About Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera, often called the
Miracle Plant, the Natural Healer, the Burn Plant, goes by many names which
have survived the 4000 years during which this amazing medicinal herb has
benefited mankind. Research suggests it was used by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese,
Indian cultures and Alexander the Great used it to great effect on his wounded
soldiers. Added to which the Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra rated it
highly as a beauty therapy for both skin and hair.
What is Aloe Vera?
A succulent, looking rather
like a cactus but is in fact a member of the lily family related to onions,
garlic and asparagus. When mature the contents of the leaves, a mixture of the
inner gel and outer sap can be harvested, preserved and bottled to produce a
product that is near to the natural plant juice as we can get.
Aloe vera herbalife benefits.
Aloe Vera gel contains at
least 75 known ingredients which can be divided into the following groups:
Vitamins – It contains a wide
range, but the most important ones are the antioxidant Vitamins C and E and
Beta-Carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A. It is also one of the few plants in
the world to contain Vitamin B12
Minerals – These include
magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, chromium, calcium, sodium, potassium and
iron
Amino Acids – The human body
requires 22 amino acids, the building blocks of proteins and Aloe Vera gel
provides 20 of them. More importantly, it provides seven of the eight essential
amino acids, that cannot be manufactured by the body and which therefore have
to be consumed as food.
Sugars – These include the
important long chain polysaccharides which act on the immune system to boost
its effects.
Enzymes – lipases and
proteases which break down food and aid digestion as well carboxypeptidase
that is involved in the inflammatory process.
Plant Sterols – The three main
types act as powerful anti-inflammatory agents
Saponins – These are soapy
substances that exert a powerful anti-microbial effect against bacteria,
viruses, fungi and yeasts such as candida or “thrush”
Lignin – This woody substance
bestows on Aloe Vera its penetrative ability to reach into the skin.
Anthraquinones – The most
important ones being aloin and emodin, but altogether they are strong
painkillers, and acknowledged to possess anti-bacterial and viruscidal
activity. In their pure form, they are very powerful laxatives.
Salicylic Acid – This
aspirin-like compound is anti-inflammatory and topically helps break down dead
tissue
.jpg)
