Aloe vera and Inflammatory Disease
The use of aloe for sunburn is the herb's biggest notoriety If you think about this from an energy science point of view it becomes clear that aloe's main use is to reduce the hot quality physiologically The hot quality is present in all inflammatory conditions from diarrhea to arthritis to infection to cancer Because of this aloe vera has had a growing popularity as a herb for inflammatory conditions And certainly aloe is cheaper than targeted antiinflammatory pharmaceuticals even with insurance
The Inflammatory Condition
The matter science theory of inflammatory conditions involves complex biological micromanagement with many different entry points in the cascade After you've listened or read a discussion regarding this cascade you walk away bewildered Due to the confusion the public literally gets hoodwinked into believing that the hocuspokus of the pharmaceutical industry science is valid stuff But like every other business they are in it to turn a profit and therein lies a bias
The energy science approach to inflammation is simple but elegant It sees the Pitta imbalance as the crux of the problem since Pitta is the only energy pattern of the three that carries the hot quality Due to the accumulation of the hot quality inflammation occurs Herbs such as aloe as we experience with sunburns reduce the hot quality
The liver and spleen are the functional sites of Pitta and the liver can become overheated with resultant slight elevations in liver function usually not considered as important by the clinician evaluating the labs unless they're markedly elevated Hence aloe as a herb becomes an excellent liver healing agent and liver protectant
Since the skin is another functional site of Pitta it comes as no surprise that aloe can be used in all forms of skin rashes, such as hives, urticaria, exzema, and psoriasis As the skin problems become more complex of course increased and different energy science interventions are necessary
Aloe has an impact on the health of the GIT(gastrointestinal tract) and can help cool down excessive heat that occurs with Pitta imbalance The affect aloe has on the mind can reduce impatience and irritability Of course all these energy science manipulations don't occur within a couple of days but rather in terms of months or years of use
Forms of Aloe
There are currently many forms of aloe vera gel or juice on the market and many have citric acid as a preservative If used in large volumes aloe may aggravate the Pitta condition due to the citric acid and not the aloe itself The most common side effect of too much is diarrhea
The advantage of the freeze dried aloe is that it doesn't have the need for preservatives such as citric acid which is appealing Some time ago Desert Harvest perhaps to avoid the citric acid preservative began using a freeze dried product in capsule form....and maybe the primary reason when they thought of it was to make it more user friendly for patients(everybody is used to taking a pill)
Since that time other companies have followed even having powders available Aloe Farms has such a pill form freeze dried product In general I have some misgivings about these products because the freeze drying process which may affect the the bioavailablity of the aloe vera herbal nutrient....the rasayana energetic effect of aloe may also be lost since it's not just about the molecules but also the subtle energetics of the plant which has significant medicinal value
The value of aloe vera gel is that when used as an anupan(serves as a taxicab to take the herbs to targeted tissues) with herbal formulas it can theoretically produce a slow release to the GIT mucosa Agni is invariably adversely affected so this technique assures that there will be good absorption and assimilation of the herbal mixture The amount of aloe when used as a anupan is small so citric acid is not a problem For use as an antiinflammatory using large volumes(6T three times per day) the citric acid could become an issue But the remedy is simple....cut back on the dosing
The two brands that don't have citric acid are George's and Aloe Farms Aloe Farms uses Vit C(ascorbic acid) and potassium sorbate as preservatives These two gels available don't have caraggeneen which has concerned the IC community due to studies suggesting the seaweed is carcinogenic in animal studies using large doses(I tend to discount such "unbiologic studies") Both available through Amazon or the ic-solutions.tv Amazon store under Health and Personal Care George's goes for 7.42 for 32oz and cheaper in the gallon size per oz
George's gel by their labeling has no preservatives making it a favorable product in the market
Remember that just like pharmaceuticals aloe can become a bandaid so we can go on eating foods that aggravate and produce IC However when used appropriately to help with symptoms as we make dietary changes makes the most sense
Aloe should not be thought of as THE tool in the tool chest to heal IC but rather as one of the many Remember that energetically it's not just one thing that causes IC but a multiplicity of things(foods, incompatible foods, season, lifestyle choices producing too much of the hot quality etc) and so it's just not one thing that deals with healing IC but a multimodality approach with herbs like aloe vera being one small part
