Introducing Aloe Vera Benefits
The first time I ever used aloe vera medicinally, I had taken a vacation to St. Lucia with my family and it was my first time in the tropics. My family and I were always camping and spending time by the lake, but as a young redheaded person, I was not at all prepared for the strength of the sun in the Caribbean.
My poor fair skin got absolutely sizzled, as no amount of SPF could have prepared me for that kind of intensity. Luckily, the groundskeeper of the bed & breakfast we were staying at noticed how lobstered my young sister and I were, and he graciously prepared us a healing elixir.
We watched as he cut open this huge pointed leaves to reveal a grotesque looking gloopy gel, and explained to my sister and I to take handfuls of it and apply it to all of our sunburned areas. It had an immediate cooling effect, and very quickly reduced the redness. And so began my lifetime of amazement at the incredible medicinal plants we’re surrounded by!
There are so many more benefits to using aloe than just helping heal sunburns! This article is going to go through some of the healing properties you probably already know about, and some others that you may be surprised by!
A Little Bit About Aloe Vera Plants…
Aloe vera is an incredible looking plant that can be itty bitty, or basically as big as a small car. It is a cactus plant that is comprised of thick and pointed leaves that are engorged with a slimy tissue that stores water. This is what makes the leaves so thick.
This water filled tissue is aloe gel, and this is the incredible product we all know and love. This gel is brimming with beneficial bioactive compounds, with over 200 different types of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and amino acids. Aloe vera plants have been used medicinally all over Mexico, Greece, Egypt, China, Japan, and India for centuries.
Since aloe vera is a cactus plant, this means that it thrives in arid, desert climates. It can live happily in USDA growing zones 8 to 11, but should be brought indoors the minute things start to get cold outside of those zones. They love heat and they love sun. Just like me! Despite being a redhead!
Are you keen on growing an aloe vera plant in your home? Not to worry! We have a step by step article on How to Grow Aloe Vera Indoors!
The Benefits of Aloe Vera
There are two main reasons why aloe vera are amazing: they contain loads of antioxidants, and they’re super hydrating. There are a billion reasons why this type of stuff is important to consume if you’re keen of feeling healthy.
You’ve probably heard words like antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic thrown around when people talk about aloe vera, but what does that actually mean in the body? Well, antioxidants are a type of polyphenol which helps inhibit the growth of bacterias that can cause infections in the human body.
Consuming things that are antibacterial and contain antioxidants (things like garlic, blueberries, and oregano) are not only great if you’re facing bacterial issues, but it’s also a great way of preventing these types of things from ever happening.
Aloe vera plants also contain a hydrating molecule called a mucopolysaccharide. Ingesting this type of thing is not only great to stay hydrated and pump up your electrolytes (instead of energy drinks like Gatorade) but it’s also amazing for your skin! We’ll explain shortly.
1. Accelerates Wound Healing
We’ll start off with the one everyone knows about: sunburns! Everyone has their own little anecdote of the worst sunburn of their life, and chances are that aloe vera was the things that swooped in and saved them.
Sunburns basically zap the moisture right out of your skin, so it’s very important to stay hydrated both with drinking and moisturizing if you get one. Those mucopolysaccharides (hydrating molecules) can help you with both of those things! Isn’t it interesting how plants that can help you with sunburns grow in precisely in the areas where you can get the worst ones?
Not only that, you can apply aloe vera to small sores, scrapes, and other types of burns (not when its in its open stage) and it will help quicken the healing process with those as well. It is also known to help reduce scarring. Amazing!
2. Good for Dental Health
This is one I personally didn’t know, but aloe gel is great for your dental health! A study was done in comparing the effects of a standard mouthwash and rinsing with aloe gel, and apparently it had the exact same effects! Isn’t that neat?
3. Incredible for Skin
Because of all of those delectable vitamins and minerals that are present in aloe gel, it is simply incredible for your skin. It increases collagen production which is excellent for skin elasticity, and the hydrating molecules help retain moisture.
Because it has healing properties as well, aloe vera is super safe to put on your skin if you experience acne, and it will usually help decrease your severity of acne.
4. Helps Manage Blood Pressure and Sugars
All of the wonderful bioactive compounds present in aloe vera does wonders for your insides, too. Aloe vera is known to help decrease blood sugar spikes which helps improve blood sugar management, and it’s also known to enhance insulin sensitivity.
Aloe is a great complimentary therapy to go along with exercise and healthy eating, and it has been known to help reduce systolic and diastolic pressures for people who experience high blood pressure as well.
5. It’s Just Hydrating
Aloe vera is absolutely filled with vitamin C and electrolytes and it’s an excellent beverage that you can drink every single day if you get your hands on it. Vitamin C is great for helping prevent sickness, and electrolytes ensure that you are super duper hydrated.
I personally went through a period of time where I drank a bottle of aloe juice every day, and people were constantly telling me that my skin was glowing. If that’s not glowing review, I don’t know what is!
Ways to Use Aloe Vera Gel
There are so many ways that you can use aloe vera topically, and other ways that you can ingest it! There’s a method for everyone, especially if you feel particularly sensitive to that goopy texture.
You can use aloe gel harvested directly from the plant and use it directly like that or turn it into juice (after proper processing of course), you can purchase ready-made juice or cosmetics containing aloe vera, you can purchase bottles of 100% pure aloe gel as well. The options are nearly endless!
FAQs
Where does aloe vera grow?
Aloe vera plants can grow happily outdoors all year long in USDA growing zones 8 through 11. If you live outside of one of those zones, simply grow your plants in big pots or containers so that they can easily be brought indoors once the cold weather approaches. These are not cold tolerant plants whatsoever.
Can I grow aloe vera indoors?
Aloe vera can grow very happily indoors as long as it’s growing in the right potting medium and it gets enough sunlight! All that you have to remember is that aloe is a desert plant and try to best mimic those conditions.
How tall do aloe plants get?
Aloe vera plants can grow to be as little as 6 inches tall or they can grow up to be the size of a large dog, it all depends on how happy the plant is. When growing in the wild, some aloe plants can grow to be over three feet tall!
What are aloe vera plant’s ideal growing conditions?
Aloe vera plant’s prefer to live in arid desert climates, but if you don’t live in the arid desert you can still mimic those conditions! Simply ensure that the plant is growing in a well draining, sandy potting medium.
Make sure that your aloe plants get the absolute sunniest spot in your garden or on your windowsill, but the most important thing is not to over water your plants! This can be kind of tricky, because when an aloe plant isn’t watered, it’s leaves are juicy and thick, but when it’s overwatered, they shrivel up.
This seems rather counterintuitive, so when a person sees that their aloe leaves are looking a little wilted they think it needs more water, when actually it is the exact opposite issue! When in doubt, just leave it alone and it should bounce back.
Do aloe vera plants flower?
If you’ve had an aloe plant for a couple of years and it hasn’t flowered, you may be wondering if it’s feeling sad. Actually, aloe plants won’t flower until they reach maturity which is around the age of 4. They bloom with incredible inflorescences that shoot over the pointy leaves that are covered in amazing red blossoms.
Can you propagate an aloe plant?
Aloe plants are very cool because they basically propagate themselves. When a mature plant is super happy it will start to produce little miniature versions of itself which are called pups. These pups will start to grow right around the base of the mother plant, and all you have to do is gently pop these out and put them in their own dry, sandy medium and they’ll keep the family going!
