Aloe Vera gel contains a large range of vitamins, even trace elements of vitamin B12, which is rarely found in plants. Apart from vitamin A it contains B-group vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folic acid. Many of these essential vitamins cannot be stored by the body so we need to constantly top them us from the food we eat. Further to the fact that Aloe Vera gel contains vitamins and minerals, of the ones that it doesn’t directly contain, it gives your body the tools to either make them or absorb them from other sources (see article on the function of gut flora balance). Here we will tell you a little more about the roles of these important vitamins.

Vitamin A

The body uses this vitamin best in conjunction with vitamin D in the proportion of 7-1. The principle sources of vitamin A are:

  • cabbage
  • carrots
  • celery
  • endive
  • lettuce
  • oranges
  • parsley
  • prunes
  • dried apricots
  • spinach
  • tomatoes
  • watercress

Lack of vitamin A produces:

  • scaly skin
  • stones in the kidney and gall bladder
  • catarrh
  • sinus infections
  • poor digestion
  • low resistance to disease

This vitamin is essential for proper growth of body tissues, and increases resistance to infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts.

Vitamin Bx

The principle sources are:

  • cabbage
  • carrot
  • celery
  • coconuts
  • citrus fruits
  • parsley
  • radishes
  • turnip tops
  • watercress.

Lack of vitamin B1 results in:

  • low heartbeats
  • poor appetite
  • gastric and intestinal complaints
  • nervous disorders
  • chronic constipation
  • enlargement of the adrenal glands and the pancreas

Violent exercise, increasing age and weight, and feverishness all increase the body’s need for this vitamin.

Vitamin B2

The main sources are:

  • apples
  • apricots
  • cabbage
  • carrots
  • coconuts
  • citrus fruits
  • prunes
  • spinach
  • turnip tops
  • watercress.

The supply of this vitamin decreases when there is an increase in the consumption of fats and minerals, and is conserved by the intake of fibrous foods.

Lack of vitamin B2 results in:

  • lack of energy and stamina
  • loss of hair
  • cataract
  • tongue ulceration
  • disorders of the digestive tract.

Vitamin C

I would mention that copper cooking vessels cause a serious loss of this vitamin.
The main sources of it are:

  • citrus fruits
  • cucumber
  • parsley
  • pineapples
  • radishes
  • rhubarb
  • tomatoes
  • turnips
  • watercress
  • carrots
  • green leafy vegetables.

Lack of this vitamin causes many illnesses, among them being:

  • weakness and shortness of breath
  • palpitations
  • headaches
  • tooth decay
  • peptic and duodenal ulcers
  • heart disease
  • circulatory disease
  • impaired function of the adrenal glands.

Vitamin E

This vitamin is stored in the muscles and fat and as it is rapidly depleted it must be renewed regularly.
The main sources of it are:

  • wheat germ
  • celery
  • lettuce
  • leafy green vegetables
  • parsley

According to medical research, lack of vitamin E can produce:

  • sterility in both sexes
  • miscarriage
  • loss of hair

Read here to find out more about the beneficial effects of good gut flora and Aloe Vera’s role in this.

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