As a leader in the aloe industry, we get a lot of frequently asked questions about our favorite organically-grown plant. There’s a lot to learn, so if you’re interested in the benefits of aloe and are curious to find out more, this is the blog for you! We’ve gathered our top 10 most commonly-asked questions to help give you better insight into what makes Aloe vera so awesome.
FAQ #1: What Are the Benefits of Aloe Vera?
Aloe vera naturally contains over 200 biologically-active components that help our bodies function at our full potential. This includes essential elements like vitamins, enzymes, minerals, amino acids, and polysaccharides that work together harmoniously to support our overall health.
This incredibly helpful plant has many benefits, but its most popular are:
- Digestive Health: Aloe is able to work with your own stomach acid to help keep it in balance for optimized digestion. This assists your body in absorbing the nutrients it needs to function. Balanced digestion also helps with avoiding occasional heartburn and indigestion and assists with good regularity.
- Immune Support: Aloe is naturally an adaptogen, which means that it can help the body find balance when faced with outside stress. Aloe naturally contains the critical polysaccharide, acemannan, which is also known to help aid the immune system. Our own brand of Aloe vera has been clinically proven to help increase white blood cell counts in the body, which act as our bodies first line of defense to the immune system.
- Detoxification: Our bodies can often end up with an excess of waste and toxins that cause our cells to not receive the essential nutrients needed to help our bodies work properly. Aloe is able to help the body reduce the toxic levels of nitrates in your body so that you can stay healthy.
- Nutrient Absorption: Oftentimes, our bodies need a little help in order to get the most use out of the nutrients from our diets or supplements that we use daily. Aloe is able to help maximize your nutrients and carry them to your cells. Our brand of Aloe vera has been clinically shown to help increase nutrient absorption.
- Skin Health: Aloe is perhaps best known for its topical benefits. Aloe vera is known as nature’s best moisturizer for good reason. It has humectant properties, helping your skin retain its own moisture while also helping to hydrate at least 3 epidermal layers. It’s no wonder that Aloe vera has been used for thousands of years and was even known to be used by Cleopatra herself.
FAQ #2: Can I use aloe internally and topically? Can I use the same product for both purposes?
As mentioned above, aloe is best known for its topical use. But drinking aloe on a daily basis yields amazing benefits as well. While some customers are able to use the aloe juice and gel topically without any issue, those products pH have actually been lowered, so it is best to test on a small portion of your skin before use. We do make a topical aloe called 99% Aloe Vera Gelly and it is a best seller and summer must-have!
FAQ #3: What is the difference between Whole Leaf and Inner Fillet? Juice and Gel?
You want to buy an aloe product, but which one?! It’s really going to come down to preference. The Whole Leaf products contain the outer rind of the aloe leaf as well and the inner gel portion of the plant. (Don’t worry, there are no chunks!) The Inner Fillet products contain the inner gel portion. So which one should you use? They both are equally beneficial when it comes to our own brand. We just know that customers have their preference so we make both.
With aloe gel vs. aloe juice, again, both will be equally beneficial. However, some customers feel that when they drink the aloe gel it helps coat their throat and stomach and they find that helpful.
FAQ #4: How should I use an aloe product?
When drinking aloe vera juice or gel, you can drink 1 to 8 oz a day (2 TBS to 16 TBS). Both can be used on its own or mixed with another juice is fine; you can even find some amazing smoothie recipes on our blog ALOE TODAY. Since everyone’s body is different, the amount you need to drink daily will be different. We suggest starting out with a small amount, maybe 1-2 ounces a day and work your way up. Look for any change in your regularity to know that you may be using too much.
For digestive health, try to use the aloe product about 15-30 minutes prior to meals. For topical use, you can apply the aloe daily underneath any SPF moisturizers and make up. You can even use the topical aloe for styling your hair, shaving gel and after-shave.
FAQ #5: Do I need to refrigerate my aloe product?
Topical aloe like our 99% Aloe Vera Gelly does not require refrigeration, though you can refrigerate if you want to add even more of a cooling effect for your skin. However, our aloe juices and gels need to be refrigerated after opening. Once opened, our USDA organic preservative free aloe juices are good for 30-45 days; meanwhile our preserved juices and gels can be good for up to 6 months.
FAQ #6: Who can use aloe?
When it comes to topical use, just about anyone in the family can use aloe. When it comes to ingesting aloe it is important to be cautious if you are taking any medications, pregnant, or nursing. You need to check with your physician prior to use to ensure that there is not any chance of the aloe interacting with your medications, pregnancy or children. Speaking of kids, our aloe juices and gels are best used by those over the age of 13.
FAQ #7: What are aloe polysaccharides and Aloesorb?
You may recognize the other elements listed above, but what in the world are polysaccharides? Well, polysaccharides are carbohydrates that are known to support a healthy digestive and immune system.
The biggest polysaccharides do tremendous work in helping the body maintain a balanced stomach pH and inspire the growth of healthy bacteria. They’re also clinically proven to help increase white blood cell counts for improved immune support!
In fact, we’ve harnessed these powerful polysaccharides into one place in our patent-pending Aloesorb infusion process. This allows you to enjoy all of our Aloe vera products with even more efficacy and boosted benefits. Check out our previous blog for a more in-depth look at why polysaccharides are an aloe lover’s best friend.
FAQ #8: Does aloe have any aloin/anthraquinones/yellow sap that can be harmful?
You may have heard or read the term “decolorized” when speaking about aloe products. Here’s what that means: if you cut open an aloe leaf, you may be able to see a small sliver of yellow between the outer rind and the inner fillet. This sap, also known as “aloe latex”, consists of the potentially harmful substance anthraquinones/aloin.
When ingested in high doses, aloin can be a major cause for concern leading to health problems. On average, unfiltered aloe contains approximately 10,000 parts per million of aloin.
All Lily of the Desert aloe products have reduced the aloin to a safe level of less than 1 part per million, making them decolorized and completely safe to use daily. Read more about a recent safety study on our products here.
FAQ #9: Which aloe species is most beneficial?
You may or may not know that Aloe vera has more than 400 different types of species. Aloe barbadensis Miller is the most prolific species used in products since it is best known for its beneficial properties. It is also the most studied plant.
FAQ #10: Why should you use Lily of the Desert products?
It should be no surprise that we take our role as the #1 seller of aloe in the natural products industry very seriously.
We pride ourselves on going beyond expectations in three key ways: our innovative in-house methods, signature Aloesorb infusion process, and the fact that we’re the only natural products company to have “Gold Standard” clinical studies conducted to back up the claims behind our products.
Interested in our aloe? Visit our store locator to find the closest retailer near you and start living a healthy and active lifestyle with aloe on your side.
