Aloe vera products, including the juice, are available from health food retailers and even your neighborhood grocery store. This plant has a long history of use in traditional medicine. You can find aloe vera in products that range from skin and hair care preparations to aloe juice products for internal consumption. Because of potential side effects, drink aloe vera juice with caution, warns Medline Plus. Consult your healthcare provider before you add it to your diet.
Aloe Vera Basics
The aloe vera plant is native to Africa, but it is adaptable to climates of all types and grows throughout the world. The fleshy leaves of the aloe plant have distinctive spines along the border to protect the pulp or gel inside. The clear gel or pulp inside the aloe plant is the primary component needed for aloe vera juice.
Juice Extraction
The skin of aloe vera leaves contain a bitter yellowish sap or latex, which contains anthroquinone glycosides, a strong laxative, according to Mayo Clinic. Some aloe vera juice producers simply crush the entire leaf, which results in an impure aloe vera juice that contains a mixture of gel and latex. It is impossible to gauge the amount of latex in aloe vera juice purchased from commercial producers.
Potential Side Effects
The aloe belongs to the lily plant family, which also includes onions and garlic. People who are allergic to these vegetables can have a reaction to aloe vera products taken internally. Medline Plus notes that the latex inside the leaves is not only a harsh laxative, but it also causes kidney damage. Potassium depletion, heart problems and weak muscles are additional health problems that may arise from the consumption of aloe juice that contains latex. Several daily doses of 1 g or more of aloe latex are fatal.
Considerations
Aloe vera juice producers and traditional medicine practitioners promote consumption of aloe vera juice for a range of health conditions that include arthritis, diabetes, fever and obesity. Scientific research has produced little evidence that supports these uses. The safety of internal consumption of aloe vera juice is under investigation, but requires additional research, according to Medline Plus. The pure gel from the aloe plant appears to be beneficial for controlling dandruff, soothing irritated skin and healing burns. Although these uses for aloe vera do not pose serious health risks for consumers, research results have been inconclusive.
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