What is Aloe Vera?
Aloe Vera (or Aloe Barbadensis Miller) is a plant - its that simple! It is a member of the onion and lily family but grows two to three feet tall with large thick leaves. Aloe flourishes in hot dry climates such as the Caribean, Far East and parts of America. It takes around four years until it is ready for harvest and then, just like any vegetable juice, it must be stabilised before it can start to oxidize and loose its goodness.
Its not a fad, or 'the latest thing in health care' although many spurious products have recently appeared on the market.
Its not a 'miracle cure' although after reading many articles on the subject you'll be forgiven for thinking that is exactly what it is! You can find Aloe in the bible (Numbers 24:6, John 19:39, Psalms 45:8) and dotted through the history books where it is said to have been used by Cleopatra, Alexandra the Great and in the film Gerry MacGuire.
Aloe Vera can be applied to the skin topically or taken internally as a drink. If you go on holiday to the Caribean you will see large Aloe leaves being sold on the beach to relieve sunburn and offered as a drink to aleviate indigestion but how can it be so many things to so many people?
The rich gel inside an Aloe plant is made up of over 75 different ingredients even though 95% of it is water. These nutrients include
- Vitamins - including C,E,Beta Carotene, B12
- Minerals - including magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, chromium, calcium, sodium, potassium, iron.
- Amino Acids - 20 out of the 22 required by the body as the building blocks for protein and 7 out of the 8 that the body cannot manufacture itself
- Sugars - including long chain polysaccharides that help boost the immune system
- Enzymes - to help break down and digest food
- Plant Sterols - that act as powerful anti-inflammatory agents
- Lignin - a woody substance that helps Aloe penetrate the skin
- Saponins - soapy substances with an anti-microbial effect
- Anthraquinones - powerful natural painkillers
- Salycylic Acid - anti-inflammatory, helps break down dead tissue
Aloe Vera does not do anything clever. It boosts the bodys own immune system and provides many of the nutrients for preventing or fighting infection so unlike conventional drugs, which are designed only to perform a defined set of actions, Aloe can do much more.
In recent years it has been rediscovered by large numbers of people who have found it very effective topically for sunburn, skin infections, wound healing, eczema, psoriasis, athletes foot and so on. Taken internally it is extremely popular for those who have arthritis, asthma, hayfever, irritable bowel syndrome, digestive problems, constipation and a whole host of other disorders.
And also like any product that is effective there are many questionable companies out there trying to take advantage of it to make a quick buck by creating cheap and inneffective packaged versions of aloe vera.
This, along with a lack of medical research for Aloe Vera (for good reason) has led to mixed reports on its success and also to people misusing the plant and suffering side effects.
Aloe vera in it's mature but raw form is the most potent, just like freshly squeezed orange juice, but it does not grow in European climates and so has to be processed in some way so it can be transported from its native lands in the Americas or Africa.
Generally speaking the more 'processing' that occurs, the less useful Aloe Vera becomes until by the time it reaches tablet or pill form it is very limited in what it can do. See Good Quality Aloe Vera for more on this