Understanding The Health Benefits Of Aloe Vera

The secretions of the aloe vera plant are well known for their ability to heal a variety of skin injuries and disorders.

The Plant

It is a succulent plant of the class Liliopsida, order Asparagales, Family Asphodelaceae, genus Aloe. There are approximately 400 species in the genus. One of these is Aloe vera, and the four different varieties of are Barbados Aloe, Common Aloe, Yellow Aloe, and Medicinal Aloe.

As its name implies, the medicinal variation is the variety of aloe vera with health benefits that give the plant its reputation for healing.

The plant sends up broad, fleshy, swordlike leaves with serrated edges. The plant has a beautiful red spire-shaped flower, but the lower leaves of the plant, not the flower, are used for medicinal purposes.

Health Benefits Of Aloe Vera Sap

The sap from the plant is widely used to treat eczema, minor cuts, burns, and rashes of the skin. Because of its beneficial effects, sap is often added to cosmetic and skin treatment products like soaps, lotions, moisturizers, makeup removers, makeup, shampoo, deodorant, and conditioner.

The healing properties and health benefits of Aloe vera for mild skin burns are so well known that many cooks keep a plant on the kitchen window sill. If the cook suffers a burn to the hand or arm during cooking, he or she makes a small cut in the flesh of the plant and squeeze a small amount of sap onto the wound. This treatment has been known to reduce the pain, redness, and swelling of the burn and to prevent scars from forming on the skin.

Aloe vera is also well known for its soothing effect on sunburned skin. In fact, it is an active ingredient in many sunscreens and sunburn remedies, providing relief to sunburn sufferers of all ages.

Another well known health benefit of Aloe vera is its ability to minimize damages from frostbite. A study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that almost 67.9% of frostbite patients who were treated with the cream in addition to other standard treatments healed without any tissue loss, compared to the control group of 32.7%.

Other Health Benefits

Some herbal remedy providers claim that Aloe vera toothpaste has health benefits of soothing inflamed and sore gums. Organic gel is manufactured into toothpaste to make it easily accessible and easy to use.

Many patients with irritable bowel syndrome swear by the healing effects of ingesting Aloe vera juice or liquid containing the gel. The juice is believed to improve bowel function and increase the body's ability to absorb nutrients in the digestive tract. However, patients should ask their doctor before they drink juice to get health benefits, in case for some reason the substances contained in the gel are contraindicated by some other condition that the patient has.

Aloe vera is also well known for its ability to strengthen and enhance the immune system. Other alleged health benefits include cleansing of the digestive system, repairing elastin and collagen in the skin and joints, restoring much needed vitamins and minerals to the body, and restoring eight vital amino acids to the body.

Ingested Aloe vera also has health benefits of reducing blood sugar levels in diabetes. One-half a teaspoon of extract daily for up to 14 weeks reduced blood sugar levels in patients by an average of 45%, a significant reduction.

Injection underneath the skin was found to reduce the amount of swelling and inflammation suffered in animals as a result of arthritis.

The health benefits of Aloe vera are many; patients with serious symptoms should consult their doctors before attempting to self-treat.