The benefits of Aloe Vera - nature's Gift

Aloe Vera

There are over 350 varieties of Aloe Vera but it is the Aloe Barbadensis Miller that is medicinally the most powerful. With over 200 nutritional compounds, here are some which are key for the human body.

Aloe Vera itself contains:

🌱Lignin - which allows it to penetrate deeply into the epidermis layer of the skin.
🌱Saponin - a Latin word for soap. It possesses a natural anti-septic.
🌱Anthraquinones - found only in the sap, which acts as a natural laxative
🌱Minerals including sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper, iron and chromium. In fact, the only mineral that is required by the human body that Aloe Vera lacks is selenium. So it gives us all of the minerals we require bar one.
🌱Vitamins, including A, C and E and the B group (including B12 - one of the only plants that contain vitamin B12) In fact the only vitamin it lacks which the human body requires is Vitamin D. So again it gives us all the vitamins we require bar one.
🌱19 of the 20 Amino Acids required by the human body including the 7 “essential” amino acids have to be taken in the form of food because the human body doesn't manufacture them.
🌱 Anti-inflammatory enzymes and digestive enzymes.
🌱Sugars -including the important long-chain polysaccharides which boost our immune system.
🌱Plant Sterols which provide an anti-inflammatory effect
🌱Salicylic Acid - this is metabolised in the body and it has an aspirin-like action in terms of pain-killing and anti-inflammatory effects.

So what does this actually mean, how does it work for us?

Firstly it works on body surfaces (such as skin, hair, nails) and membranes (those inside the nose, mouth, sinuses and throat, the lining of the gullet, stomach, intestines, genital tract and lungs). Where any of these tissues are damaged, aloe helps regenerate tissue and speeds healing.

Applied topically, Aloe penetrates deep into the skin where it stimulates the fibroblasts that produce collagen and elastin. It encourages them the replicate faster which speeds up the healing of damaged skin or membranes. Research has shown that aloe can increase the rate of healing by a third!

Secondly, it works on the immune system! Aloe can also be taken as a source of food. It has a range of micronutrients and trace elements that are deficient in our diets today. The aloe plant absorbs minerals from the ground and gives them to us when we drink it - this improves the efficiency of all our enzyme systems which means our whole body is able to function