What can help build immunity, improve digestion, slow aging, improve the skin and improve dental health? It starts with an “a” and ends with an ends in an “a.”
Aloe vera. The aloe vera plant looks a little prehistoric with its long, triangular, blade like leaves, and it’s full of healthy benefits. We’ve probably all heard how a piece of aloe can be cut off the plant, peeled or cut open and then rubbed onto sunburns or scrapes.
Indeed, that aloe can help heal sunburns, cuts and scrapes, but it reportedly can also provide several additional benefits if it’s ingested. Please don’t go buy After Sun or similar and drink it, though. The kind that is drinkable is made especially for supplementing our diets. Just look for the kind without aolin and the International Aloe Science Council certification seal or statement.
Aloe packs a punch with a whopping 75 nutrients and minerals, some of which include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, folic acid, alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene. It also contains 19 required and seven essential amino acids, which are commonly known as the building blocks of protein.
The substance has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties, helping to fight off various illness causing agents. It is also a detoxifer, flushing out toxins, thus supporting the liver, blood and kidneys.
In a study of 30 women over the age of 45, aloe was found to “improve wrinkles and elasticity in photoaged human skin, with an increase in collagen production in the photoprotected skin and a decrease in the collagen-degrading MMP-1 gene expression.”
Additionally, aloe vera improves periodontitis, canker sores and various dental infections.
As far as digestive health, it’s used to relieve irritable bowel syndrome, gas, abdominal pain and discomfort, and can be used as a treatment for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease. In a pilot, randomized controlled trial, aloe was compared to omeprazole and ranitidine.
The study reports “79 subjects were allocated to A. vera syrup (standardized to 5.0 mg polysaccharide per mL of syrup) at a dose of 10 mL/d, omeprazole capsule (20 g/d) or ranitidine tablet (150 mg in a fasted state in the morning and 150 mg 30 min before sleep at night) for a period of 4 weeks. The frequencies of eight main symptoms of GERD (heartburn, food regurgitation, flatulence, belching, dysphagia, nausea, vomiting and acid regurgitation) were assessed at weeks 2 and 4 of the trial.”
Results, the study says, showed aloe was safe, well tolerated and reduced the frequencies of all symptoms with no adverse side-effects requiring withdrawal. The report concluded “A. vera may provide a safe and effective treatment for reducing the symptoms of GERD.”
It’s generally recommended to start with a lower dose and work your way up to no more than eight ounces a day. Too much will likely leave you rushing for a bathroom.
As usual, research the topic more thoroughly and consider discussing with your doctor about incorporating any new supplement into your diet.
Lauren Bearden is assistant editor at The News Observer. She can be reached at 706-632-2019 or by email at lauren@thenewsobserver.com.