Eating Aloe Vera: How Healthy the Medicinal Plant Is and What You Should Consider

You can eat some parts of aloe vera, but you should know how the plant works. The real aloe vera covers a very wide range of applications. So that you do not take any risks when eating, you should consider a few aspects.

Aloe Vera – you can eat these parts

The aloe vera plant consists of three parts: the rind, the gel and the sap. You cannot eat the aloe vera whole.

• Both sap and rind contain anthraquinones, which are toxic and therefore unfit for consumption. The gel, on the other hand, is edible – this is also the part of the plant that is used in cosmetics and in some medical or naturopathic products.
• Anthraquinones are helpful for constipation in small amounts , but very toxic in larger amounts. Just 8 grams are enough to kill a person. These toxins are only found in the outermost peel of the aloe vera plant. However, when manufacturing the aloe vera gel, it cannot be guaranteed that it is completely free of anthraquinones.
• If you would like to eat aloe vera, it is therefore better to use preparations from the pharmacy. Since the risk of poisoning is very high, you should refrain from consuming your own home-grown aloe vera plant.

Effects and side effects

Aloe Vera has many positive effects on the body. For example, the plant strengthens the immune system and detoxifies the body. It is also used in diseases such as asthma, AIDS, depression, neurodermatitis and migraines .

• One of the side effects of anthraquinones is that they help very well against constipation. However, you should also use aloe vera-added remedies from the pharmacy and do not dose the aloe vera yourself. On the one hand, it is difficult to assess the effect, on the other hand, there could be undesirable side effects such as cardiac dysfunction, liver inflammation or lead to kidney failure.
• Keep aloe vera handy, especially in summer. If you do get sunburned , the gel works wonders. Aloe vera also helps with burns caused by radiation treatments.
• Aloe Vera and its healing properties have been known to people for centuries. The plant has been used to fight worms in the intestine for centuries. It is even claimed that aloe vera helps with diabetes and gastrointestinal ulcers. To this day, however, there are no scientific studies or proof of this.

How to apply the plant

You can use the plant not only for sunburn, but also for psoriasis and neurodermatitis.

• You can easily separate the aloe vera gel from the plant. The aloe vera plant always grows from the inside out, with the old leaves gradually dying off. So before they die, you can easily harvest the leaves.
• Cut off the leaves with a sharp, clean knife. Stand the plants upright so that the juice from the leaves drains off as completely as possible. The juice tastes bitter and is yellow. In addition, it is slightly poisonous.
• Once the sap has drained from the plant, you can cut the leaf crosswise into small pieces. Then cut the pieces in half and use a clean spoon to scrape the gel out of the plant.
• You can either use the gel fresh immediately or freeze it. However, keep in mind that the ingredients in the freezer lose their potency over time. The aloe vera gel should therefore not be frozen for too long.