NOW Foods Supplements, Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) 10,000 mg, Supports Digestive Health*, 250 Softgels

I found out by way of diagnosis with an autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis) that I had intestinal hyperpermeability (i.e. "leaky gut"). My holistic physician and a book she recommended by Dr. Isabella Wentz on Hashimoto's taught me that "leaky gut: is one of the conditions that is almost always required to be present for autoimmunity to develop, or else it results after the fact. I would never have known, because the only GI signs I had were a months history of gradual onset acid reflux (which I had never had before) and what I decided were early onset of low stomach acid and new slight lactose intolerance. To treat the reflux which I saw as a symptom of the leaky gut I used prilosec at high doses as a very temporary measure to get a handle on things until I got my leaky gut headed in the right direction. I did this first with high dose probiotics (Hyperbiotics PRO-15 regular strength 5 billion cfu multiple strain "pearls") three times a day for a month (after a month I tried to reduce to a normal dose of one "pearl" per day and found this wasn't enough, so I switched to Hyperbiotics PRO-15 Advanced Strength 15 billion cfu time-release tablets, which I have been taking once daily since then) and then added broad spectrum digestive enzymes including gluten-digest and dairy-digest also (all NOW brand). Then I added Nature's Way licorice root 1 capsule three times a day with meals and NOW Aloe Vera gel caps 2 gels three times a day with meals along with the amino acid L-glutamine (Jarrow), which directly feeds the enterocytes, 2 tablets three times a day to address the leaky gut further, and I noticed after 2-3 weeks of this combination a definite improvement in how my GI tract overall felt, and noticed I was better absorbing my food and my vitamins, minerals, and other supplements.Another useful hint I used D-limonene (Jarrow) to stop my acid reflux almost completely taking just one soft gel a day and tapered off the prilosec completely within 1-2 weeks. After that the other changes I made to help my intestines, especially the licorice and the aloe, also kept the acid reflux under control. The last thing I got brave enough to try was Betaine Hcl with Pepsin (NOW brand) to correct for low stomach acid, another common cause of acid reflux and maldigestion and malabsorption as well as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which I strongly suspected I had had due to my rapid response to only the high dose probiotics in the beginning. It takes me anywhere from 1-3 capsules of Betaine Hcl to appropriately digest a small to large meal, depending on how much protein there is, but the extra acid definitely helps, believe it or not, and got me off prilosec for good..I do believe the licorice, the aloe vera, and the L-glutamine have been an essential part in beginning to heal my leaky gut. I have not changed my diet except to try to eat as healthy as possible, If I have to I will, but given how much better I feel in my GI tract, I find it hard to believe that I have a serious food intolerance problem at least so far. I do think the licorice, the aloe vera, and L-glutamine have formed the core of my treatment of my intestinal hyperpermeability, even without much diet changes, and they are more integral to my healing than I thought at first. I am still taking all the supplements I have mentioned during this narrative, plus I added slippery elm (NOW) for extra support to prevent acid reflux, along with many others for other reasons, but I just had no idea how essential the direct healing herbals were for my intestines. At first I was going to take those first three for a month or two, expected to notice no difference and so then planned to stop, having done my due diligence.. Now, although I don't plan to be on them forever, I fully expect it to be a number of months minimum that I am on this regimen, until I feel my "leaky gut" has healed.I highly recommend this product and some form of this regimen to anyone who is attempting to treat their own situation with intestinal hyperpermeability, "leaky gut",or anyone who thinks they "just" have GERD or IBS or Celiac or any other intestinal disorder. Be aware that your problem may run deeper than you think, and don't expect just one supplement, or even several, to solve everything. Good strong high quality probiotics (like Hyperbiotics) and good broad spectrum digestive enzymes should be at the core of the management of almost any GI problem, even though they might not solve it alone. With me, it was noticing the distinct effects of the L-Glutamine especially that to me confirmed the "leaky gut" hypothesis/diagnosis and I was surprised how much it helped, with myself having few overt GI symptoms initially.. L-glutamine is important because it is an amino acid that directly nourishes GI enterocytes, the cells lining the intestinal tract, and helps them heal the "tight junctions" they are supposed to have to prevent "leakiness," (where antigens and food and bacterial particles become exposed to the systemic circulation and create inflammation and sometimes autoimmune conditions). Licorice root will also help with adrenal fatigue, another common underlying problem, and one I suspect I also have, as well as with anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-parasitic effects in t he GI tract. These effects are also why I chose licorice root to do double duty, although DGL licorice does not have these effects (Nature's Way Licorice Root is not DGL). Finally, if you do have a simple case of intestinal upset and/or acid reflux, licorice on its own or in combination with others like the slippery elm (NOW) and marshmallow root (Nature's Way) may be all that you need to take care of the problem, especially mild IBS and GERD. And good quality Aloe Vera like NOW gel caps can do the same thing, including directly healing, sometimes on its own or in combination with any of the supplements listed above. But don't give up if one supplement such as Aloe isn't enough to "cure" you on its own.For me, the addition of the Aloe Vera helped immensely with not just soothing but initiating serious healing. I simply wanted to share all the supplements I have used and my disease process for those without the luck of having a simple problem. Even I didn't know I didn't have a simple problem, so always dig deeper for what may be the root cause of a seemingly simple problem, and take it seriously if you think you have "leaky gut" - it usually takes multiple dietary interventions and months to years to heal. I fully intend to take most of the supplements I am on for gastrointestinal health, at the core the strong probiotics, broad spectrum digestive enzymes, licorice root, slippery elm, Aloe Vera gel, and L-glutamine for many months at least. Even though things are far from perfect, I can already see signs of healing taking place, and I will take changing my diet further seriously if I have to, but so far so good.Also Aloe Vera Gel caps are hard to find, and NOW always has the highest quality. These softgels have concentrated aloe vera gel extract, so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Juice or drinking the actual gel couldn't compare in potency and both are rather disgusting. The important note here is these are made from aloe vera gel, the inner filet of the leaf only, and so don't have harsh laxative qualities like products made from whole leaf or including inner latex. This is the most important thing to be aware of when choosing an aloe supplement. And the NOW Aloe Vera gel caps are small and easy to swallow. For all these reasons I highly recommend these NOW Aloe Vera Gels for whatever your needs may be, especially GI soothing and healing. I am going to continue purchasing and taking this supplement from this brand for the forseeable future. Highly recommend!!

Salud

Aloe Vera has proven to be a real miracle drug for me. For all my life I have been bothered by the occasional ulcer, as well as bacterial infections of the stomach. That translates to many years of pain, nausea, and sometimes even much scarier symptoms that have sent me off to the doctor. Things like probiotics and mastic gum supplements have helped, but never really prevented a re infection. It wasn't until I discovered the benefits of aloe vera juice while doing some research that I started to actual feel better over a long period of time. After reading about it I picked up a big jug of it at a local drug store and started taking two glass fulls a day. At the time I was in pain, along with those other scarier symptoms I mentioned and was in a true panic. I decided to give the juice a chance before running off to a doctor. To my surprise, I started to feel better within 48 hrs, and was feeling great after just 4 days of the regimen. Since I really don't care for the taste of the juice, (anyone that says its good is being very kind), I decided not to take it regularly. But it was always there when I needed it, which was much less often...Since I never really did like or eventually cotton to the taste of the juice, I decided to seek out some gels like this. And luckily they have done the trick for me as to really making me feel better over a long period of time. The dose on these are pretty heavy. Like 2 capsules two to three times a day. But I take one capsule morning and evening since I am taking other supplements for digestion as well. It's still cheaper than the juice, unless you buy the cheap gallon size at the drug store that always worked for me. The juice here on Amazon is really expensive in my opinion, and obviously designed for occasional use. Either that or you have the money and can afford it everyday as a regimen. In either event, I highly recommend taking aloe vera in either liquid form or in these gels, along with mastic gum and a good probiotoc, if you are prone to stomach and digestive problems, especially the severe type. As of the time of this writing, NOW is one of the only brands I have found on Amazon that makes aloe vera in a gel cap. And it comes at a very fair price. But there may be more on the horizon. As for me and these at the moment, they work terrific for and I highly recommend them...

it works for me

I take prescription medication and it irritates my stomach. My doctor prescribed Prilosec and I took it for 6 months, but instead of healing my stomach, my pain got worse. It wasn't due to the Prilosec, it was because it wasn't working for me. My doctor became concerned and he decided that he needed to do an endoscopy to rule out anything more serious. After going through the procedure, being put to sleep and having a scope put down my throat, he confirmed what I had been telling him. My stomach was red, raw and painful looking. I hadn't developed an ulcer yet, but if we didn't do something soon, I was well on my way to getting one. Next my doctor prescribed prescription strength Prilosec, twice per day, but I wasn't convinced that it was going to work. Guess what. It didn't. So now I was tired out and frustrated from dealing with the pain on a daily basis.I did some research and read that aloe vera was good for stomach problems and I remembered hearing this from an old friend who lived in Peru and who often used natural therapies. I decided to try this brand because I liked the gel cap and it was reasonably priced.Guess what? A wonderful thing happened after taking it for 3 days. My stomach pain started to ease up and after a week, it was gone.! For me, this was a life changer. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be able to eat something without having pain. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised that this worked so well.I've been ordering this brand of aloe vera for several months now, but I was disappointed the last time I went to order it because the gel caps were hard as a rock whereas my previous orders were soft and gel-like. I'm hoping that it was just a bad batch and that things are back to normal.