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Healing powers of Aloes

Aloe is the name given to a variety of perennials of the Liliaceae/Aloeaceae family. There are over 325 species in this genus. Aloe ferox, Aloe perryi, Aloe barteri, called West African Aloe, and Aloe Barbadensis, also called Aloe Vera, are the better known species. Aloe Vera has been in much use from time immemorial. Wall paintings of Ancient Egypt showed that Aloe Vera was used by the Egyptians to treat catarrh. Among the Jewish people, Aloe Vera was used as an ingredient for embalming. The body of Jesus was wrapped with linen soaked in myrrh and Aloes: Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

(Jn. 19: 39-40). Aloe Vera, a native of southern and northern Africa, came to Greece in the 4th Century BC, to China in the 10th century AD and finally to Europe in the 11th century AD. Even though there are many species, they all have similar constituents, namely: Antraquinone, Glycosides, Aloin, Resin, etc. Aloe Vera is the most common species of Aloes found in Nigeria today. This species grows well in flowerpots. It needs a balanced measure of sunshine and water to survive. It does not grow very tall, (1-4 feet), is light green in colour with white spotted.

It is good to remember that there are many species of Aloes. One should therefore not be surprised to see Aloes of different shapes, colour or texture. The West African Aloe (Aloe barteri) has very broad; succulent leaves and bright red flowers, which can grow as high as seven feet.

Since Aloe Vera grows so quickly, it should be planted in every compound. I have seen this plant growing in flower-pots in many compounds as an ornament. In some compounds, the plant is abandoned and starved of water. Surely, Aloe Vera deserves more honour and loving care. Below are some of the medicinal values of Aloe Vera, the miracle plant. CANCER: A lot of research has been and is being done on the effectiveness of Aloe Vera for curing cancer, especially cancer of the breast.

I challenge our scientists to do more analysis of this wonder plant. Rather than spending useful energies in condemning and suppressing new ideas about health, let our medical health practitioners focus their attention on more intense research of medicinal plants, which can save the life of our people. Some time ago I called one of my doctor friends, an “orthodox” doctor and told him that I would like to discuss cancer with him. He said there was not much to discuss about cancer except, that it is incurable, and so I should not bother to talk of curing cancer with herbs.

Must our Nigerian “orthodox” doctors continue to fold their hands and expect their counterparts in Europe and America to do the thinking for them? In using Aloe Vera for the treatment of cancer, one fact to keep in mind is that the older the plant, the more active it is. For the treatment of cancer the plant must be at least five years old. The formula is as follows:

Materials:
A 3 leaves of Aloe Vera

B. 1 bottle of honey

C ½ bottle of dry gin Recipe Cut the leaves into pieces.

Mix B &C together and use to grind A. Dosage:

3 tablespoonfuls twice daily for 2 months.

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