Health Risks & Benefits of Taking Aloe Vera Juice Internally

There’s nothing wrong with seeking natural ways to treat what ails you. But not all natural remedies make good choices, including aloe vera juice. Topically, aloe vera gel may help reduce inflammation and protect the skin. But when taken orally, there’s a risk of abdominal pain and diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, low blood sugar in people with diabetes and a possible link to cancer. If you’re considering adding aloe vera juice to your diet regimen, you should talk to your doctor first to discuss safety and effectiveness.

Potent Laxative

Aloe vera juice is marketed as a type of cleanse. It gets this reputation because it contains anthroquinine, which is a potent laxative. In addition to the abdominal pain and extreme diarrhea this laxative might cause, ingesting aloe vera juice may also cause malabsorption of nutrients and medication and loss of electrolytes, specifically potassium. Low potassium levels may lead to an irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness and fatigue. The diarrhea may also increase risk of dehydration. Other gastrointestinal complaints caused by drinking aloe vera juice include nausea and vomiting.

Blood Sugar and Diabetes

It’s not all bad news for aloe vera juice. A 2016 meta-analysis study published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics found that aloe vera juice may help improve fasting blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes -- a precursor to diabetes characterized by higher-than-normal blood sugar.

However, this met-analysis is not enough reason to add aloe vera juice to your morning routine. The researchers noted that there were a lot of inconsistencies in the studies and very few were of high quality. They recommended that more more clinical studies are needed before recommendations about the efficacy of taking aloe vera juice internally could be made. Additionally, there’s concern that drinking aloe vera juice may cause low blood sugar for people with diabetes who are taking medication.

Link to Cancer

Another component found in aloe vera juice, aloin, has been linked to the development of tumors in rats. However, decolorized aloe vera juice, which has the carcinogenic substance from aloe removed, did not have the same effect. As a supplement, aloe vera juice isn’t regulated like prescription medication, and it’s up to the manufacturer to make sure the product is safe. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration has categorized aloe vera juice as "not generally recognized as safe or effective," which means there isn’t enough evidence either way to whether aloe vera juice is helpful or harmful.