Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Healing with Aloe
Contemporary herbalists use aloe in some of the same ways Dioscorides used it almost 2,000 years ago-externally for burns and wounds.
Wounds, Burns, Scalds, Scrapes, Sunburn - Scientific evidence of aloe’s wound-healing power was first documented in 1935 when an American medical journal reported the case of a woman whose x-ray burns were successfully treated with aloe gel scooped straight from leaves cut from the plant. Since then, several studies have supported the herb’s ability to spur the healing of first- and second-degree burns and other wounds. One report claims aloe also eases the discomfort of poison ivy rash.
Infection Fighter - Aloe gel may not only spur wound healing, it may also help prevent infection in injured skin. Several studies show aloe effective against many different bacteria that can invade a wound.
Skin Creams - Cleopatra massaged aloe gel into her skin to make it shine. The herb is still widely used in skin-care products. But if you’re after beautiful skin, do what the legendary Egyptian beauty did-use the fresh leaf gel, not the “stabilized” (preserved) gel used in commercial shampoos and skin products. Stabilized aloe has none of the fresh herb’s skin-healing benefits. If you enjoy the fragrance of aloe shampoos and skin lotions, fine. just don’t expect them to tum you into Cleopatra.
Intriguing Possibilities - Studies show that aloe may kill the fungus (Candida albicans) that causes vaginal yeast infections. Its possible effectiveness against the yeast fungus has led some herbalists to recommend using the herb to treat the infection itself. But just because it kills the fungus in laboratory tests doesn’t mean it can wipe out the infection in the human body. No scientific studies support this use, and a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel found insufficient evidence to recommend aloe as a yeast treatment.
In laboratory tests, one chemical (aloe-emodin) in aloe has shown promise against leukemia, but National Cancer Institute scientists say experimental preparations are still too toxic to give to leukemia sufferers. Although aloe has been used externally in folk medicine as a treatment for skin cancer, its effectiveness has never been studied scientifically.
A European study suggests aloe gel reduces blood sugar (glucose) levels in experimental animals and humans with diabetes. The gel is not usually taken internally, but if other studies confirm this effect, aloe might one day be used to help manage diabetes.