Health Benefits of Aloe Vera (Plus a Review of Stockton Aloe for Constipation)

When you become known as the crazy family who has tested over 120 different brands of natural mineral sunscreen, you get the opportunity to connect with all sorts of people in the industry.

When Dr. Mike Haley was introduced to me as someone formulating a new sunscreen with an innovative formula, I was definitely excited to meet him.

Stockton Aloe with all of its many health benefits is the base for this sunscreen being formulated.

During my conversation with Dr. Mike, I learned a lot about aloe vera: how it’s sourced, how it should be processed, and how it can help our health.

In case you are as uninformed as I was let’s talk about the health benefits of aloe vera.

Health Benefits of Aloe Vera

Aloe can be used internally or externally, and in both cases, it speeds healing and soothes. You’ll find aloe lauded for:

• Improving digestion and relieving constipation
• Improving gut health and healing
• Immune support
• Skin healing (sunburn and other issues)

Here’s my interview with Dr. Mike Haley:

Can’t see the video? Watch The Health Benefits of Aloe Vera here on YouTube.

No time for the video? Here are the notes!

Health Benefits of Aloe Vera for Skin and Gut Health

• 0:12: Stockton Aloe is the only company that has hand extracted, unfiltered raw aloe vera gel. 
• 0:33: Aloe vera gel supports gut healing, stimulates the immune system, and is good for your skin.
• 0:43: How does aloe vera work? The aloe leaves have an outer leaf covering and a soft inner leaf. Some companies have used the outer leaf in their supplements which is very bitter and has a strong laxative effect. The inner leaf speeds healing and boosts the immune system.
• 1:16: Have you ever put pure aloe vera on sunburn and noticed that it causes it to heal faster? Imagine the same soothing properties at work in your gut.
• 1:50: Several chemotherapy companies have included an ounce of aloe vera per day along with their chemo treatment protocol. 
• 2:44: You often see aloe vera in topical applications rather than for ingestion. I always avoid recipes that include aloe cause I don’t know what kind to buy to ingest! Dr. Mike shares how other companies standardize their aloe vera gel for sale. It’s filtered to create a clear liquid, but in the process phytonutrients, color and smell are all taken out as well. Many of the benefits are lost. 
• 5:11: Since Stockton Aloe isn’t filtered aloe vera gel, it isn’t a liquid. It’s kind of a gloopy gel. It’s just what comes straight out of the inner leaf of an aloe plant ground up. 

• 6:33: Let’s talk about aloe vera on the skin. Stockton Aloe has another product as well that’s mostly aloe vera emulsified into coconut oil. This is their number one recommendation for applying to a sunburn.
• 7:35: We all know to avoid parabens. (Right?) So what is a safe preservative for aloe? There are natural substances that are more stable than others and have longer shelf lives, such as coconut oil. 
• 9:35: In the case of aloe vera sold for ingestion, Stockton Aloe is sold frozen, and then it is refrigerated to avoid preservatives. 
• 10:12: If you’re struggling with poor gut health or any immune issues consider adding aloe to your supplement regimen!

Honest Review: Aloe for Constipation

Of all the health benefits of aloe, help for gut health and constipation definitely caught my ear.

At the time of this recorded conversation, I was still dealing with horrible life interrupting skin rashes from a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease.

I had tried everything topically as well as a number of supplements and even acupuncture, but nothing seemed to consistently make a positive impact. I also knew that since I was a child I struggled with constipation. I’ve written about natural remedies for constipation before.

Although I’ve made some headway over the years, again, nothing was consistent. Seriously, I feel like I had tried everything. I was using pretty powerful herbal supplements and working with an expert practitioner.

We tried one then another then a third. Up to the maximum dose, and still nothing good.

I did the entire gut thrive program with all of its detox protocols, and even coffee enemas. (You can read about that here.) And again, small forward gains, but back to my normal constipated self in no time.

I felt incredibly skeptical, but when Dr. Mike said he would send me a sample of course I had to try it all in the name of serving you good kitchen stewards out there.

I always say that product testing for health issues is such a wildcard. It’s really hard to identify whether a supplement or protocol or technique actually makes a difference because our human bodies and or lifestyles are so complex. How can you isolate just one factor?

For example, I wouldn’t feel competent to tell you how well Stockton Aloe improves general gut health because that’s just not something I can easily see and measure. But guess what I can easily see and measure. Constipation is a pretty clear metric.

RELATED: Heal your gut naturally!

So although I was skeptical, I also had a sense of anticipation that if this worked, I would know it.

I put the whole half-gallon jug of aloe in the sink for most of a day to let it thaw just enough to fill a pint-sized jar. I figured that was a good amount to start with for a week.

Because Stockton Aloe is so naturally processed, with no preservatives, it needs to be kept frozen, and only the amount you’ll use in a week put in the fridge.

I got into a pretty good routine of drinking three to five big gulps per day out of my jar, which I kept in the door of my fridge for easy access. Once it got empty, I would grab the half-gallon jug from the freezer, put it in the sink for half a day or so until just enough thawed to fill my pint jar, and start the process over again.

Anytime I’m trying to start a new habit, creating a very easy routine is what makes it work for me.

I’m sure you’re wondering if I saw results. Sometime during that very first week, I started having perfect eliminations every single morning.

After two weeks, my astonishment began to lift and I realized that I could actually count on regular digestion and elimination within the first hour, maybe two of waking up. My body had found its routine after four decades of living!

Now, what about the complexity of the human body and lifestyle changes? Around the same time, I was also trying some new homeopathy for my skin rash. (By the way, it totally worked, and I’m now off that protocol. With no itchy rash in sight. I couldn’t be more thrilled!)

I had to ask the question though. Did the homeopathy improve my constipation? Or was it the aloe? Did the aloe improve the rash because I was now eliminating well every day? Or was it the homeopathy?

I have my answer with very good assurance. Two days after stopping the homeopathy protocol for the first time, my rash immediately came back. I gave it a few more days, the rash grew. And when I started the homeopathy again, it disappeared. To me, that’s about as clear a result as one can get.

During that time, I allowed myself to run out of Stockton Aloe. I wanted to see if my body would continue to have good elimination because the homeopathy had reset something.

Within a week or two, my clockwork routine started to have hitches and glitches. As soon as I hit any sort of stress, whether a short night of sleep, working really hard, or just traveling away from home that was all she wrote. I was fully back into constipation mode, feeling full up to my neck by the end of each day bloated and just wishing for a good poop.

When I hit a particularly stressful week and went multiple days in a row without a good elimination, I ordered more Stockton Aloe. To put it into context, at this time I was not using the homeopathy protocol, and even in that high-stress week, my autoimmune rash did not return.

Just a few days, back to my routine of gulping Stockton Aloe every day and I was back to regular elimination. What a relief!

Now you know, we’re good friends because we’ve talked about poop.

RELATED: Find natural remedies for constipation in toddlers here!

How Does Stockton Aloe Taste?

My kids laugh and ask me what in the world I’m drinking when they see me taking my aloe. I do make quite the face, but it’s not as much the taste as the texture.

It takes some mind-over-matter work to drink something that’s rather the consistency of a thick booger as you can see in the video above. The taste is actually pretty neutral. Nothing I can even describe.

One tip if the texture is difficult for you to get over. The bottom of the half-gallon jug ends up with a lot of pulp, like really, really thick pulpy orange juice in a booger. So my very last pint jar was exceptionally thick, and I got more laughter for my faces.

If that sounds like it would be a bother I would recommend thawing the entire jug and shaking it up very thoroughly. Then freezing again on its side to try your best to keep that pulp more evenly distributed.

How Stockton Aloe Compared to Other Brands

You know me, I can’t just test one thing. I had to order an inexpensive brand of aloe from Thrive Market to see if I could get the same results.

Two things were very different. First, the taste. The other brand was not as thick, although still not exactly the consistency of water. It’s really hard to bear though because it’s so very bitter.

I wish I could figure out how to describe it. It’s almost the bitterness of really fresh kale or spinach but without the green taste and with something else in there, that’s just awful.

I can almost enjoy drinking Stockton Aloe but I have to just power through the other brand.

The second difference is that it’s just not as consistent in helping me get a good elimination. I felt like the Stockton Aloe had a 100% success rate whereas the other aloe is a bit more hit and miss.

Because I understand how Stockton Aloe is processed so differently, I became a believer. It really is better and worth the cost which is why I ordered two more gallons which will last me four to six months.

Should You Use Aloe to Relieve Constipation?

My only hesitancy in releasing my full and complete joy about these results was that I wondered about the root cause.

I actually consulted a friend of mine who specializes in detox to ask if it’s a good idea to take something that helps relieve constipation without addressing the root cause, she basically echoed what I suspected. That of course, finding and eliminating a root cause is very important.

However, detoxing whatever’s in your poop in the meantime, is very important so I feel comfortable using the aloe because I am consistently trying to figure out how to improve my health.

After many years of seeking the root cause of my constipation with no success, I’ve decided that for me it’s better to poop every day and continue to work on my overall health than to futilely seek to fix my constipation from the root out while potentially detoxing poorly the entire time.

Honest Review: Stockton Aloe Cream for Sunburn

Dr. Mike also sent me samples of his lotion, Youth-Derm Aloe Cream which we discussed in the video as well.

I was able to use it for quite a few months as one of the options on my very dry face and I can say it makes a nice light day cream or night cream for your face and definitely hydrates.

I do not credit it for helping the rash to go away but it was nice to have in the rotation.

We didn’t get to try the cream on an actual sunburn until March when we traveled to Arizona. My husband got quite burned on both arms and I shouted with glee that he got to be my test dummy.

I explained how Dr. Mike said that aloe could actually make a handprint in the middle of a sunburn because it heals so effectively. We applied aloe to an exact stripe on one of my husband’s sunburned arms and used a different non-aloe-based lotion on his other arm.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get a conclusive result at all. Not only did the side with the aloe not really look any different than the other side. But we definitely didn’t get a white stripe in the middle of his red, reddish-pink sunburn.

So could the Stockton aloe cream help a sunburn heal faster? Could be, Maybe we just didn’t see the dramatic results that we were hoping to get a picture of. 🙁

If you’re looking for an after-sun cream or a daily facial moisturizer, this product is certainly one to try.

One note: because it doesn’t have strong preservatives, it should only be left on the counter for about three months. It did take me nearly six to get all the way through it. I was definitely pushing its expiration.

You can keep it in the refrigerator to extend its life up to 12 months. That reminds me I have another tube that I need to start using before it begins to degrade, always a risk with natural products.

The Bottom Line on How Stockton Aloe Helps Me Poop

I’ve said many times that it’s so difficult to come down on one side or another on natural health protocols but on this one, I’m a raving fan.

The only other consistent way to ensure a good morning elimination for me is to drink more than a half bottle of wine. So for my liver’s sake, I’m going to go with the gut healing aloe as a daily part of my regimen.

Now I need to go try to finish that other very bitter full leaf aloe vera juice so that I can pull out my next jug of Stockton Aloe, get it thawed, and start getting back to being completely regular. In my experience, Stockton Aloe is well-sourced and carefully processed. It’s well worth it! 

GET STARTED WITH STOCKTON ALOE HERE