by Sahil Rawal (’19)

Diabetes mellitus is an epidemic that leads to many deaths every year. It is caused when a person’s blood sugars are too high, and can eventually lead to organ failure and death if left untreated. Billions of dollars each year are spent trying to find potential cures for this disease, but unfortunately most are to no avail. However, recent studies have shown that aloe vera may actually be used as a therapy for patients with diabetes, and it may have very beneficial outcomes.

Dr. William R. Dick and his team of researchers from the David Grant Medical Center decided to retrospectively search through comprehensive databases to see the effects of aloe vera on diabetic patients.  From combing patient charts, the researchers collected Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) and the Hemoglobin A1c levels to see how the patients responded to the aloe vera treatment. The results showed that the FBG decreased by 46.6 mg/dl and the HbA1c decreased by 1.05, both of which is positive for diabetic patients.

Although this study has many limitations and was not as controlled as the experimenters wanted, it did show the benefit of utilizing aloe vera as a therapeutic agent for diabetes patients. Aloe vera may have a promising future with further research.

References:

1. R. Dick et. al., Reduction of fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c using oral aloe vera: a meta-analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 22 (2016). doi: 10.1089/acm.2015.0122.
2. Image retrieved from: https://www.google.com/search?q=aloe+vera&espv=2&biw=1440&bih=829&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiekaWQm7rOAhVBLSYKHbnaDpcQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=iW2ApM1aKVPswM%3A