I am actually curious about many things about this plant. My brother calls it a cure-all. (He used to have an aloe plant & would break the leaves open and use the gunk on burns and such.)

But in the immediate... my brother also said he once used it to help clean out his intestines. He does not recall what form it was in or where he got it. Right now we both have aloe juice. It's just plain aloe but it's pretty liquidy, like a lot of water's been added. (It's the plain Fruit of the Earth.) He says it is not like the stuff he used, but doesn't know if it's been squeezed to that point of liquidity or if there really is just a lot of water added to it. His could've been cooked down. He doesn't know. What happened when he used the stuff was that he spent a couple of days "going," sometimes in a diarrhea type form. Though he said there was nothing painful about it (like any stomach upset or gas or anything), but that he needed to stay home for a couple of days.

Curious about opinions on this. Not only that this actually helps clean out one's intestines. (And whether what my brother experienced was a good or bad thing.) But assuming it does work, whether this seemingly watery stuff would actually do anything, and how much of it would it take. I happen to have 4 days off work, so thought it would be a good time to try it, if I'm going to. (Just in case. ;) )

Their site doesn't mention this use. It does mention stomach disorders and I originally got it for some acid problems. It does seem to help some and I'm pretty sure it isn't my imagination.

Thanks for any insights.

It has claims to do everything but cure baldness, I am sorry this web site even says he helps your hair

Aloe Vera Juice, Drink, Gel, Lotion and Skin Care Products (http://www.aloelife.com/)

** nothing else natural better on burns for real.

Actually aloe jelly was not used as described by your brother. In southeast Asia, people use aloe jelly as external use antibiotic on cuts and burnt. It is edible, and also used in those who have problem with regularity. In addition, it is commonly used as conditioner, after shampoo. What I find amazing is those who apply aloe jelly as conditioner for long period, have full thick hair and by the age that natural hair color turns silver, it turns gray and never become white.

In many spas in Asia, they use pure aloe jelly for facial masks. Be careful to peel and rinse thoroughly before use. It gives very good result... you can feel your skin firm on the first use and like all natural products, there is absolutely no harm.

Fr_Chuck, thanks for the link -- I can at least look at it. Duh -- I should've done a search on it. But AMHD is such a wonderful site it just seemed logical to ask here. ;)

lawanwadee, this isn't aloe jelly. It's aloe juice. It'd be pretty darn difficult to put this stuff on a cut or something.

I use the aloe plant for insect bites, and it soothes the itching.
Also for heat rash,it helps a lot.

Pick a leaf off the plant,break it in half and just apply the jellylike substance on the affected area
Or scrape away the outer layer with a knife and apply the substance underneath on the affected area.

I have heard of some who drink aloe,I haven't tried it yet:).
Aloe Vera an Ancient Healer (http://www.naturalways.com/aloeveraFoods.htm)

I did not know aloe was good for pets too..
Aloe Vera Pet Shampoo | Healthy and Green Living (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/aloe-vera-pet-shampoo.html)

For cuts & such I use Vitamin E. Mostly cause it does work and it's cheap and easy to get a hold of. A few days ago my cat jumped off me a bit too fast and got me in 3 places. Did a pretty nice gash in a finger, and less bad scratch on my arm. The finger I put fresh Vit E on each evening, and the arm I put it on only the night it happened. The finger is healed (except for the bits of dead skin around the edges) and the arm is still red and scabby. I once read an article by a doctor that said some people "claim" Vit E helps. One gash healing and a less bad one not healing I think is some pretty good proof. :-) (But then, I've known that for years. Every time something is healing "slowly," I then remember I never put Vit E on it.)

But I've heard aloe is just simply the best for burns. I don't burn myself too often though and most of the time it's no big deal. I just don't like it when it's on the tips of my fingers, which hurts pretty badly.

As for drinking it, I've been doing that for about 6 months now. It was recommended by my chiropractor. It actually does help with the acid reflux, but it hasn't really "fixed" it. I did a round of Prilosec back in December, which works great. But there it was again after I stopped, except not near as bad. After that is when I started drinking it. (Just a gulp each day before food.) I know it's helping. When I ran out for three weeks, the problems got worse. But it hasn't fixed the problem -- i.e. I haven't healed. I just did another round of Prilosec. I'm allowed to take that constantly, and I think maybe the two things in combination could eventually do the trick -- the idea being to stop the acid long enough to allow things to heal. I don't know how long that would take. In theory, the idea is hopefully have the Prilosec do that job, the aloe help with healing, and then hopefully have the aloe be the "maintainer" for the long-term. Things are definitely much better. Last fall I couldn't even drink juice anymore.

I should look into the more concentrated versions. I'm sure they'll be really expensive, but considering how watered down this stuff is, maybe no more expensive than this is.