Short Answer: Yes, to drink or eat raw aloe from Honest Aloe is safe! Other brands may be – you will need to verify processing techniques and ingredients list of other brands before consuming.
Long Answer
To drink or eat raw aloe from Honest Aloe is safe. Honest Aloe’s fresh frozen raw inner leaf aloe vera gel is safe to drink because we add nothing. For the same reason, our aloe is 100% pure. History and science support this safety claim. We have not discovered any actual evidence raw inner leaf aloe vera gel is unsafe or harmful. Evidence supports aloe vera’s many health and healing benefits when consumed. You can click here for more information. If you have evidence otherwise please email us.
However, aloe vera gel that contains flavors, chemical preservatives, thickeners, and other additives may be harmful. Studies of these additives individually prove to be harmful to human health. It is important to read your labels and verify company claims. In addition, these products are typically heavily processed and have long shelf lives.
Is raw aloe vera edible? Yes, but the inner leaf gel only. This is why…
Let’s be clear. The pharmaceutical industry takes plants, herbs, and other God-designed elements to “create” a synthetic version they can patent. Nature can not be patented, so there is less financial interest in comparison. Of the arguments against aloe vera, I have found only one evidence-based study for outer leaf sap but not one against aloe’s inner leaf gel.
The One Study
I read this study, which did not test inner leaf aloe gel. Therefore, there is no evidence inner leaf aloe vera gel is harmful. This study on rats used high doses of “aloe-latex” or inner leaf sap (aloin) to produce a laxative effect. The drug companies sought to develop a similar patented laxative.
The rats were given only the outer sap layer of the aloe for two years. Some rats developed “tumors”. I argue it was a natural adaptation due to chronic exposure and that the “tumors” were not cancerous. Although this may be true, the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported adverse effects of aloe. The outer aloe sap “latex” is an anti-nutrient, not a safe laxative. You can click here to read the study. Again, this study did not examine aloe inner leaf gel.
In Summary
In practical terms, the outer sap of aloe vera is equivalent to an avocado’s skin. Eating the skin of an avocado will likely cause an upset stomach, and we can agree it’s not meant for eating. The skin is peeled, and the inner green part is consumed. The inner part is rather beneficial and nutritious. Inner leaf aloe vera is the same concept.
Not all inner leaf aloe vera gel is made equally, so knowing the company’s environment and growing practices is essential. Like most produce, harvesting and processing are critical to the quality of the final product. For more information regarding our techniques, click this link.
Cheers to YOUR health!
