aqueous extracts from the leaves versus the gel from the inside of the leaf alone. While both samples contained nutrients, the aqueous extract contained higher levels of anti-inflammatory nutrients, such as flavonoids.

Overdose

While there are many positive effects from aloe, it can also produce side effects. The "Journal of Korean Medicinal Science" published several case reports of people experiencing toxic hepatitis, or swelling of the liver, from ingesting too much aloe vera. Once the ingestion of aloe vera halted, the hepatitis resolved. Although the reports are few and not formally presented, if you have liver problems, exercise caution when using aloe as a daily supplement.

Aloe Plant & Health Benefits

History

Growth

Uses

Nutrition

Overdose

References

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