{"id":245,"date":"2024-07-16T16:22:46","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T16:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=245"},"modified":"2024-07-16T16:22:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T16:22:46","slug":"the-amazing-aloe-plant-epictactical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=245","title":{"rendered":"THE AMAZING ALOE PLANT \u2013 EpicTactical"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

THE AMAZING ALOE PLANT<\/p>\n

Christopher Nyerges<\/p>\n

Aloes are members of the Aloe genus, of which there are about 500 world-wide. Botanists classify Aloes as a part of the large Lily Family.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0In general, Aloes are native to Africa and the Middle East.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

DESCRIPTION: Aloe is so commonly-available today that you have probably seen one at your local supermarket.\u00a0 If not, every garden supply shop and nursery sells them.\u00a0 The leaves are formed in a rosette of fleshy succulent, lance-shaped leaves, up to a foot and longer in length, with somewhat soft spines on the margins.<\/p>\n

The flowering stalk arises a foot or more high on leafless stalks.\u00a0 Most of the flowers are a shade of orange or yellow.<\/p>\n

The most commonly-know Aloe is the Aloe vera, meaning, \u201ctrue Aloe.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

WHERE FOUND:<\/p>\n

Though not native to North America, Aloes are found widely throughout the country.\u00a0 Where there is freezing, they will die back and should be protected.\u00a0 Besides commonly grown in gardens, it is not unusual to find them in remote cabin areas that have been abandoned, as they require very little maintenance to keep alive.<\/p>\n

The Aloe leaves can be harvested year-round for their medicinal properties.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

USES:<\/b><\/p>\n

Aloe is primarily used as a medicine, not as a food.<\/p>\n

To treat the skin for burn, scratches, or poison oak, all that is needed is to take a leaf, cut off the margins and then split the leaf.\u00a0 Then merely wipe the wet insides onto your skin, and let it dry on your skin.\u00a0 When itching or burning is present, there is often an immediate relief.<\/p>\n

MEDICINE\/NUTRITION:<\/p>\n

Over the years, I have documented many of the cases where aloe is used to cure various skin condition on people and animals.\u00a0 The fresh gel or juice from the leaf is put directly on the skin to treat sun burn, burns from hot oil,\u00a0 skin sores, diaper rash, bed sores, even poison oak rash.<\/p>\n

The properties of aloe are a broad mix of antibiotic, astringent, pain inhibitor, emollient, moisturizer, antipruritic (reduces itching), as well as a nutrient.\u00a0 It apparently works because of the polysaccharides present, the main one of which is a glucomannan.\u00a0 Others ingredients of the aloe include aloin, \u00a0galactose, uronic acids, and pentoses.\u00a0 The miracle qualities of the aloe is not believed to be the polysaccharides alone, but the synergistic effect of these and other compounds in the leaf.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My mother, who was a registered nurse, shared with me one of her experiences with the Aloe vera plants.\u00a0 My mother, Marie, worked at a Pasadena retirement home as the staff nurse. A housekeeper on the site told my mother about a hive-like condition of her skin that had been causing her to itch for about three months.\u00a0 She told my mother that it was \u201cburning like fire\u201d \u00a0but she declined my mother\u2019s offer to apply Aloe to the rash.\u00a0\u00a0 The woman preferred to have the doctor check it out, which he did within the week.\u00a0 The doctor came and prescribed Atarax (internally) for the itching and allergies, and cortisone (externally), which was\u00a0 applied as a cream.\u00a0 The doctor also prescribed tranquilizers for sleep.<\/p>\n

After about 45 days, the woman, Lucille, told my mother that she still could not sleep at night, and that the rash hadn\u2019t improved. My mother offered \u00a0once again to apply the fresh Aloe to the rash, and this time Lucille said, \u201cYes, please, bring me anything!\u201d\u00a0 My mother noted that Lucille\u2019s skin was hot to the touch, and there were big red spots all over.<\/p>\n

My mother applied the Aloe at 7:30 a.m.\u00a0 She took a fresh succulent Aloe vera leaf, slit it open, and rubbed the gel on Lucille\u2019s arms, legs, back, neck \u2013 almost her entire body.\u00a0 Lucille said her skin immediately felt better.\u00a0 By 3:30 that afternoon, all the visibly red spots were gone, and Lucille happily told my mother that all of the burning itching was gone.\u00a0 The next day Lucille told my mother that that night was the first night she\u2019d slept in the previous approximately 45 days.<\/p>\n

When the doctor arrived later that day, Marie told him that Lucille\u2019s rash had cleared up, and she admitted to having applied aloe juice.\u00a0 The doctor was somewhat taciturn as he examined the patient, and, without commenting on the aloe,\u00a0 told my mother, \u201cIt\u2019s good that the medicine finally worked.\u201d\u00a0 Really?!<\/p>\n

My mother always had a laugh re-telling this story about a doctor who couldn\u2019t see the obvious!<\/p>\n

This is just one of hundreds of real-life examples where Aloe promoted healing of the skin from various conditions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

OTHER USES: \u00a0Because Aloes reproduces so easily and rapidly, these plants could be an article of trade in a situation where\u00a0 your everyday currency is of no value.<\/p>\n

ADVICE FOR GROWING:<\/p>\n

Aloes are easy to grow indoors, in pots, and outdoors where it does not freeze.\u00a0 They need well-drained soil and some sun.\u00a0 Each plant multiplies each season, in the same manner as a garlic bulb multiplies, and if the conditions are right, you\u2019ll soon have enough aloes for your whole neighborhood.<\/p>\n

CAUTIONS:\u00a0 There appears to be no issue where applying the fresh juice of Aloe to the skin causes any problems.\u00a0 In some cases, it may not cure the rash or burn, but there are no harmful side effects.<\/p>\n

However, consuming the juice made from the aloe plant, especially if you do it yourself, could cause stomach ache or digestive pain.<\/p>\n

One report which summarizes many studies (many on animals) on the efficacy (and potential dangers) of the use of Aloe for burns, itching, ulcers, etc., is found at http:\/\/gov.personalcarecouncil.org\/ctfa-static\/online\/lists\/cir-pdfs\/pr274.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

RECIPES:<\/b><\/p>\n

Remember, Aloe is used more as a medicine than a food. Here is a recipe from Enrique Villasenor, assistant to Dr. James Adams (author of \u201cHealing with Medicinal Plants of the West\u201d).<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cAgua de Nopales\u201d: Prickly Pear Cactus Water<\/b><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/b><\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Cup Aloe Vera Juice (Enrique uses prepared Aloe juice purchased at the store)
1 \u2013 Prickly Pear Cactus pad (cleaned and rinsed)<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Peeled Orange
1 \u2013 Apple
1 \u2013 Cup of chilled water
1 \u2013 Ice
1 \u2013 Limes<\/p>\n

Recipe
<\/b>Place 1 cup of Aloe Vera gel, 1 cup of water and 1 Prickly Pear pad in blender. Blend. Add 1 apple and peeled orange. Blend. Add additional water to taste (Enrique adds an equal amount of water to any amount of juice he makes).\u00a0 Serve chilled with ice. Use lime to taste. Do not add sugar<\/u><\/b>. Suggested serving is 1.5 cups 2X a day.<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/p>\n

Nyerges has been teaching ethnobotany since 1974.\u00a0 He is the author of \u201cGuide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants,\u201d and other books on the uses of wild plants. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE AMAZING ALOE PLANT Christopher Nyerges Aloes are members of the Aloe genus, of which there are about 500 world-wide. Botanists classify Aloes as a part of the large Lily Family.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0In general, Aloes are native to Africa and the Middle East. \u00a0 DESCRIPTION: Aloe is so commonly-available today that you have probably seen one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-survival"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions\/247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}