Aloe vera is popular as both a houseplant and a cash crop. Its versatile inner gel is in numerous products ranging from food supplements to cosmetics. While there are no thorough studies on all of the benefits of aloe, consumers and manufacturers claim it has medicinal and nutritional qualities. Marketed for its internal benefits, you can buy aloe juice in health food stores. However, as with any nutritional supplement, you should consult with your doctor before use.
About
Aloe vera is a fast-growing succulent and a member of the lily family. There are approximately 250 species of aloe throughout the world, typically found in warm climates. Retail products come from the outer green skin and the clear inner sap, also known as aloe gel. Producers often concentrate the gel, which consists of approximately 99 percent water. They also derive yellow latex from aloe leaves.
Products and Uses
According to Aloetrade America, aloe production is a multi-billion dollar industry. Hundreds of products contain aloe vera, including nutritional supplements, drinks, snacks and topical skin products.
Perhaps the best known of all aloe products is the topical gel marketed to soothe sunburn. Before aloe gel was readily available on the market, people kept aloe vera plants in their homes to use the sap on burns. Aloe vera also is in oral pills derived from powdered aloe latex, juice for drinking, cubes or filets for eating, topical gels, moisturizers and cosmetics.
Internal Benefits
Producers marketed aloe vera latex in pill form as a laxative until 2002, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required them to reformulate or discontinue their products. In recent years, aloe has become popular as a juice drink, with claims that it aids in digestion, bowel disease and constipation. Additional health claims for taking aloe vera internally include enhanced immune system functioning, antioxidant qualities, nitrate reduction and cancer treatment. According to the National Institutes of Health, there is no scientific proof for the purported health claims made by consumers, producers and retailers.
Warnings
Topical aloe vera gel, aloe juice and aloe latex are three different products with different chemical compounds. Aloe products are not interchangeable and you should only use them for the purposes stated on the packaging. Consult your doctor before using aloe products. Test your body's tolerance to aloe products by starting with a small amount and gradually increasing to the amount recommended by your doctor or listed on the product packaging. Do not exceed recommended amounts. The National Institutes of Health website reports there have been possible cases of hepatitis from aloe taken internally. They also state that researchers found carcinogenic activity in aloe vera leaf extract during a National Toxicology Program test. However, the NIH states that the "use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant side effects."
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