Aloe Vera - History Use and Benefits by Samantha Munro

Vitamins - these include A (beta-carotene and retinol), B1 (thiamine), B2 ( riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cyanocobalamin), C (ascorbic acid), E (tocopherol) and Folic Acid.

Aloe Vera is often claimed to be the “miracle plant” and it can be difficult to filter out the truth from the hype. It is well established that Aloe Vera has some remarkable properties, many of which are being subjected to medical and scientific scrutiny.

The most famous property is for use on burns, and Aloe Vera used to be known as the ‘burn plant’. It is no longer necessary to keep an Aloe Vera plant handy for when you catch your hand on the oven door, these days Aloe Vera Gel comes in handy tubes.

A two year trial is underway at the Neath, Morriston and Singleton hospitals in Swansea for use of Aloe Vera in treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). A clinical trial involving 44 patients suffering from Ulcerative Colitis has been completed at the Royal London Hospital and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The trial was completed in January 2004 and an improvement found in 38% of Patients given Aloe Vera gel as opposed to 8% given a placebo.

Others have reported benefits of Aloe Vera in treating Eczema and Psoriarsis, and a product called Aloe Propolis Crème is favoured by many for these conditions.

Aloe Vera is not however a substitute for medical treatment or therapy, and should be discussed with your Doctor or Health Professional if you are already receiving treatment.

Aloe Vera has a bitter taste which can be unpleasant in the raw state. It is possible to get used to the taste of plain Aloe Vera gel, but if you can't the addition of some fruit juice helps to make it more palatable.

Many preparations are available that purport to provide Aloe Vera in tablet or capsule form. It is unlikely that many of the delicate beneficial components will have survived the manufacturing process, and these products often contain so little Aloe Vera as to be of dubious benefit. A study 10 years ago found that less than 1% of Aloe Vera preparations contained acceptable quantities of Aloe Vera Gel. One product achieved notoriety for actually having no measurable Aloe Vera content.

There is much confusion between Aloe Vera Gel and Aloe Vera Juice with the two often being thought synonymous. The term Gel refers to the inner leaf only, whereas Juice refers to “Aloe Latex” a bitter substance found just under the skin of the leaf.

Leading authorities on Aloe Vera maintain that only Aloe Vera gel as fresh as preservation allows from the inner leaf has any remarkable properties.

Some products are made from re-constituted freeze dried Aloe Vera. It seems unlikely that all of its beneficial components will have survived freeze drying, and it is of course possible for the less scrupulous to add more water back than was taken out to make it go further. Natural Aloe Vera Gel should be cloudy with fragments of pulp in it. If the product is crystal clear then carbon filtration has probably been used which can filter out much of what is good.

Another argument that rages on is the difference of opinion between those promoting so-called "whole leaf" Aloe Vera and those who only use the inner gel. It is well established that the inner gel contains most of the beneficial parts of the plant and little of the less beneficial. Those who promote products based on the inner gel alone maintain that their product is as close to "straight from the plant" as the preservation process allows.

The promoters of "whole leaf" Aloe Vera maintain that as they use all the leaf, their product must be more abundant in the good properties of Aloe Vera. However, the components most likely to destroy the poly-saccharides (thought to give Aloe Vera its renowned properties) - cellulose and bacteria are present in Aloe Vera leaves just under the rind or on the surface of the leaf. Certainly "whole leaf" manufacturers use carbon filtration or other techniques to filter out the impurities in the liquidised whole leaf and these are thought to also filter out many of the beneficial constituents.

With so much variation in the market, maintaining the quality of Aloe Vera is key to retaining Consumer confidence. There are four key tests of Quality:

The Official IASC (International Aloe Science Council) seal on the package or product container;

That Stabilised Aloe Vera gel is listed as the FIRST ingredient on the contents list, and beware of products that state "aqua" (Water) as the first ingredient as this almost certainly means that the contents is re-constituted powder;

That the gel is sold in a sealed container that preserves the integrity of the contents;

That the product has at least a 30 day satisfaction guarantee.

Information for Publishers

You may publish this article, but only if credit is given to Aloe Health UK and the web address is included as http://www.aloehealthuk.com

Go to Page 1

BIO:

Samantha runs a business supplying skin care, health and beauty products based on Aloe Vera. To visit her web site go to http://www.aloehealthuk.com

Some Aditional Articles you may enjoy

Your Guide To Preventive Healthcare by Irina

Understanding Your Metabolism by Kathy Browning

Review of "Fry Light, Fry Right!" by Sherri Allen

Plastic Surgeons in New York, Florida, Chicago, Los Angeles Named America’s Top Plastic Surgeons by Hugo Gallegos

10 Tips For Better Sleep by Wendy Owen

Click a Number to go to an article index page
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39