Aloe Vera Side Effects

Aloe vera can have side effects and some of them can be serious. However the worst reactions are usually associated with poor quality aloe vera or aloe vera that is promoted for use in some very questionable ways.

Of the visitors to The Aloe Vera Site who filled in the survey Your Experience with Aloe Vera, 11% said they had side effects and 89% said they felt no side effects.

Side effects, temporary reaction or a true allergy?

It is extremely important to note that many people have confused an allergic reaction with the normal action of Aloe Vera starting to work or with a reaction to a product the Aloe has been mixed with. Here are two examples:

• Dr Jeffrey Bland of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine in California tested Aloe Vera on ten patients. He noted "One person complained of gas and another of transient gut pain which after continued supplementation throughout the week diminished". His work can be found in Prevention Magasine 1985.
• Dr Peter Atherton, in The Essential Aloe Vera, wrote "Most commonly, allergic reactions are due to such added substances as lanolin or parabens in cream ... I have seen only one reaction to a drink ... the most likely culprit being the sodium benzoate used as a preservative".

In his research Dr Atherton also found "The leading authority on toxicology in this country [The United Kingdom] is the Poisons Unit at Guy's Hospital in London. [They said] that some whole leaf products had been shown to produce abdominal pains and diarrhoea in some people"

Some common reactions to and side effects from Aloe Vera

The table below outlines some of the most common side effects of Aloe Vera and why they occur. Note that good quality aloe vera used correctly will make the side effects listed below highly unlikely to occur.