Aloe Vera for Acid Reflux

Anyone who has researched even a little bit about aloe vera knows that there are people out there claiming it can cure just about anything. And while aloe vera is an amazing plant, it sounds ridiculous to say that it can cure anything. There are obviously going to be limits when it comes to what it actually can cure and what you could reasonably expect it to cure.

That said, one of the most well-known and thoroughly researched uses of aloe vera juice is as a cure for gastrointestinal problems. But does aloe vera have real benefits for someone who is struggling with acid reflux?

Just about anyone can suffer from acid reflux. While it is largely a symptom of what a person eats, even healthy foods can result in acid reflux, otherwise known as heartburn. This issue is a serious one—if not treated, even occasional heartburn can become a serious esophageal issue, which may eventually evolve into cancer.

Prevention and early action

Dealing with acid reflux as soon as you begin to notice a pattern is the best and only way to prevent it from becoming a more serious issue. Aloe vera juice can be a great way for dealing with heartburn. But what exactly is acid reflux and how can you combat it?

Symptoms of acid reflux

You will probably notice if you are experiencing acid reflux, but that is not necessarily always true. You will feel the burn in your abdomen, chest, and throat most of the time, but there are some symptoms that indicate reflux is happening, even if you do not feel this burn. Some other symptoms include bloating, a sour aftertaste in your mouth, blood stools, burping, hiccupping, dry cough, and a sore throat.

Eating habits

These symptoms occur when a person is experiencing reflux from their stomach. Some of the causes of this include pregnancy, spicy foods, fatty foods, smoking, eating citrus, tomatoes, or garlic, overeating, lying down after eating, obesity, and more. Any of these things could cause the ring of muscles around your lower esophagus to close improperly and to allow acid from your stomach to travel up your throat and back into your mouth.

How does aloe vera help to fight this condition?

No matter the cause, heartburn can be extremely annoying and, if it happens often enough, dangerous. Not only will it disturb your sleep and make it difficult to eat even healthy foods acid reflux can quickly become a bane. This is where aloe vera juice can help. Taking aloe vera juice for acid reflux might not be one of the most common cures, but it is an effective one. Here’s how it works:

Alkaline property

Aloe vera is alkaline, which means that it is on the opposite side of the pH scale from acids. When you drink aloe vera juice, you are making your system alkaline, which is a state that it actually wants to be. It neutralizes acid—in this case, stomach acid. How does this work? Aloe vera does this is basically the same way that it soothes irritation on the surface of the body.

Naturally soothing

You might notice, when you put aloe vera gel on your arm where you have been sunburned, that you feel a cooling sensation. This is because aloe vera contains substances that are naturally soothing. When you drink the juice, it enters your stomach and helps to neutralize the acid, thereby soothing the feeling of burning in your chest that is known as heartburn.

Aloe vera is anti-inflammatory

Aloe vera is also an anti-inflammatory. A lot of the pain and annoyance that comes along with acid reflux will be because of the irritation that the refluxing acid causes to your esophagus. Your throat is just not equipped to handle this kind of acid. It does not have the same mucous lining that the stomach does that actually protects that organ from being eaten by that acid—and that is what the acid is doing when it travels back up the esophagus.

When you drink aloe vera juice, you are soothing that irritation away, at the same time that that excess acid is being neutralized so that it can no longer eat away at your throat.

Of course, there are medications that do both of these things. For those that do not want to take over the counter medications or that simply want to find a more natural way to treat what ails them, aloe vera juice is a great option. It is also a great option for a variety of other reasons, however, including this juice’s benefits for the entirety of the digestive tract.

Some people will actually drink aloe vera juice before they eat, because it is great for aiding digestion, both for relieving (or preventing) constipation and for soothing more serious inflammation-related conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.

Amylase: Breaks down sugar (starches) into glucose for energy. Alpha amylase, the primary type of amylase, hydrolyses (deconstructs) the bonds in starches or glycogen molecules into smaller chains of glucose called dextrin.

Cellulase: Aids digestion, hydrolysis of cellulose into energy-sustaining blood sugar and keeps cell membranes healthy by supporting against toxic chemicals. It also has beneficial effects on cholesterol.

Lipase: breaks down fat into smaller pieces, making digestion easier. Should also be beneficial for gluten in wheat product allergies.

Proteolytiase: hydroles proteins into smaller components.

If you know that you are going to eat something that is likely going to cause you acid reflux, you can actually drink your aloe vera juice before you even eat. Aloe vera juice, acid reflux sufferers say, is often more effective if you take it before eating, so that it has an opportunity to neutralize more of your stomach’s acid before it can be refluxed into the esophagus.

Others find that taking aloe vera juice after eating is the best way to combat acid reflux. Those who do not know what causes their heartburn or whether or not they will actually get heartburn after eating often find that this is the best option for them, though it is hard to deny that even if you would not have gotten acid reflux, you will benefit from all of the other health properties of aloe vera juice.

That said, some do prefer this method, simply because the act of drink the juice will soothe the irritation not just where it begins—in the stomach—but also where it ends—in the throat and back of the mouth.

Many people have never connected aloe vera juice and acid reflux, not realizing that this is a very simple and natural way to combat one of the most common digestive tract issues. Aloe vera juice is so effective for heartburn that many people stop experiencing it altogether after incorporating this juice into their diets.

Combined with all of the other benefits that aloe vera provides, it is easy to see why making this juice a part of your regular diet, either before or after eating, is an easy way to help you feel better and actually be healthier.