From Andrew- Is Aloe Vera excellent for ones skin? Aloe VeraWell Andrew, that’s a good question, however the answer will depend on the person you ask. There are many naturopathic healers who rely on its use to deal with several conditions which range from sunburns, psoriasis, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol levels, to some cure for scars. It can be obtained in lots of skin products which might be accessible, usually available as lotions and sunblocks. The ancient Egyptians were using Aloe Vera as soon as 4,000 BC where it had been referred to as the “plant of immortality”. Medical doctors have a new opinion about the matter. If that you were to inquire about them about functions for Aloe, the response would most likely be, “there isn’t enough scientific evidence to indicate it’s an affordable answer to anything”. Given the massive volume of products available and anecdotal evidence seemingly supporting its use, I’m one health care professional that finds it problematical to argue Aloe doesn’t work on all, but let’s consider the evidence. There are two substances the Aloe Vera plant produces which are used as medicines- gel and latex. The gel would be the clear, jelly-like stuff seen in the center from the plant’s leaves. Surrounding the gel, less than the plant’s skin, is often a yellow material generally known as latex. There are some medicines that happen to be created from your entire crushed leaf that have both gel and latex, but generally latex is taken orally and also the gel is normally used topically. Although some claim taking gel orally has benefits. The Aloe gel itself contains glycoproteins and polysaccahrides. Glycoproteins are well-known to assistance in healing by reducing inflammation and stopping pain. Polysaccahrides benefit skin growth and repair. It’s also considered that those two substances help stimulate the body's defense mechanisms. It doesn’t appear too farfetched then to imagine a variety of functions for different diseases and types of conditions. Many people keep making bold claims because of these factors included in the plant. The reports, however, demonstrate a variety of contradictory results, prompting most governing medical bodies to classify Aloe’s use as “needing more evidence” before they may endorse it. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) lists only two recognized benefits associated with Aloe. The first is like a laxative. That being said, the FDA employed to allow the utilization of oral Aloe latex like a laxative, but suspended it in 2002 because animal studies showed high doses could potentially cause cancer. This can be a real concern because doing so takes increasing doses after some time to offer the desired affects. The second benefit is like a topical gel to help heal burns and abrasions. They are quick to indicate, however, that some research the gel could actually inhibit the healing of deep surgical wounds. As such, the sole FDA approved by using Aloe is as being a natural food flavoring.