Is Aloe Vera really a miracle plant? As the Aloe Vera plant has the ability to heal itself and the healing properties of this plant have been known and used for many thousand of years. Then many would say it is indeed a miracle plant. For others though they are still looking for more medical proof.

So what is the Aloe Vera plant? In simple words it is a cactus that is between 99 and 99.5 per cent water. The rest of the plant is made up of various other solid materials including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, sugars, phenolic compounds, lignin, amino acids and salicylic acid. Clinical evaluations have revealed that the pharmacological active ingredients are concentrated in both the gel and rind of the aloe Vera leaves. These active ingredients have been shown to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

How can a plant produce such ingredients that can do all these things, when in reality there is very little solid material in this plant? Is it just purely the fact that the ingredients mixed together in this plant, produce a much greater result?

Aloe Vera was well known and used by many cultures such as Greek, Arab, Roman and Indian Cultures to mention just a few. Many famous physicians of those times used aloe Vera. It has also been suggested that aloe Vera was used by many Egyptian queens as a vital part of their beauty regime.

Aloe Vera is used to help with people suffering from leg ulcers, 'leaky gut', Irritable bowel syndrome, general well being, eczema to name a few. Aloe Vera also appears to speed up the healing process. Many of us will have used an Aloe Vera gel to sooth sunburnt or burnt skin. Using this gel reduces the inflammation and blistering, meaning the burn heals just that bit quicker. There are also Aloe Vera supplements pills, which promote general well being, great to use if you are feeling run down or want to take something to combat the common cold.

There are many Aloe Vera products on the market today. As with any product you should be careful to check the ingredients. It may sound daft, but when looking to purchase Aloe Vera products check to make sure that there is Aloe Vera in the product. Sadly, many companies will try and pass the product off as real when really it is fake.