Health Benefits of Aloe Vera - Part I

It is said that there are many health benefits of Aloe Vera. By now most people know that it can be taken internally as well as applied externally. In fact, Aloe Vera drinks are becoming more and more popular - despite, rather than because of, their taste!

So why their popularity? Well, first and foremost they promote a healthy lifestyle. Many people (myself included) take them on a daily basis to assist the digestive process and absorption of nutrients, as well as to add vitamins, minerals and amino acids to their diet.

How can one plant do all this (and more)? Well, Aloe is a natural healer that balances the immune system and acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. So it is an ideal nutritional tonic for better health and wellbeing.

Small wonder then that people with arthritis, skin complaints and digestive/bowel disorders are drawn to it daily! Not that you need to have problems to take it. I found initially that it gave me extra energy and just made me feel 'better' in a general sense.

Now, having been taking it more or less daily for about 12 years, I've reaped the benefits of Aloe having fine-tuned my immune system. These have manifested in far fewer colds and bouts of flu than I had been used to. My body has been so well defended from attack that I no longer feel vulnerable when in a germ-filled room!

Aloe Vera gel contains at least 75 known ingredients that can be divided into these groups:
Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids, Sugars, Enzymes, Plant Sterols, Saponins, Lignin, Anthraquinones and Salycylic Acid.

This rich cocktail of nutritional elements work together as a team - synergistically. With its nutritional qualities plus antioxidant properties, Aloe Vera can help prevent injury to epithelial tissues as well as help promote healing if they are damaged.

Antioxidants battle against the destructive 'free radicals' that our metabolism produces and that are also found in environmental pollutants. On top of contributing toward the aging process these are thought to cause a number of ailments including some cancers.

Since our skin is our largest epithelium, which includes our gut lining, bronchial tubes and genital tract, it is not surprising that Aloe Vera works just as well on damaged skin as, for example, on asthma or an inflamed bowel.
Distinguished Doctor Peter Atherton, MB, ChB, Dobst RCOG, FRCGP, gives his TOP 10 Reasons to drink Aloe Vera Gel in this order:

1. A general tonic for good health
2. A useful source of vitamins
3. A useful source of minerals
4. Anti-inflammatory and painkilling effect
5. Antiviral activity
6. Increases the activity of fibroblasts
7. Effect on the skin
8. Effect on gut flora
9. Assists in healthy digestion
10. Effect on the gut

To obtain the best health benefits of Aloe Vera, it is important when buying drinks to remember that the label 'Aloe Vera juice' can be quite misleading - and that the product may contain only a small proportion of actual inner leaf gel.

Whole leaf aloe that has been filtered and often concentrated might prove to be less effective than just the inner leaf gel that has not been 'tampered with' or diluted. It certainly pays to check the quantity and quality of aloe in the product before purchasing.

A good way to do this is to look for the International Aloe Science Council's Seal of Approval. This independent American regulatory body monitors the quantity of aloe in products. Their Seal of Approval (not just a claim) needs to appear on the container for it to be bona fide.