Aloe: a summer must-have & so much more

Better Nutrition, July, 1998 by James F. Scheer

Two hours on the phone with Gene Hale, in "far-away" Irving, Texas, dispelled some of my misconceptions that aloe is one of those unglamorous, goopey, bland products limited only to soothing burns and healing wounds.

Hale, as the Executive Director of the International Aloe Science Council, Inc. (IASC), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the highest quality standards for aloe products worldwide, knows aloe's myriad uses very well, indeed.

After our conversation, and my review of the aloe literature, I came away with one conclusion: aloe is a veritable medicine chest enclosed in a little cactus-like plant.

Aloe's origins

Aloe (Aloe barbadensis Miller or Aloe vera) is a member of the lily family, a sister to onions, leeks, garlic, tulips, and asparagus. For over 4,000 years, aloe has been widely used by many different cultures.

Traditional use. Alexander the Great, during his conquest of Egypt, used vast supplies of aloe vera for his wounded soldiers. Cleopatra's servants made lotions and healing balms from aloe vera for their queen. Julius Caesar's legions supposedly used healing aloe, as did the average citizens of Rome and Greece.

Highly recommended by early physician-philosophers from Egypt to China to ancient Greece (Pliny the Elder) for its healing properties, aloe is sometimes called "Nature's Pharmacy" due to its multitude of applications, most notably for burn/wound healing -- including those "oops, I forgot to put on sunblock" sunburns.

Aloe and its varieties

There are over 200 species of aloe, ranging from little one-inch plants to others as tall as trees. A succulent herb that grows indigenously only in tropical climates, aloe, when cultivated, or growing in a pot in your kitchen window sill, can't survive freezing or over-watering. However, you can remove one of its heavy, spear-like, green leaves, put it away for a couple of years, then plant it into the ground, and soon have a thriving aloe plant.

All this information is gospel truth from Hale, who grew up with aloe, raised the plant for many years, and sold aloe products.

Industry standards

Now, deep in the heart of Texas, Hale heads a communications and quality control organization (IASC) whose mission is to improve and maintain the quality of aloe products, growing procedures, processing, and selling practices in order to ensure that aloe lives up to its publicity, ads, and labeling, and that you get exactly what you pay for.

The IASC is supported by 175 member companies in 52 nations who grow and manufacture aloe vera products, with worldwide sales that are approaching $65 billion. Aloe's treasure-trove of uses The range of products derived from aloe stretches from horizon to horizon: a nutrient-packed gel that, with water, makes a wholesome, healing drink; a common ingredient in natural cosmetics, deodorants, lipsticks, moisturizers, salves, shampoos, and soaps; a healing ingredient in over-the-counter natural remedies for virtually hundreds of ailments that beset us mortals from athlete's foot to sports injuries to gastrointestinal disorders.

Deep in the heart of... aloe

One of the lesser-known compounds in aloe -- taken from the leaf's tough epidermis -- a yellow and bitter substance named aloin, was historically used to promote regular bowel movements. However, it was caustic to the intestinal lining and far from popular. The principal compound in the aloe plant is a clear, gooey gel-like substance found and taken from inside the broad leaf.

As a food and supplement, this plant's gel is a nutrient Fort Knox a treasury of over 75 ingredients, including 20 amino acids, vitamins, nine minerals, enzymes, steroids, organic acids, antibiotic agents, and polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates).

Aminos. Biochemist Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D., writes that aloe's 20 amino acids are close to the total of 22 essential aminos required for our bodies to, in turn, make thousands of proteins. These nutrients are a must for creating new cells and maintaining and repairing others. Dietary non-essential amino acids are made by our bodies from essential amino acids. Amazingly, aloe is rich in both kinds.

Wound healing

Zinc and other minerals. Among the nine minerals in aloe, zinc is one of the most beneficial, as it is widely recognized for promoting healing. Because of its high zinc content, aloe is also used for helping to prevent enlargement of the prostate gland and for reducing its enlargement.

The role of aloe's minerals goes far beyond these health benefits. They act as coenzymes that trigger cell enzymes to translate food, oxygen, and thyroid hormone into energy. Minerals play a key part in hormone action in body and mind, proper heart function, and maintenance of body organs.

B vitamins. Aloe contains a brimming supply of the B-complex vitamins, including choline, the precursor of the brain neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which is of paramount importance to effective thinking and remembering. In addition, it contains folic acid, much supported to guard mothers-to-be against giving birth to a child with neural tube defects.