Aloe vera's medicinal use dates back to the ancient Egyptians who used it for various ailments such as curing infections and treating skin problems. Aloe vera is now being tested for possible benefits in managing medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer and ulcerative colitis. Scientific evidence supporting aloe vera as a treatment for ulcerative colitis is still weak. Consult with your doctor before using aloe vera for medicinal reasons.
About Ulcerative Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulcers to form in the lining of your rectum and colon. You would typically have symptoms that include pain in the abdomen and bloody diarrhea, but other symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss and joint pain can occur. Self-care activities that may help to relieve your symptoms include adopting a healthy diet and taking supplements, such as aloe vera juice.
Dosing
You can buy commercially available aloe juice. To help relieve symptoms of ulcerative colitis, you can drink 100 milliliters, or about 3.5 oz., of an aloe vera herbal extract two times per day. Aloe vera juice has been safely tested for four weeks in this dose to treat ulcerative colitis.
Effectiveness
A trial published in "Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics" in 2004 showed that aloe vera juice caused either complete or partial improvement in symptoms for significantly more people with mild to moderate active ulcerative colitis as compared to placebo, or inactive medicine. Aloe vera juice produced improvement in 47 percent of people, as compared to 14 percent of people taking placebo.
Considerations
According to Drugs.com, taking aloe by mouth for a long period of time may cause side effects, such as muscle weakness, heart problems, weight loss and blood in the urine. If you take high doses of aloe vera that are above 1 g per day and for a prolonged period of time, you could develop kidney problems -- and possibly kidney failure. You should not take aloe vera if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
References
- Drugs.com: Aloe
- PaloAltoMedicalFoundation.org: Ulcerative Colitis
- PaloAltoMedicalFoundation.org: Aloe
- "Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics"; Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Aloe Vera Gel for Active Ulcerative Colitis; L. Langmead, et al.; April 2004
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