Aloe Vera - Editor's Choice

Over the years, Earth Clinic readers have sent us many reports about their treatments for Aloe Vera. The editors at Earth Clinic consider the below posts to be some of the most helpful and informative and have named them 'Editor's Choice'. We hope that you will find this useful.

How to Use Aloe Vera

Posted by Jenn (Coborra, Australia) on 01/04/2015
★★★★★

Aloe vera, the plant would be good for healing.

Because the sap stains clothing permanently, it may be wise to wear old daggy clothes, when doing this process...so cut with a sharp knife, a leaf or a piece of same depending on the size of the leaf, about 6 inches, and put in a cup of cool water.... With this same knife, take leaf out and cut off the spines along the edge and discard it and the water which may have a brownish tinge. Rinse knife and cut open the leaf to reveal the white inner gel. Now this gel, although extremely bitter, can be taken internally for those die-hards out there, and will help with digestive and constipation problems and can assist if taken on a regular basis with internal cleansing and inner healing.

But, for healing of skin it's wonderful.

If using for this purpose, scrape as much of the inner leaf out as possible, put into clean drinking water in a cup ( preferably not tap water due to the chemicals) and discard the leaf afterwards. You may find it easier to put a small piece onto your scars and cover with a piece of clean cotton material or bandage, or a wide band-aid . You can change it as often as you like but try and leave it on for at least 2 days at a time, to allow it to heal. Try and use the Aloe vera gel in water within 5 days and make a fresh batch. After you have made it a couple of times all these instructions will seem like nothing, you'll just whizz through it because it is so easy to do.

Long term healing is possible if taking a good quality calcium, zinc supplement with possibly magnesium , silica, biotin or brewers yeast..some or all, as these help to renew your skin.

There is Aloe vera juice available in many places and is marketed as 99.92% pure and if you do not have access to the actual plant then this would be acceptable but it does generally have Potassium Sorbate or Sodium Benzoate as a preservative, which are necessary to stabilise the Aloe vera to market it to the public, otherwise it would go 'off' but is used only in very small quantities.

Fresh is best but if it is not available then the inner leaf juice available commercially can be used.

If using the commercial juice, soak clean cotton strips ( an old sheet, not flannelette will do) in the juice , wring out slightly and either use straight away or hang to dry and use as a medicated dressing. Sorry about this long answer! This can also be used for burns and general skin healing.

Hope this will be of assistance.


Multiple Cures

Posted by Yvonne (Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico) on 08/28/2012
★★★★★

I can vouch for the aloe lemon drink. I discovered that when I start my day (best to do it first thing for highest potency and absorbability) with a fresh aloe vera leaf blended in a glass of water with a lemon or two, I lose weight without changing anything else.

I did this for about four months and had lost 6 pounds, when I went for my yearly dental exam. My gums had been receding for years, and I could always count on a scolding for not taking care of my teeth (which was not accurate). This time, not only did I have no cavities and no further gum disease, but the dentist congratulated me for doing such a great job of my oral hygiene! Ha!

I have read it is best to pick the aloe fresh each morning before the sun comes up (it has higher nutritients at that time), so I now grow my own aloe plants organically, rise early, and drink my fresh aloe and fresh lemon before eating anything else. I have also discovered it lowers both my blood sugar and blood pressure, both of which were beginning to concern me. Blessings.


Multiple Cures
Posted by Ujosh (Dubai, Uae) on 04/20/2012
★★★★★

Hi, I am travelling so could not post a video but will definitely make it as soon as I can. I thought to pen my recipe.

I take AloeVera leaf that is thick. I have observed that it makes better juice. I normally cut 5 leaves and put it in the refrigerator. (One of the nearby places has put AV plants as part or decoration on road and do not mind me taking it!!! ) I use one leaf a day & weekend off. The length from tip to my cut is nomally around 25-30 cm or 1 foot and thicknes of more than 1/2inch around 20cm (3/4") is really good.

First, wash it throughly with water, occasionally rubbing with fingers. take out thorns - just cut few mm aways from both sides.

Now take your blender jar and make slits at 10 mm distance (5 -6 cuts vertically) on leaf and then cut horizontally to get 2-5 mm thick nice slices of aloe vera leaf dropping them directly to the jar. Repeat the process till end of the leaf. I add one lime (juice only no seeds & not whole lime) and little honey may be a spoon just for taste. There is no harm in adding any of your favorite juice or berries. use what ever make it tasty! .

Blend it - (i have 3 speed blender so do it at fast, then medium followed by low) It should become light greenish-whitesh colour thick shake - this is the best leaf & juice. Sometimes if I add water it becomes runny so I avoid. I may put 3-4 icecubes after first blend just to get the mixture smooth.

Pour in a glass and drink it in one go - bottoms up to get best coverage on your digestive track. I put water in jar and then same liquid in glass to make sure that I have consumed last drop of av. Science is still not sure on which part works the most so I donot want to take chances!!

taking this juice should give you regular smooth motion from day 2-4 depending upon your cronic constipation. This is first sign of aloe working in the body!! The more you keep on taking it will get rid of toxin. It is not only aloevera but your faith in the AV that makes miracles! If you are not sure then donot waste your time. when you have full faith in AV and strong desire to become healthy, please try this.

I drink this after my 40 minute run and one glass of water.

During the day, I take normal tea or green tea which ever is handy.

AV has balanced my water intake as well. I think I have dropped 2 inches for sure may be more in last 3 months.

i started with 1 hour brisk walk on asphalt (no greens here) slowy added running starting from 100 m a piece and now I am able to run 4 Km a day and completed one 10km single strech run... all thanks to AV.

Good health everyone!


Multiple Cures
Posted by Ujosh (Dubai, Uae) on 04/08/2012
★★★★★

Aloevera leaf without thorn, half lemon juice, little honey to taste = perfect recipe for getting rid of any illness - specifically high BP, diabetes and even high chelostrol. This simply works because aloevera coats your digestive track with its sticky stuff and there is no reabsorption of toxins - no toxins then body does not have to produce extra elements that increase pressure, sugar, etc.

Add 30 minutes walk/run a day to this and forget about any illness that you may had before. I make this juice everyday. good health everyone.


Multiple Cures
Posted by Dianne (Tampa, Fl) on 07/08/2009
★★★★★

I apologize in advance for how lengthy this is. I am writing to let everyone know about the incredible benefits we have experienced with Aloe. About one and a half years ago our whole family came down with whooping cough. I decided to try Aloe, as a friend I had known had had great success with it for treating a serious prolonged cough and my mother also told me that in Colombia SA they would use a beaten concoction of Aloe and egg whites to treat whooping cough when she was a little girl. I researched Aloe on the internet, and though I didn't find the egg white recipe, I found many things Aloe is good for. It did work very well for whooping cough, especially helping to calm the nightime attacks, and a friend tried it for her daughter's whooping cough and had the same results. When I looked Aloe up on the internet, the treatment for the ailment that interested me the most was asthma. My son had been struggling with it for several years- not severe, but mostly sports induced and it greatly hindered his ability to play sports. I have tried most home remedies for asthma and have had so-so results. He began drinking it every day and by the end of the second month his attacks were completely gone. As long as he continues to drink it daily, he has no attacks. If he stops it entirely he begins having attacks again after a couple of months.

I found that one of the reasons that Aloe works for asthma (and other conditions like arthritis and lupus) is because it is anti-inflammatory. So, it keeps the airways from getting inflamed. Another reason it works is because it is also excellent for treating allergies which many times are a trigger for asthma. One of the reasons it works for allergies is because of the collagen it causes your body to produce which thickens the the mucus linings of your respiratory system and intestinal tract (heals leaky gut) which in turn helps you not to be so sensitive to allergens. Another reason is that it treats systemic candida which is usually the root of asthma and allergies.

The funny thing I noticed, which is not mentioned in any literature I have researched about Aloe, is that it has also helped with his stunted growth. My son is really short for his age and in the two years before taking Aloe, he only grew six inches total. Once he began taking Aloe for his asthma he grew almost six inches in one year. The growth spurt coincided exactly with time he first began the Aloe. I've tried my own "experiments" to see if his growth is related to the Aloe or if it is just his time to start growing, and I've found that if he has a period of a couple of months where he doesn't take his Aloe at all or only takes it once a week or so, he only grows about a quarter of an inch per month or less. When he takes it every single day, he grows about a half inch per month.

My father has been really inspired about my son's story and began taking it himself about four months ago for his prostate. He has been on prostate medication for the past ten years and still gets up to urinate about four times per night. He has tried different prostate medicines as well as his own share of home remedies, and nothing has worked. Well, after drinking Aloe daily for a couple of months, he was able to get off of his prostate medicine completely. Now he only gets up once or twice per night and he's not on any prostate medicine.

I've heard some people make some type of Aloe tea infusion, but the way we take Aloe is this: We buy a fresh Aloe stalk from the produce section of the grocery store. It has to be at least fourteen inches long, or I've read it's not as beneficial. The Aloe has to be nice and firm. Don't use it if it is soft and squishy as it is too old and may actually aggravate some candida problems. We slice off a three inch section from the base and peel off the thick green skin with a paring knife and discard it. We then take the gel (from the three inch section) and gently blend it with a drink mixer with some orange juice for palatability. The less you blend, the better as you don't want to destroy the beneficial properties.

You can buy bottled Aloe, but I DON'T RECOMMEND IT! While there may be some good Aloe products out there, I've read that sometimes the bottle can say 100% Aloe and it is actually 95% water, but for some reason the FDA allows them to say 100% Aloe even if it isn't. The other reason is that bottled Aloe is usually pasteurized which kills many of the beneficial enzymes that make Aloe so effective. Fresher is always better with Aloe.