Medical research for Aloe Vera
Quite rightly many sensible people have questioned the claims made by some individuals and companies on the benefits of Aloe Vera. Surely if it really can do these things it would be handed out at doctors surgeries and in hospitals?
Making medical claims about Aloe Vera
Consider this statement made over 30 years ago...
"A cure that grows in the backyard is not going to increase anyone's dividends"
Lehane, The Power of Plants, 1977
It speaks volumes. We have well and truly stitched ourselves up in the Western World. By going over the top to stop 'Miracle' and 'Wonder' cures sold from the back of a wagon we have also cut off the right to make claims about natural products. Watch this.....
"A lack of Vitamin C will cause Scurvy",
"If you have Scurvy take Vitamin C to cure it"
"If you have Scurvy take brand X Vitmain C to cure it"
We've just broken the law!
To make the third statement brand X Vitamin C would need to be a drug and this has the following issues:
- A drugs license from the Medicine Control Agency would cost between £60,000 to £120,000 (depending on the number of medical claims being made)
- Before a license is issued clinical trials would need to be carried out which would take several years and cost approximately £1,000,000 plu
- Once a license has been issued Brand X Vitamin C would have to be withdrawn from shops as it could only be prescribed by doctors
The situation is not uniform. In Germany the herb ginkgo biloba is licensed and prescribed by the majority of doctors for circulatory conditions but it holds no license in the UK and so to make such a medical claim about it would be illegal and anyone who did so would risk prosecution.
This farce was written about more than a decade ago in the Sunday Times Style Section on 28th December 1997 'What's the Alternative' by Hazel Courtney but little has changed.
How the medical field maintains the status quo
So why don't more doctors know these things? Because they were taught by doctors who are only taught about synthetic drugs. In 5 years of training a doctor can spend as little as 4 hours studying nutrition - let alone natural remedies. Most don't know, don't understand and don't want to look into it because either they thought they had learnt everything or they are just to busy to look beyond.
The very system that was built up to protect us is now preventing us from getting natural health care with few, if any, side effects.
It is then further compounded in countries with a well developed health service where the psychology of everyday people is even worse. Free health care for all is an excellent ideal. Unfortunately it has led many to ignore their own health. The mentality is "I feel fine" and "If I ever get ill I'll be fixed for free". It comes as a huge shock (to those who follow a poor diet and abuse their bodies in the twenties & thirties) to suddenly find themselves suffering an ailment in their mid forties - such as arthiritis - that there is no known cure for.
So how do we maintain this merry go round? The drugs companies are very keen that we carry on buying synthetic drugs. Their sales representatives can often be seen wining and dining GPs to 'inform' them of new and current products. The good news is that slowly but surely they are waking up because more and more patience are opting for the natural remedy.
The greatest problem in all of this is that there are natural health products that are useless, and that includes some that contain Aloe Vera. Unfortunately some of these are used in limited trials and prove innefective, reinforcing the 'no' camp view.
In summary then we are unlikely to see a major change in how Aloe Vera is seen because:
- pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in stopping natural remedies undermining profitable drugs
- there is no money for serious research because there is little profit for anyone in a positive result
- doctors are generally too busy to learn beyond the new drugs coming onto the market
There is medical research for Aloe Vera
But there is actually medical research for Aloe Vera although it is very limited and even this has hit a number of stumbling blocks
Well meaning health care professionals with limited funds have carried out their own research in carefully controlled studies but while they have had an excellent understanding of statistical methodology they have not always understood what is good quality Aloe Vera
As such the results can suffer the following:
- Small patient numbers which mean the trials cannot be 'conclusive'
- Differing results due to the differing qualities of Aloe Vera that are used
- Almost all tests concluding 'further research is required'
For now the Federal Drugs Agency (FDA) in the United States has approved Aloe Vera for use in clinical trials. The trouble is, for the reasons at the beginning of this article - nobody wants to do it.
However this could be one of those times when general knowledge will overtake government regulation. As Douglas Lynch from Unigen Europe puts it: "To say there is a lack of science behind aloe vera is a little harsh on the reality of the situation," he said. "The public are not stupid and they are buying these products because they are proving beneficial in various areas."
Where to find medical research on this site
Current results from the limited clinical trials that there have been are included on this site together with the ailments they were tested on. For example Can Aloe Vera cure, help, treat or prevent Psoriasis?