Aloe Vera and Digestion
Aloe vera has been a known and recognized herbal medicine for curing many digestive problems. Aloe vera is used in a variety of skin care, beauty care, hair care and laxative medicines. Skin care is probably the most known use of aloe vera. But aloe vera has many other useful properties as well. They are known to provide relief and comfort from many ailments. One such ailment is the problem of digestive tract. Let us know about aloe vera and digestion.
Aloe vera contains a lot of useful contents that helps us to help our body take care of these ailments. Aloe vera contains all natural ingredients and helps reduce the amount of people suffering from digestive problems.
Aloever consists of two usable parts.
- The outer leaf
- The inner gel
Both are known to have different properties that help in different digestive-tract-related problems.
The Outer Leaf:
The outer leaf consists of aloin. Aloin is a type of Latex that aids in relieving constipation. Aloin gel is used to treat constipation in many fields of medicine.
Aloin gel is present in the outer most leaf of the aloe vera gel. Although the presence of this gel is banned in juices and edible gels, there are some companies which still produce aloe vera juice with the whole leaf (inner and outer leaf). There is an indication on the bottle about the presence of the outer leaf.
Because aloin aids in constipation, it should not be taken if not necessary. Aloin relaxes the colon and induces bowel movements. Aloin should be avoided by:
Pregnant woman: Aloin can cause uterine contractions in pregnant women. Therefore they should be avoided at all costs.
Breast feeding mothers: When nursing mothers ingest aloin, it is said to cause discomfort and colic to the babies. Therefore aloin should be avoided.
Children: the digestive tract of children is still young and aloe vera aloin can meddle with the balance causing stomach discomfort.
People suffering from any other ailments: they should consult a physician before ingesting aloin.
The Inner Leaf:
The inner leaf consists of a transparent gel that contains vitamins and minerals. The inner leaf does not contain aloin. Many aloe vera products that we use today use the inner leaf gel. This gel has soothing properties. It soothes the digestive tract and the intestines. Thus curing ulcers and colitis, diverticulitis, Cohn's disease and spastic colon.
Digestive Problems and Aloe Vera
Now a days digestive problems are on a rise, owing to lifestyle changes. And one of the most common problem faced by 1/4th of world's population is IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Usually IBS is the ultimate result of prolonging digestive problems. Aloe vera can help you heal these minor problems and induce proper digestion.
Digestion
We ingest food and the stomach absorbs the essential nutrients from the food and discards the rest. The food is broken down for easy absorption; this process is aided by the useful bacteria present in the stomach. Sometimes some toxins are released along with the nutrients and these toxins enter the blood stream too. Usually the body takes care of these toxins and removes them. But in some cases the enters the blood stream and cause discomfort.
Aloe vera can aid to detoxify the blood. And in turn help to cure the discomfort for caused by the release of toxins. Because aloe vera is soothing and healing, it is used to relax and cleanse the digestive tract without affecting the bodily functions.
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