12 replies to this topic

[cuprous]

Forgive the title, I've a flair for the dramatic..

In looking for a particular pubmed article I cam across another. Specifically:

Liposomes encapsulating Aloe vera leaf gel extract significantly enhance proliferation and collagen synthesis in human skin cell lines.


And the article I was looking for..

Dietary Aloe Vera Supplementation Improves Facial Wrinkles and Elasticity and It Increases the Type I Procollagen Gene Expression in Human Skin in vivo.


It seems like most of these studies are coming out of the East.

Any thoughts on oral aloe consumption? I know there was a study done on stomach cancer in rats (positive correlation) but the suspect was aloin I believe that study used blended whole-leaf feed for the rats. It's the aloe skin that contains the vast majority of the aloin. A cut aloe plant will bleed noxious yellow stuff along the edges which I think is the aloin.

I've been planning to buy some lecithin and a jewelery cleaner (sonic variety) in order to prepare liposomal vit C but may also try an aloe formulation.

Thoughts on aloe?

[ta5]

Interesting. How do we know that the aloe we buy doesn't contain aloin?

[cuprous]

Interesting. How do we know that the aloe we buy doesn't contain aloin?

Barring a test of some kind you would need to ask the manufacturer. Removing the gel is a time-consuming process vs throwing the whole leaf in the blender.

[Luminosity]

You want fresh aloe leaves, minus the peel and area just under it. That is a harsh laxative. The fresh leaves or their juice or gel will keep for about three days in the frig. It is best to take on an empty stomach, perhaps first thing in the morning. You can also apply it externally. Any processed juice is not as good, but possibly not useless. Aloe is very good for you.

You just slice off the peels and the area just under them with a sharp knife. For external use, you can just cut into a leaf and put it on your skin.

Edited by Luminosity, 29 April 2013 - 03:03 AM.

[cuprous]

You want fresh aloe leaves, minus the peel and area just under it. That is a harsh laxative. The fresh leaves or their juice or gel will keep for about three days in the frig.

What I do is stick the end of the leaf in a glass of water. It prevents it from drying out, oxidizing, whatever, and maybe gives the leaf something to drink. It will keep out of the fridge for days / weeks especially if you keep cutting off a little bit at the end every day.

[Florent Berthet]

Jim Morris, a 77 year-old bodybuilder who looks like he's 50, uses aloe vera leaves on his face and eats some daily. Here's a video where he mentions it:

[VP.]

The effect of an aloe polymannose multinutrient complex on cognitive and immune functioning in Alzheimer's disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22976077

http://www.newsmaxhe...05/03/id/502667

[aconita]

Aloin is very bitter and laxative, if any drinking aloe does contain it you'll notice, don't worry. :D

I am very skeptical about aloe juice because in order to be preserved it needs at least an acidifier...and still most of the beneficial compounds will get lost, plus one of the good things about aloe is the PH almost equal to ours that makes it very bio-available, it doesn't take to be a rocket scientist to understand that acidifying it in order to preserve the juice it is not a smart idea.

Aloe is an extremely easy plant to grow, buy one for a few bucks and grow your own, it will reproduce fast and you'll get fresh aloe for internal or external use at your wish,

Save your money for something else.

[Lufega]

I've tried some aloe formulas in the past after reading those and other studies. I find it lowers libido and possibly testosterone. I women, while its helpful in treating PCOS, i also find that it lowers libido ( by reducing testosterone) and it makes them very emotional accompanied by crying fits, etc. Maybe using the whole leaf instead of an extract might be milder?

[aconita]

Aloe, as many other plants, may have an effect on estrogens because of phytoestrogens content.

http://www.livestron...mone-imbalance/

It's quite peculiar because aloe is part of the same family of onions and onions do rise testosterone...

Whole fresh leaves probably will give you much more benefits and cost much less (basically nothing) but the effects on hormones I am afraid will be the same.

If the effects on your hormones are so strong that you are able to notice them I'll suggest to not use it.

Estrogens do have the ability to keep young looking, better skin texture, better hairs, etc...in fact pueraria mirifica for example is well known to keep a very young look to whom it takes thanks to its very potent phytoextrogens content, it even grows bigger boobs on women...but playing with hormones is a tricky game, leave it alone if you don't feel comfortable.

[cuprous]

Whole fresh leaves probably will give you much more benefits and cost much less (basically nothing) but the effects on hormones I am afraid will be the same.

I want to caution again that whole aloe leaf will contain the yellow aloin which is very, very bitter and probably bad for you.

If you live in a temperate climate then aloe is easy to grow and for personal consumption separating the aloe gel from the skin is trivial. You can then smear the underside of the skin on your face without getting down to the aloin

[aconita]

Aloin is easy to spot because it is yellow and it is found between the skin and the gel, more abundant near the edges and in the tips of leaves.

What usually one want is the gel, not the whole leaf, it will be hard to get aloin when separating the gel from the skin because aloin is so close to the the skin, just fillet off the gel with no skin's remains and eventually rinse it briefly under running water.

When filleting first cut off the tips at least to where the leaf is 40-50mm wide (there is not much gel in them anyway), than cut off the side edges about 5-8mm, what is left is ready to be separated from the skin easy and clean.

It is curious that there are concerns about aloin been cancerous because the famous father Zago anti-cancer recipe is about the whole leaf (including the skin) and probably aloin is one of the main active ingredients because it has an inhibiting growth effect on cells.

Anyway, as I already posted, aloin is quite unpleasant because it tastes bitter, stains and is a very powerful laxative.

[cuprous]

As a follow-up... you can drain a bit of the aloin out of a leaf by cutting it from the plant and then trimming a small sliver or so along the sides of the leaf.. maybe an inch. Put the leaf with the cut side down in the sink and let it sit for an hour or two. You'll see the aloin bleed out in yellow flows.