How Aloe Benefits Our Bodies Inside and Out

The Dual Power of Aloe: Internal and External Benefits

When you have a skinned knee, burned finger, or cut, it can feel like healing takes forever. Everyone heals at different rates depending on their genetics and overall health. However, the process of healing is the same for all: the body needs to produce new cells to replace the damaged or destroyed ones.

Aloe, often referred to as nature’s “pharmacy in a plant,” has been shown to accelerate the growth of new cells, speeding up the healing process. As modern research has revealed its broad range of external and internal health benefits, there has been a surge in aloe-based products. This blog post explores the diverse benefits of aloe vera, whether applied topically or consumed internally. It also provides best practices for using aloe vera effectively to maximize its potential health advantages.

Aloe's Historical Significance

It’s widely known that, because of its soothing properties, aloe is especially beneficial for cuts and sunburns. Back in the 1930s and 40s, any doubts were laid to rest when Drs. Collins, Wright, and Crewe proved aloe's beneficial powers when treating radiation burn victims.

They compared patients who did not receive treatments with aloe to those who had aloe applied to their wounds and observed the patients who used aloe experienced shorter healing times and less evidence of burning and scarring. Once these findings began appearing in medical journals, other researchers started investigating aloe, wondering if some of the other old claims about it might also be true.

Aloe's Proven Effectiveness in Modern Medicine

Aloe’s healing capabilities continued to gain interest in the 1950s. In 1959, the FDA concluded from studies conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission at Los Alamos Laboratories’ radiation burn center in New Mexico that aloe gel did have a healing effect on skin tissue.

Further studies also demonstrated the effectiveness of the gel. Modern clinical studies today confirm aloe is indeed one of the best herbs for soothing skin and healing burns, rashes, frostbite, and even severe wounds.

Aloe vera is also used for treating acne, psoriasis, dandruff, ringworm, gum disease, eczema, poison ivy, and poison oak. Aloe has been shown to have antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (fever/pain), anti-parasitic, oxygenating, and antioxidant properties, and appears to be effective against a broad spectrum of germs, inhibiting the reproduction of herpes and measles viruses in vitro.

Aloe Vera Uses: External and Internal Benefits

Aloe vera has a range of uses for external and internal remedies. Aloe vera

1. Skin Healing and Care

Aloe helps control itching by inhibiting histamine reactions produced by insect bites, stings, poison oak, and poison ivy. In addition, it’s used to soften and break down calluses and blisters and reduce scarring by inhibiting the formation of tissue-injuring compounds that gather at the site of an injury to the skin. One of the plant’s anthraquinones, chrysophanic acid, is effective in healing abrasions.

Apart from its healing effects, aloe also provides numerous benefits for skin health. Organic aloe vera face gel contains antioxidants that prevent sun damage and slow down the skin’s aging process. Moreover, using aloe vera gel as a moisturizer is a great way to hydrate the skin as it contains a high proportion of fluids. Due to the growing awareness about aloe’s skin health benefits, aloe vera skincare products are rapidly gaining popularity.

2. Improving Nutritional Intake

The benefits that aloe provides to the body are remarkable. These benefits come from a collection of diverse ingredients found in aloe, such as its large polysaccharides, or complex carbohydrates. These polysaccharides survive the digestive process with all their nutrients intact and are then absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered into the cells, tissues, and organs.

One of the best things about aloe is that not only is it easily absorbable, but it also helps other nutrients be absorbed by the body’s cells. This unique ability acts as a sort of “biological delivery truck,” drawing the nutrients dramatically through the cells and tissues of the body.

This penetrative/absorptive property helps increase the effectiveness of aloe’s own nutrients as well as those provided by food, supplements, medicines, and vaccines we ingest or inject.

3. Promoting Cellular Health

Polysaccharides in aloe strengthen cell membranes, which allows cells to fight infection more effectively. Improve cellular metabolism. It also improves cellular metabolism which helps your cells function better and gives you more energy.

Aloe’s long polysaccharide chains stimulate the production of fibroblasts and proteoglycans for new tissue growth throughout the body. Polysaccharide molecules help break down and remove excess waste, toxins, mucus, and heavy metals in cells, tissues, and organs.

The polysaccharides in aloe vera seem to benefit the entire body and all of its systems, including the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, immune, and hormonal systems.

4. Boosting the Immune System

One of aloe’s key polysaccharides, acemannan, has been shown to boost the immune system by stimulating white blood cells, including macrophages, monocytes, and killer T-cells. These cells help protect the body from harmful pathogens, bacteria, and viruses. Additionally, acemannan may prevent cancer cells from attaching to healthy cells in the body.

5. Building Digestive Health

Aloe vera is used to treat various gastrointestinal disorders, including diverticulitis; gastric, peptic, and duodenal ulcers as well as ulcerative colitis. In fact, outside the United States, aloe is used primarily as a health beverage.

Aloe juice can be used to cleanse and detoxify, relieve indigestion and nausea, boost energy, alleviate aches and pains, and even fight off illness.

A study by Dr. Jeffrey Bland published in 1985 demonstrated that taking aloe vera internally improved the participants’ protein digestion/absorption, improved colonic activity, balanced acid levels, and lowered bowel putrefaction—in just a week.

By improving digestion and elimination, aloe helps reduce chronic inflammation, potentially improving back, knee, shoulder, and other joint pain.

How to Consume Aloe Juice: Best Practices

When you first start consuming aloe juice, you may experience a cleansing effect. This happens because the aloe stimulates your body’s natural metabolic processes, which produces a larger-than-normal amount of waste material that needs to be eliminated. Below are some of the best practices that will help you make the most of your aloe juice consumption.

Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water to help your body flush out toxins during the cleansing process.
Adjust Quantity Based on Need: Aloe juice can be consumed in small amounts (1–2 ounces, 1–2 times a day) or larger amounts (3–4 ounces, 3–4 times a day) depending on your needs. Aloe juice can be consumed on its own or mixed with fresh fruit juice or other cold beverages.
Take on an Empty Stomach: Consume aloe juice between meals on an empty stomach for better absorption into your body’s cells.
Consume in Small Amounts Throughout the Day: It is more effective to consume aloe in smaller doses throughout the day, rather than all at once, to ensure it’s continually available to your body.
Increase Dosage Gradually: Start with a smaller amount of aloe juice and increase gradually until you achieve the desired benefits.
Daily Maintenance: Once you have reached the desired amount, continue consuming that same amount daily.
Ensure Aloe Juice Is Filtered: Check that the aloe juice you purchase has been filtered to remove aloin, a powerful purgative and laxative. Aloin should only be used under a doctor’s supervision.
Aloin Removal Doesn’t Affect Healing Qualities: The removal of aloin from the juice does not affect the plant’s natural healing properties.

Final Thoughts

Aloe vera has been historically regarded as a ‘universal panacea’ due to its extensive healing properties. However, its traditional status as a natural healer has been upheld by modern research.

Aloe vera has been proven to offer natural remedies for a broad range of internal and external ailments, including indigestion, high blood sugar, inflammation, respiratory problems, and various skin conditions. In addition to its healing properties, aloe vera boosts the immune system and improves cellular health. It contains natural stimulants that help the body absorb nutrients more efficiently.

Modern research has confirmed the health benefits of aloe vera, leading to a rise in aloe-based healthcare products, especially in skincare. However, the effectiveness of these products depends on the concentration of organic aloe vera used. Miracle of Aloe offers high-quality organic aloe vera products that provide you with the maximum benefits of this wonderful plant.

FAQs

Can you use aloe as hair gel?

Yes. Aloe hair gel is rich in vitamins A, B12, C, and E that strengthen the hair follicles and promote hair growth. It also helps in controlling seborrheic dermatitis and prevents scaliness and itchiness.

Is Aloe vera a good moisturizer?

Aloe vera contains a high proportion of fluids that moisturize, soothe, and hydrate the skin.

Is aloe juice safe during pregnancy?

Drinking aloe vera juice during pregnancy is not recommended because the aloe latex contains compounds that may cause uterine contractions, potentially leading to premature labor or miscarriage.

What happens if you use expired aloe vera gel?

Expired aloe vera gel should be avoided as it may contain bacteria that can cause skin irritation, infections, and allergic reactions.

Does aloe vera detox the body?

Aloe vera juice has natural cleansing and detoxification properties. It also supports digestion, which helps in removing toxins from the body and assists in weight management.

Is aloe vera good for mucus?

Aloe vera is a natural expectorant that helps thin out mucus by increasing its water content. This reduces the stickiness of the mucus and makes it easier to cough up. Aloe also has anti-inflammatory properties that can soothe irritation and reduce swelling in the respiratory tract.

How Aloe Benefits Our Bodies Inside and Out

The Dual Power of Aloe: Internal and External Benefits

Aloe's Historical Significance

Aloe's Proven Effectiveness in Modern Medicine