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Aloe Vera and It's Uses
I often speak of how useful Aloe Vera is. I have many old plants that I have used in self care for many years. With this in mind, I decided to gather and give more details of this remarkable plant.
Aloe Vera is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. There are around 250 species of this wonderful plant. Aloe is an evergreen perennial and originated from the Arabian Peninsula. It also grows wild in tropical, semi-tropical, and arid climates around the world. It is raised for agricultural and medicinal uses. It grows outside but also grows successfully indoors as a potted plant.
Aloe Vera has many medicinal benefits. The plant is used for both external and internal applications. My recommendation if using internally is to add to something pleasant as the taste is quite unpleasant. The lower leaf has many curative functions. The gel from the leaf is used to treat many skin ailments including dermatitis, burns and various other skin disorders.
After having three large babies, I developed hemorrhoids. I had tried many ointments in an attempt to ease the inflammation and flair ups from hemorrhoids. None would heal them completely. However, when using fresh Aloe Vera from my plants, I have complete healing each time these flair ups occur.
Ten studies were located. They suggest that oral administration of aloe Vera might be a useful adjunct for lowering blood glucose in diabetic patients as well as for reducing blood lipid levels in patients with hyperlipidemia. This study also concluded that aloe Vera, used as a topical application was not an effective preventative for radiation-induced injuries. (1).
However, from my own personal experience of using this on my mother-in-law on a very moist personal area where she had severe radiation burns and after all prescription ointments failed to offer her any relief, the Aloe Vera healed her burns quickly.
In a more recent study, radiation induced burns from treatment of acute radiation-induced Proctitis was treated with Aloe Vera. The study showed that Aloe Vera topical ointment was effective in prevention of symptoms of ARP in patients undergoing RT for pelvic cancers. (2)
Furthermore, Aloe Vera has been shown to have therapeutic uses as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, anticancer, and skin-protective and wound-healing. These uses have been attributed to the presence of many of the active compounds within the juice. These compounds include anthraquinones, anthrones, chromones, flavonoids, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. (3)
So, as we can see, Aloe Vera is useful for dermatitis, burns, hemorrhoids, radiation burns, lowering blood glucose levels. It’s shown to have several therapeutic properties including as an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-viral, wound healing and more.
4. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/aloe-vera
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