Five Ways in Which Aloe Vera is Good for Your Heart
Aloe vera is a perennial plant with meaty leaves and almost miraculous powers that we’re still discovering more about. Among all those things, we’ve also realized that aloe vera can care for your heart if you use it in certain ways.
According to research published in 2012, aloe vera is composed of anthraquinones, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, enzymes, amino acids, lipids, and organic compounds.
We find L-arginine within the group of amino acids contained in aloe, it’s good for cardiovascular health. We’ll discuss it later.
Due to aloe’s composition, its consumption is considered that beneficial as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, research is still underway to determine the extent of these benefits.
Noted that aloe vera by itself doesn’t cure any disease. In any case, what it does is to contribute to the overall well-being. This is due to its components.
Let’s look at the five ways in which aloe vera can contribute to cardiovascular health.
1. Aloe vera regulates your good cholesterol (HDL)
Good cholesterol, or HDL, also known as high-density lipoprotein, is one of two types of cholesterol in your blood. We call it “good” because it helps take excess bad cholesterol (LDL) in your blood to your liver, where your body can get rid of it.
But does that mean that the higher your levels of this lipoprotein, the better it is for your health? This is where you have to be careful because some people have genetic issues that can lead to serious problems. It’s best to just try to keep it balanced.
Aloe vera is very effective for this because it doesn’t just increase your good cholesterol, it also encourages a healthy balance between the two types of lipoproteins when you include it in a well-balanced diet.
Consult a doctor about consuming aloe before integrating it into your regular diet.
2. It lowers your triglyceride levels
Just as it is important to maintain good cholesterol levels, it is also important to take care of triglycerides. A high level of triglycerides in the blood means that we’re not burning off all the excess energy and therefore storing it as fat.
Hypertriglyceridemia is a silent and relentless enemy to heart health. Thus, we run a greater risk of developing not only heart disease but also conditions such as pancreatitis the moment we go outside the normal range (above 150 mg/dl).
To reduce triglycerides and prevent complications you may want to consider integrating some aloe vera into your diet. In addition, you must follow your doctor’s recommendations and maintain healthy lifestyle habits.
3. It reduces your blood sugar
Aloe vera contains glucomannan, a kind of soluble fiber that can reduce your blood glucose levels. It also has anthraquinones, a type of phenol that can help balance your sugar when combined with the lectins in this plant.
Therefore, the consumption of aloe is recommended for people with diabetes. Now, take a spoonful of aloe vera dissolved in a glass of warm water for two months to enjoy its anti-inflammatory, purifying, and healing benefits.
You might like 8 Reasons to Drink Aloe Vera Juice and How to Make It
4. It lowers your blood pressure
As we mentioned at the beginning, aloe vera is good for your health in general. This is because it contains several vitamins, vitamin C among them, and they’re key for tissue regeneration and oxidative stress, among other issues.
The vitamin C in aloe would also help:
- Dilate capillary vessels
- Care for and improve the elasticity of the arteries
- Encourage proper blood circulation and oxygenation
For all of the above reasons, the consumption of aloe vera juice may be helpful in helping lower blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health.
5. A stronger heart thanks to aloe vera
L-arginine -or simply arginine- is a semi-essential amino acid the body produces in low quantities. Furthermore, we need to obtain it through food or certain supplements.
Because it’s one of the most important amino acids for promoting heart health, it’s usually a part of the treatment of heart conditions and other health issues. At least according to experts at Medline Plus.
Peanuts and tree nut are natural sources of L-arginine. Thus, some believe they’re good for cardiovascular health when incorporated into a well-balanced diet.
L-arginine is one of the many amino acids present in aloe vera according to a recently published study on the relationship between L-arginine and the cardiovascular system:
- The current interest in this amino acid refers primarily to its close relationship with an important signal molecule: nitric oxide (NO)
- Most experimental and clinical studies reveal the positive effect of L-arginine on the endothelium in conditions associated with its hypofunction and, therefore, to the reduction of NO synthesis
This leads us to believe that arginine mediates the production of nitrogen oxide, which is necessary to keep blood vessels dilated so that blood can flow properly.
Is aloe vera a cure?
As we pointed out at the beginning, aloe vera is good for your heart and for your health in general. It’s not a cure for any disease though. What it does is regulate your cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as maintain your blood pressure. These are of great importance when it comes to maintaining a healthy and strong heart.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Klein, A. D., & Penneys, N. S. (1988). Aloe vera. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-9622(88)70095-X
- Rajeswari, R., Umadevi, M., Rahale, C. S., Selvavenkadesh, S., Kumar, K. P. S., & Bhowmik, D. (2012). Aloe vera: The Miracle Plant Its Medicinal and Traditional Uses in India. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry.
- Radha, M. H., & Laxmipriya, N. P. (2015). Evaluation of biological properties and clinical effectiveness of Aloe vera: A systematic review. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2014.10.006
