Pure aloe vera is a magical substance that comes from inside the leaf of an aloe vera plant.
Pure Aloe Vera Benefits
This beautiful plant has numerous healing properties. Read on to learn more.
Pure Aloe Vera Delivery Methods
You can consume aloe vera in the form of juice, gel, or pill, and you can use the inner leaf, outer leaf, or both.
Aloe Vera Leaf: Inner or Whole Leaf
When it comes to aloe vera, I stick with the inner leaf, as the outer leaf can be caustic on the digestive system and if overused can lead to the constipation it is supposed to solve.
Anthraquinone from Outer Leaf
This is because the outer leaf of the aloe vera plant contains a substance referred to as anthraquinone, which contains intense, as opposed to gentle, laxative properties.
Types of Aloe: Inner Leaf as a Laxative
Alternatively, the inner leaf of the aloe vera plant has gentle laxative and gut healing properties that are derived from the polysaccharides.
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Pure Aloe Vera
While aloe vera contains both monosaccharides and polysaccharides, it’s the latter that are full of important healing properties.
Polysaccharides
One of the main polysaccharides in aloe is acemannan, a bioactive polysaccharide that has these potential benefits:
- Immunoregulation
- Intestinal Health
- Anti-Oxidant Properties
- Wound Healing Activation
- Neuroprotection
How Much Aloe Vera Juice to Drink Daily
Most evenings, an hour or so after dinner, I make an aloe vera drink to soothe my gut.
Organic Aloe Vera Juice
I typically have around a cup a day to get the benefits of organic aloe vera juice.
Best Aloe Vera Juice
I drink Lakewood Organic Pure Aloe and have found it to be the best aloe vera juice for me –it’s organic and in a glass bottle, both of which are fantastic.
Best Aloe Vera Gel
My Ayurvedic teacher, Maya Tiwari, recommended the brand, Lily of the Dessert, as the best aloe vera gel.
While I love the gel, and it may be more potent, I am not as compliant when using it due to the difficulty in liberating the gel from the bottle.
Ayurveda and Benefits of Aloe Vera
According to Tawari, “Aloe has been used medicinally for millennia by Chinese, Greeks, and Indians, and when it comes to Ayurvedic medicine, aloe is a very important plant.”1
She goes on to state that aloe helps to regulate the intestine’s peristaltic movements, promotes digestion, and relieves abdominal distension by promoting downward movement of the vayus, or “wind” element.
Incidentally, wind is related to air, one of the five elements of the Ayurvedic framework, the other four are: space, fire, water, and earth.
If the element theory of Ayurvedic medicine looks familiar to you, it may be because of the overlap with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Aloe Drink
Inspired by all the aloe vera talk but not sure where to start with an aloe vera drink?
I love making Aloe Vera Juice Lemonade. Stay tuned for that creation.
I haven’t ever made aloe vera juice from scratch, though the boys love pulling a leaf off this houseplant and smearing the pure aloe vera gel on themselves when they get sunburned.
Keto Constipation
Aloe vera juice soothes my digestive system and helps me deal with constipation.
Trust me, constipation on the Keto Diet can get really real. If you’re dealing with it, check out How I Healed My Gut for more tips.
How to Hydrate Fast
When it comes to relieving constipation, proper hydration is also critical.
It’s really important to get enough fiber on the Keto Diet so that your digestive system doesn’t get backed up.
Here are some of my favorite home remedies for constipation:
Do You Drink Pure Aloe Vera?
Are you a fan of aloe vera juice? I am! Leave a comment and let me know how you consume aloe.
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first shared Pure Aloe Vera Benefits in 2023.
