How to eat Aloe arborescens

It is also called wood sword aloe and is native to South America. It is widely used in Japan, in addition to daily use as a medicine. It is also used as a cosmetic and health product. Aloe vera has been found to contain many benefits. Aloe vera has been found to contain many substances that are beneficial to the body. This leads to many people liking to make Aloe vera into dishes or even eat it raw. So how should Aloe vera be cooked to make it more delicious?

How to eat aloe vera

There are many ways to eat aloe vera, mainly in the following 9 categories:

1. Eat raw: Cut fresh leaves, wash them, remove the thorns on the leaf edge, and eat with or without the skin.

2. Aloe vera drink: squeeze juice from fresh leaves, or drink fresh aloe vera juice with honey or fruit juice. Take canned aloe vera drinks containing pure aloe vera juice or compound aloe vera juice.

3. Aloe wine: Use 100-150g of fresh aloe leaves and 0.5kg of high-proof grain liquor to soak directly. It can be consumed after a week. Aloe leaves can be soaked with wolfberry, hawthorn, bayberry, green plum or other Chinese medicines. Aloe vera wine can be mixed with other fruit juices for drinking. Aloe leaves can also be used in fermentation to make wine.

4. Dessert: With some fruits, such as apples, strawberries, and tomatoes, use honey and sugar to make candied fruit or sweet jam.

5. Candy: Use aloe vera juice, aloe vera powder, add sugar, flavors, pigments, etc. to make chewing gum, chocolate, soft candy and maltose, etc.

6. Cakes: Add aloe vera juice and aloe vera powder to flour to make cakes, pastries, bread, sandwiches, etc.

7. Aloe vera tea: Sun-dry or oven-dry the aloe vera leaves and make tea.

8. Aloe vera powder: grind the dried leaves into powder. Or grind the fresh leaves, filter, and then dry the filtrate into powder. Alternatively, the fresh leaves are peeled, the leaf flesh is crushed, filtered, and the filtrate is vacuum freeze-dried into powder. The above aloe vera powder can be taken directly, can also be used in the production of candies, cakes, beverages, and can also be used as an additive for cosmetics.

9. Dishes: Fresh aloe leaves or aloe vera jelly can be used as vegetables. It can be used in desserts, seasonings for cold noodles, soups, salads, fried dishes, stir-fried dishes, stews, etc. It can also be eaten raw, with fresh aloe vera slices instead of sashimi, dipped in soy sauce or mustard. The principle is to consume enough aloe vera so as not to cause diarrhea.

Precautions for eating aloe vera

Although aloe vera is good, it must be used for the right symptoms. Aloe vera tastes bitter and cold in nature, and is mainly suitable for diseases of excess syndromes. It is not very suitable for diseases of deficiency syndromes. Especially for people with insufficient Yang Qi, weak spleen and stomach, or cold constitution, consuming it may not only fail to have a therapeutic effect but may also aggravate the condition and accelerate death. According to TCM diagnosis, most patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, liver diseases, and kidney diseases are of the yang deficiency and qi deficiency type. Excessive use of aloe vera, which has the effect of clearing liver heat and purging excess fire, is like adding insult to injury. For critically ill patients, using aloe vera products that are bitter, cold and heat-clearing will cause qi loss and yang damage, leading to death faster. At this time, the main focus should be on invigorating Qi, warming Yang, and consolidating deficiency. Chinese medicine prescriptions include Du Shen Tang and Sheng Mai Yin.

Generally, external application of fresh aloe leaves is simple and easy, but it can easily cause allergies and even leave scars.

Aloe vera varieties suitable for external use, such as large-leaf aloe, Chinese aloe, arborescent aloe, and saponin aloe, can all be used by taking leaves, among which the large-leaf aloe is the most suitable. But it is worth noting that fresh aloe leaf juice contains a certain amount of calcium oxalate and a variety of plant proteins. Some patients have particularly sensitive skin. After applying fresh aloe leaves externally, their skin may feel itchy or develop small red rashes. These rashes are usually not too serious and will fade away in half a day. If you encounter skin allergies, you can dilute the fresh aloe leaf juice with cold boiled water and then use it. If the allergy is severe, stop using it immediately. If you find small rashes or itchy spots, rinse them with warm water. Never scratch them with your fingers to avoid breaking the skin and causing new infections.