Whether you love its light, tangy taste, or you want to try it for its healing properties, aloe vera is an ingredient that has taken the health world by storm. Here are our favorite aloe vera recipes, all made with healthy plant-based ingredients.
What is aloe vera?
Aloe vera is a succulent plant with typical spiky green leaves that grow in a rosette shape. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a cactus (all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti!).
It usually grows in hot and dry conditions, and because of this, it has an incredible ability to store any water it gets its hands on. While it looks dry and tough on the outside, an impressive amount of fluid is stored inside its leaves.
It does this by creating a gel-like substance that holds as much water as possible,
https://youtu.be/m6RYscU70VI
Is the whole aloe vera plant edible?
Technically, you can eat whole aloe vera leaves, but we don't recommend it. First, you might mistake an edible aloe species (aloe vera barbadensis Miller) for another less friendly version. Second, the rind is tough and not particularly pleasant to eat, even if it can be removed.
Third, aloe vera contains a substance called latex, or "juice," a yellow liquid found between the plant's rind and the gel inside. Its main component is a substance called aloin. It is very bitter and can have harmful effects.
Aloe vera's reputation as a powerful laxative is mainly due to its latex. Not surprisingly, excessive ingestion of latex can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting, among other unpleasant effects. It can also damage the kidneys and even contribute to premature birth in pregnant women. All good reasons to avoid it!(1)
When people talk about ingesting, eating, or drinking aloe vera, they are usually referring only to the gel inside the leaves. That's where all the healthy nutrients are anyway. So, we advise sticking to that and avoiding the latex and skin.
Of course, if you want to avoid all the hassle of removing the rind and latex and then crushing and extracting the juice from the leaves yourself, we highly recommend Organic Aloe Vera Juice!
