Good quality Aloe Vera

Because Aloe Vera is a natural product, not a drug, its' production and distribution are largely unregulated. Those who distribute it are not allowed to make medical claims (althouth many do) but at the same time there is no control over the end quality

The amount of Aloe vera in each product can vary too. Some may not even contain the amount stated on the label. There are hundreds of manufacturers trying to sell their products. Unfortunately, by law they don't have to test their product for safety or effectiveness. And many don't! So our advice is to buy with caution.
Cancer Research UK (2009)

It cannot be excluded that manufacturers try to enlarge their profit margins by watering down the original Aloe juice.
Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2005)

The quality of the samples analysed was found to be very inconsistent and in some cases extremely poor. Only three products, out of the nine analysed, contained satisfactory amounts Agro Food Industry Hi-Tech 9, 14-16 (1998)

Any liquid product on the market which claims to be "100% Aloe vera" cannot be genuinely quite 100%, although it can be very nearly so. And any liquid product which claims "no preservatives" has got to be wrong unless it were canned or otherwise sterilised or was on very short term distribution � rather like fresh milk
Dr Lawrence G. Plaskett, Positive Health Online (1997)

Add to this its' rise in popularity as an alternative medicine and you also encourage a host of companies to produce anything which can include 'Aloe Vera' on the label.

As a general rule of thumb, just like fruit juice, you should be looking for the product that is as close to 'fresh squeezed' as possible.

The following is a breakdown of how to assess if you have found good quality Aloe Vera or not, especially for drinking.

Whole Leaf Aloe Vera

This is not a good idea for two reasons:

The outer skin of the leaf is highly toxic, it is the plants natural defence against being eaten in the wild
If the product has been filtered to remove the parts of the outer skin, nutritious parts of the gel will also be lost

Conclusion: Not Recommended - look for drinks that use the inner leaf only

"Double Strength" Aloe Vera

To achieve this the Aloe Vera has to be boiled down or freeze dried and then reconstituted with half the amount of water. This causes problems because:

boiling or freeze drying the product causes it to loose much of its' nutritional benefits so it becomes less effective
the natural water content is part of what makes the gel so effective as water is required to help the nutritional elements be absorbed by the digestive tract

It can generally be compared to 'Orange juice from concentrate' as opposed to 'fresh squeezed juice' - more processes, less goodness.

Conclusion: Not Recommended - look for something more natural

Tablets and Capsules or Aloe Vera in powdered form

To achieve this the Aloe Vera has to be boiled down or freeze dried. This causes problems because:

boiling or freeze drying the product causes it to loose much of its' nutritional benefits so it becomes less effective
the natural water content is part of what makes the gel so effective as water is required to help the nutritional elements be absorbed by the digestive tract
One of Aloe Vera's benefits in liquid form is that it clears the digestion system so more vitamins and minerals can be absrobed. It is quite possible for tablets, capsules and pills to pass through the body untouched and no benefit will be felt.

Conclusion: Not Recommended with the possible exception of use for Interstitial cystitis

"Concentrated" Aloe Vera

To achieve this the Aloe Vera has to be boiled down or freeze dried and then reconstituted with half the amount of water. This causes problems because:

boiling or freeze drying the product causes it to loose much of its' nutritional benefits so it becomes less effective
the natural water content is part of what makes the gel so effective as water is required to help the nutritional elements be absorbed by the digestive tract

It can generally be compared to 'Orange juice from concentrate' as opposed to 'fresh squeezed juice' - more processes, less goodness.

Conclusion: Not Recommended - look for a more natural product

"Pasteurised / Homogenised / filtered" Aloe Vera

Homogenisation takes out a great deal of the natural goodness in Aloe Vera and filtration does the same. There is no reason to filter fresh squeezed orange juice and there is certainly no reason to filter Aloe Vera.

Although 'filter' has good connotations this is not one of them.

Conclusion: Not Recommended - there is no need to filter good quality gel

Artificial flavours and colours added

Many companies are involved in this practice to maintain the consistancy of the product from batch to batch and make it more marketable. Ultimately however it is simply adding chemicals to a natural product.

Conclusion: Not Recommended - look for something more natural

Products without The International Aloe Science Council Seal for Content and Purity

The International Aloe Science Council council checks that the Aloe Vera actually being used is pure and of good quality. Note: They do not check how much aloe vera is in a particular product so it is possible to carry the seal so long as 'some percentage' of the product is good quality Aloe Vera. They also do not check what is done to the good quality aloe which may include freeze drying or other processes whereby much of the goodness is lost. The seal is a starting point but many companies use it without permission and some even provide samples for testing which bear little relation to the product actually onsale. However for reference a full list of products allowed to carry the seal can be found here. You can also see companies and products where the seal has been withdrawn here.

Conclusion: Not Recommended on its own but helpful, do not buy a product without this

Aloe Vera described as "made with 100% Aloe Vera"

This is a totally legal and highly misleading description as the product can contain 1% Aloe Vera but that 1% is 100% Aloe Vera. It is a similar practice to Green Washing (for example: describing packaging as 'recyclable' rather than 'recycled').

If the drink is being sold from a refridgerated cabinet in a shop with a sell buy date of a few days more (as with milk or real fresh orange juice) then this may be real. If not the claim is definitely false. The best processing methods for long life aloe vera (with a long sell by date) have only achieved about 97% pure Aloe Vera gel.

Conclusion: Not Recommended unless you are buying from the refridgerator (as with real fresh orange juice)

Aloe Vera is not the first ingredient

Generally it is possible to make Aloe Vera that can be transported long distances and stored without much tamparing. Juices and gels can be produced this way that contain 95% plus Aloe Vera gel and therefore it will be the first ingredient on the ingredients list. If the product does not have Aloe Vera as the first ingredient avoid it. If it does then you are sure 51% is Aloe Vera but try to establish if the real content is 90% plus.

Conclusion: Not Recommended - look for a product with Aloe Vera as the first ingredient

Overall Summary

Much of what is on the market is highly suspect and often poor quality so look for products:

that have the The International Aloe Science Council Seal for Content and Purity
where Aloe Vera is the first ingredient
that do not over process the gel (double strength / freeze dried / capsules / etc.)
that use only the inner leaf of the gel

It is important to understand that the above guidelines will find you the best Aloe Vera drinks. However you may experience benefits from lower quality products because they may still contain some of the properties of the original gel that your body responds well to.

Always remember if you try one brand without success this does not mean that Aloe Vera does not work for you, it may just mean you are trying the wrong brand or type.