Aloe Vera Fights Cancer

Aloe Vera is the name of the ubiquitous succulent green plant that can be found in nearly every grandmother's home. The plant, which comes from the arid parts of Asia and Africa is easy to grow indoors, requiring only ample light from a window and water, and its gooey inner gel has been used to soothe cuts and burns for centuries. Aloe Vera, however, is not just a best friend for a clumsy cook, the inner gel is also thought to possess strong medicinal properties when taken internally. It is thought to help improve digestion, blood flow, and energy. It is also thought to help your body's overall immune system and may even help to inhibit the formation of certain types of cancer.

Immune System Function

Its effect on your immune system is still not quite understood by researchers yet but what they do know is that aloe somehow stimulates microphage activity in the body. Microphage Cells are essentially the foot soldiers of our body's immune system. By increasing their activity, tumor cells and other foreign invaders have a greater chance of becoming detected and dealt with.

Polysaccharides

Aloe Vera Gel contains high amounts of polysaccharides which are long chain sugars that can help enhance biological response. Clinical studies have found that the polysaccharides found in Aloe Vera can enhance the immune response in cells increasing their ability to fight off tumors.

Killing off Tumors

While they will not go so far as to declare it for humans (wouldn't Big Pharma love that)the USDA has approved Aloe Vera Gel for animals suffering from cancer. This is because of research that indicates that aloe have a chemo protective effect on cancer in animals helping to reduce tumor growth and increase chemo sensitivity of cancer cells.

Side Effects

While rubbing it on your burnt thumb is completely safe, there are some precautions that you might want to talk before ingesting aloe vera on a regular basis. While it is considered safe, if you choose to harvest your own aloe vera gel, be sure to only use the inner gel and to rinse it while since the outer rind and latex can cause diarrhea. In fact, the latex was once used as an laxative but fell out of favor to milder methods. Aloe Vera can also effect certain medications so be sure to talk with your doctor before trying it if you happen to be on medication.