Healing Inside and Out with Aloe Vera

 

I’ve had stomach issues for the past 5 years and probably most of my life without truly realizing it.

Through learning/ researching about people’s skin problems I’ve realized that so many of our illnesses (mind and body) stem from an unhealthy gut.

Pretty much anything from skin problems to allergies, asthma and even things like memory loss, A.D.H.D, depression, anxiety & so much more can be attributed to an unhealthy gut.

I was exhausted all the time, my memory was completely shot, I couldn’t focus to save my life, my hair wouldn’t grow, I was depressed and I had an on and off again pinching feeling in my upper left side that was becoming more frequent and more intense.

I went to the doctor one evening and was transported to the hospital a few hours later.

My stomach had a pretty significant bleed that wasn’t going to stop on its own. The doctors had to cauterize my stomach to stop the bleeding.  

That was terrifying to say the least. I slowly began to heal and feel better.

I was still in my early twenties and went back to my normal lifestyle, late nights, binge drinking & fast food, ignoring what my body was trying so desperately to tell me.

As I got a bit older I eventually slowed down on the drinking, fast food and late nights.

Once the party ended and the smoke parted, I finally had enough time and clarity to start realizing my body was in distress.

Around this time, Glimmer Goddess® stared and through research on potential blog topics on skin conditions and natural ways to have vibrant, healthy skin, I found the link to gut health and overall health (inside and out).  

I kept coming back with the same underlying answer; unhealthy & unbalanced gut health.

Insert rabbit hole. Far down I went, reading everything I could get my hands on, anything from medical journals to holistic blogs.

If it had something to do with the correlation between gut health and other health problems I was in.

I found that from my overly acidic stomach my body wasn’t able to process nutrients and vitamins correctly, especially lacking in Vitamin B-12. I also found out that my allergies and asthma that had been flaring up like CRAZY the past 5 years was connected to my stomach issues as well.

Once I started taking vitamin B-12 I had a lot of my energy back and truly felt happy again.

However, I was still experiencing other issues, a faint pinch in my side, eczema, an uneven complexion, bad breath, anxiety, asthma, allergies and memory loss.

The founder of Glimmer Goddess®, my step mother Shannon, had me mix 2 ounces of aloe Vera Gel with water and some vitamins every morning when I woke up.

After a week my asthma and allergies had gone away and when I say they went away I mean I went from waking up every morning with sneezing fits and having to take my inhaler daily to waking up feeling refreshed, no more sniffling, no more sneezing and my inhaler, what’s that?

I still keep it just in case but I don’t have to sleep with it right by my bed anymore.

Bad breath, stomach pinching, memory loss and skin issues all dissipated as well, it took about a month of drinking the Aloe Vera mixture every morning for those problems to start to subside.

I am completely blown away by the way I look and feel.

The Aloe Vera helped balance my body’s pH, finally allowing important nutrients and vitamins to digest properly. I’m not saying it’s a cure all but I can tell you from first-hand experience, it changed my life.

Laura Dawn from Happy and Raw wrote a blog called “The Top 12 Benefits of Aloe Vera” that I love, here’s what she says are the top 12 benefits along with some precautions.

1. Aloe Vera Is High in Vitamins & Minerals:

Aloe Vera contains many vitamins including A, C, E, folic acid, choline, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6. Aloe Vera is also one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12. Some of the 20 minerals found in Aloe vera include: calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, sodium, iron, potassium, copper, manganese.

2. Aloe Vera is High in Amino Acids & Fatty Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

There are about 22 amino acids that are necessary for the human body and it is said that 8 of these are essential.

Estimates of the amino acids found in aloe range from 18-20 amino acids, with all 8 essential amino acids.

Aloe vera also includes quite an impressive range of fatty acids. Aloe contains three plant sterols, which are important fatty acids – HCL cholesterol (which lowers fats in the blood), campesterol, and B-sitosterol.

All are helpful in reducing symptoms of allergies and acid indigestion.

Other fatty acids include linoleic, linolenic, myristic, caprylic, oleic, palmitic, and  stearic.

3. Aloe Vera is an Adaptogen

Aloe vera is a well-known adaptogen.

An adaptogen is something that boosts the body’s natural ability to adapt to external changes and resist illness.

It is thought that aloe’s power as an adaptogen balances the body’s system, stimulating the defense and adaptive mechanisms of the body.

This allows you an increased ability to cope with stress (physical, emotional and environmental stress like pollution)

4. Aloe Helps with Digestion

Poor digestion is related to many diseases.

A properly functioning digestive tract is one of the keys and foundations of health.

Aloe is known to soothe and cleanse the digestive tract and help improve digestion.

The interesting thing about taking aloe internally is that, because it is an adaptogen, it helps with either constipation or diarrhea, helping to regulate your elimination cycles in whatever way you need.  

It’s been a great remedy for people with problems such as irritable bowel syndrome as well as acid reflux.

Aloe also helps to decrease the amount of unfriendly bacteria and in our gut keeping your healthy intestinal flora in balance. Aloe is also a vermifuge, which means it helps to rid the body of intestinal worms.

5. Aloe Helps in Detoxification

Aloe Vera is a gelatinous plant food, just like seaweeds and chia seeds.

The main benefit to consuming gelatinous plant foods in your diet is that these gels move through the intestinal tract absorbing toxins along the way and get eliminated through the colon.

This will help the proper elimination of waste from your body and help the detoxification of your body.

6. Aloe Alkalizes the Body

Disease cannot manifest in an alkaline environment.

Most people are living and subsisting on mostly acidic foods. For great health, remember the 80/20 rule – 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acidic.

Aloe vera is an alkaline forming food. It alkalizes the body, helping to balance overly acidic dietary habits.

7. Cardiovascular Health

There hasn’t been a lot of studies conducted on aloe’s effect on cardiovascular health, but there has been some research to show that aloe vera extract injected into the blood, greatly multiplies the oxygen transportation and diffusion capabilities of the red blood cells.

According to a study published in the 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal, beta sitosterol helps to lower cholesterol.

By regulating blood pressure, improving circulation and oxidation of the blood, lowering cholesterol, and making blood less sticky, aloe vera juice may be able to help lower the risk of heart disease.

8. Aloe Helps Boost the Immune System

I think given the stresses of our daily lives, every one can use a boost to their immune systems.

The polysaccharides in aloe vera juice stimulate macrophages, which are the white blood cells of your immune system that fight against viruses.

Aloe is also an immune enhancer because of its high level of anti-oxidants, which help combat the unstable compounds known as free-radicals, contributing to the aging process. (Free radicals are a bi-product of life itself, it is a naturally occurring process but we can overload ourselves with unnecessary free-radicals by living an unhealthy lifestyle).

Aloe is also an antipyretic which means it used to reduce or prevent fever.

9. Aloe Vera is Great for the Skin

Because of aloe’s well-known healing properties for the skin, aloe is one of the primary compounds used in the cosmetic industry.

It is a known vulnerary, (meaning it helps heal wounds) and is great for applying topically to burns, abrasions, psoriasis and even to bug bites.

Aloe acts as an analgesic, acting to help relieve pain of wounds.

It’s feels especially good to cut a stem of aloe, place it in the fridge and rub it on sun burnt skin – the immediate soothing effect feels like an absolute lifesaver.

Aloe is also an antipruritic: A substance that relieves or prevents itching. Aloe vera is an astringent: which causes the contraction of body tissues, typically used to reduce bleeding from minor abrasions.

Due to aloe’s high water content (over 99% water) it is a great way to hydrate, moisturize and rejuvenate the skin and fits within my general guideline: “Don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat!” 

Aloe increases the elasticity of the skin making it more flexible through collagen and elastin repair.

Aloe is an emollient, helping to soften and soothe the skin.

It helps supply oxygen to the skin cells, increasing the strength and synthesis of skin tissue and induces improved blood flow to the skin through capillary dilation.

10. Aloe vera is a: Disinfectant, Anti-biotic, Anti-microbial, Germicidal, Anti-bacterial, Anti-septic, Anti-fungal & Anti-viral:

Wow, I think that covers all anti- bases.

Okay, I admit, that was just a sneaky way to add in another 8 good reasons why you should keep aloe vera as a handy (not to mention beautiful) house plant and incorporate its uses into a healthy lifestyle.

Aloe vera’s active ingredients are sulphur, lupeol, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid, urea nitrogen and phenol which are substances that prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms and act as a team to provide antimicrobial activity thus eliminating many internal and external infections, also active against bacteria. It also helps to treat fungal and viral infections.

11. Aloe Helps Reduce Inflammation

Aloe Vera contains 12 substances, including B-sisterole, which can help to slow down or inhibit inflammation.  

This may be able to help with painful joints due to stiffness and help improve joint flexibility.

12. Weight Loss – A Secondary effect

Improving your digestion, and detoxifying your body will have a secondary effect of promoting weight loss because when you start to improve your digestion you naturally eliminate more efficiently, which is a primary way that we all detoxify – through our bowels.

This will lighten your toxic load on your body and will give you more energy.

Aloe Vera Intake Precautions

This plant is incredibly medicinal, yet there are some cautions against long-term use. Just because a little is beneficial, doesn’t mean that a lot is more beneficial. This is an incredibly potent plant and should be used with a level of respect for its potency. Long-term use can lead to loss of electrolytes, especially potassium.

Tip: Avoid taking aloe internally during pregnancy, menstruation, if you have hemorrhoids or degeneration of the liver and gall bladder.

 

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