Aloe vera

ambie0817

Has anyone tried drinking aloe Vera? If you have, did you find it helped? I tried it tonight and it made me super thirsty and full. I guess that's good right?

usmcmp

I believe that there was an article recently discussing liver damage caused by drinking aloe vera. It wasn't a common side effect, but for some people it directly caused liver problems. As for use as a weight loss aid, I personally wouldn't.

Weight loss comes down to calorie intake compared to the amount of calories your body uses keeping you alive every day. Adding in things like aloe vera might increase your weight loss by 1-2%. Using a food scale is going to increase results in most people by a lot more than that. I would caution you that using aloe vera often could cause you digestive issues due to the natural laxative properties.

PaulaWallaDingDong

My sister takes it when she's constipated. Helps her. I've never heard of it as a dietary aid.

ambie0817

Not using it as a dietary aid so much as trying to make new and healthy changes. I read it helps with clear skin, helps with digestion, and helps improve blood circulation. I guess I wasn't very clear in why I was drinking it. I do a table spoon with water twice a day. I just was wondering if anyone tried it and noticed any benefits. Sorry for the miscommunication.

Christine_72

I did look into it once, but the liver damage claims put me off. I wanted to take it for the skin benefits and to help keep me regular.

shaumom

Every once in a while, folks i know have found it very useful when they had an inflamed gut, like some of my celiac friends who got gluten contamination, that sort of thing. Or when they had a stomach flu, as well. I have seen aloe vera tablets (NOT the juice) studied for their ability to help control glucose levels in the blood (many desert plants seem to contribute to this, actually, even prickly pear cactus and mesquite).

Drinking aloe vera juice regularly? Probably not a good idea, at least not if you get good, solid aloe vera juice that hasn't processed out all of the useful components that might be good for you anyway, you know?

The reason is this: Aloe vera is a medicinal plant - whether used on the skin or ingested. If you take it too often, it can start to cause stomach problems, cause the runs, even eventually cause heart or, as noted, liver problems. Like any other medicine, it's good to solve a particular problem, but not to take every day. It was never, and is never, used as a food staple by any of the people who live where it grows wild (which is where I live, actually). It was only used medicinally, or sometimes periodically might be added to a food or drink dish for a one time thing.

Honestly, if aloe vera juice sold at the store is 'mild' enough to consume every day safely, then It likely doesn't have much in the way of healthy benefits LEFT in it after whatever processing it has gone through, so it is not likely to be doing much good anyway, you know?

kommodevaran

Something that tastes like death can't be good for you.