Hilary Canto's Latest Article

The Power of Aloe Vera & Forever Living Products April 16, 2011

ABOUT ME
I trained with The College of Natural Nutrition, qualifying in 1998 after experiencing the power of nutritional healing for myself conquering Endometriosis (from diagnosis at age 27). I continue today with self healing in association with medical expertise and have now conquered Fibromyalgia 18 months ago too (from diagnosis at age 40, I’m now 50 this year).
I treated over 60 clients based at a clinic in Malvern and much of my healing work incorporates the use of Aloe Vera. The reason for this is that it is the closest natural health product around containing the full spectrum of necessary ingredients that work synergistically with the human body. It can create cellular & physiological change without harm. It has been used for thousands of years throughout the world by all cultures and seen as the ‘healing plant’.
Many conditions may be helped with Aloe Vera. However not all species are beneficial and it is the one type Aloe Barbadensis Miller that is used for its health benefits.
SO HOW DOES ALOE VERA WORK?
There are four basic components to the Aloe Vera Plant: - 1) Rind 2) Sap 3) Mucilage 4) Inner Gel
It is the inner gel that we use for both internal and external application. The gel contains Lignin & Saponin.
Lignin allows the gel to penetrate the skin for topical application. This is why Aloe is often known as the ‘Burn plant’, and is used increasingly by burns units in hospitals. I’m sure many of us have chopped off a bit of Aloe and used it on our hands when we’ve caught them in the oven as it heals, reduces scarring and alleviates the pain. It is used in many skin conditions too.
Saponins contain antiseptic properties and are capable of cleansing. This is one of the main reasons I use Aloe in any nutritional treatment programme as a cell cleanser.
Whilst Aloe itself is quite acidic with a measured ph of 4.55, when taken orally it has an alkalising effect, just the same as lemon juice does. I am sure most of you have heard about body acidity and alkalinity, well this applies to blood ph not just urine ph, and Aloe assists in balancing the body ph to a better alkaline condition. Disease spreads rapidly when the body is too acidic and alkaline foods help to combat too much acidity. So I treat Aloe as a food not a supplement. Due to the saponin content, Aloe can cleanse toxic cellular membranes allowing nutrients to be used correctly by the cell. When a cell is toxic it cannot do that and hence disease accelerates.
What do I mean by a toxic cell? When the body is too acidic, it also becomes dehydrated and this allows cholesterol to thicken around the cell membrane. We have all been scared into thinking too much cholesterol is bad for us, and to an extent that is right, but the real story is that we need cholesterol to allow proper nutrient utilisation in our bodies or we will die. You can have too low cholesterol as well as too high. The cell membrane allows the transmission and reception of both electrical and chemical messages for the body and brain, in and out of the cell. Cholesterol is predominantly concerned with electrical messages, but if it thickens it affects the osmotic transportation of necessary chemical nutrients for proper cell function.
When the cholesterol thickens around the cell membrane the minerals that are crucial to our health cannot get in and out of the cell properly, so the stronger ones become trapped inside it and the weaker ones cannot get in at all. Then mixed messages start to be transmitted in the body that signals something is not right and disease begins to set in. If this carries on the cell begins to dysfunction and disease becomes very serious and life threatening. Every part of our body is made up of cells – skin, hair, bone, muscle, internal organs, blood, immune system etc. Any cellular dysfunction will occur in our weakest areas which we may have inherited genetically or will be predisposed to, meaning that we may not get the exact problem our parents had, but there will be a linked problem that we may develop, due to the fact that our bodies do not work in isolation but as a whole and what effects one part, affects another. In addition we are ingesting more and more chemicals in our food and water, and breathing polluted air. These substances have to be adapted in our body and they also get locked into the cell membrane and inside the cell when cells begin to dysfunction. Our immune systems become compromised and desperately try to sort out the chaos that is forming inside our bodies. Not everything gets eliminated through our digestive process, so it becomes misplaced in the body and the skin may try to rid the body of excess toxins, the colon or pancreas goes into confusion and cannot process correctly, arteries begin to fur, blood clots form, the liver gets overloaded trying to clear the toxic build, the lungs struggle to clear air through properly, joints stiffen, pain starts, headaches, lethargy, etc .Disease starts to become normal to our body instead of health.
Health is actually what we call ‘Homeostasis’. Where the body is in balance and can deal with most average illness it may encounter. Ill-health is when homeostasis is not there and the body is in a state of dis-ease, it cannot heal itself easily.
Where Aloe assists is that it helps to restore the cellular membranes by cleansing the cholesterol membrane build up so that the locked in toxic build up can start to be released and the body’s natural healing ability can be restored. In effect it sends the right messages to the cell so that nutrients can be used properly again. This means that if in your healing process you need additional concentrated vitamins, minerals or herbs, they will work much more efficiently.
However for some people Aloe is all that is needed because it contains 75 ingredients that the human body needs to function healthily and in harmony. These are:-
Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Chromium and Iron;
Vitamins A, C, E; B Vitamins including Choline, Vit B12 (rare in plants), Folic Acid
19 of the 20 Amino Acids the body requires for optimum nutrition (the 20th is present also but in debate of how strongly contained)
Major digestive enzymes and anti-inflammatory enzymes
Short and long chain sugars
Plant Sterols
Salicylic Acid (Aspirin pain killer)

As you can see Aloe is an essential source of nutrition not just another health supplement. I want you to think for a moment about plants and humans – how many of you garden or tend houseplants? Think about what your plants need to be healthy – Sunlight, water, nutrients from the soil, love, oxygen, correct temperature.
Now think about what your body needs?
Sunlight, water, nutrients from the earth, love, oxygen, correct temperature
With Aloe you are as close to feeding your body naturally more than any other food. We are like plants biological, chemical and energy beings. When we look after ourselves we flourish, when we are neglected or neglect ourselves we wither and die. We live in a cycle of growth and death just as plants do, we can flower and reach our full potential, or we can neglect ourselves and never flower. Aloe is a soul food not just another supplement.
That’s why it may help balance blood pressure, blood sugar, heart health & cholesterol, digestion and colon problems, joints & muscles, the immune system, skin complaints, the lungs and asthma and many more conditions.
This brings me to why I have chosen Forever Living Products for my Aloe Vera. There are many Aloe products out there and why should this one be any better?
I have used the best companies in my nutritional treatment as they have proven time and again to produce the best quality supplements. However my work is not based just on giving out supplements. In fact I keep supplements to a minimum, but I may recommend ones that cost a bit more. The reason being they do the job as I expect them to and in the shorter time. The body shouldn’t really need to take a supplement for a prolonged time. From time to time I will recommend something in the health shops and stores depending on what is required and what concentration is needed.
If you are taking Aloe Vera, you are unlikely to need a strong concentration of other vitamins or minerals, so the ones you can buy in the health store will top up if you think you need them. However with Aloe, it works while you are taking it and when you stop you may find some symptoms return. Dr Peter Atherton ( Advisory Board of FLP) says this is because it is a suppressant. I would say that it depends on the rest of your lifestyle and diet, because I have seen it have long lasting effect and it has helped me. I stopped it for a long time and have now returned to it for a while. Due to my own diet and lifestyle, I don’t expect to keep taking it. However in chronic long term conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteo arthritis and other conditions it may be necessary to make it a part of your daily life. Every individual responds differently, and it will be what works for you.
I have watched Forever Living Products as it has grown over the last 30 years and can wholly recommend the quality of their products and say hand on heart they are 100% natural and the leaders in Aloe Vera production worldwide. The integrity of the company and their commitment to natural health is outstanding. They were established in 1978 and now operate in 145 countries. The UK company was formed in 1992. Forever and its affiliates have become the largest grower, manufacturer and distributor of aloe vera and bee products in the world.
They do not use herbicides or pesticides and have the only patented stabilisation process to ensure that the aloe vera is essentially identical to the inner leaf gel. They are not dependent on any other supplier and can guarantee the quality of their product 100%.
Many Aloe products do not contain enough Aloe to make a difference and do not have the quality control and purity of the FLP Aloe Vera. I used to take and recommend another make but I will say from a personal view that the FLP Aloe Vera is a superior product. The cost of taking the best is worth it to my health, and as I said I speak from battling with my own health issues as well as treating over 60 clients.
That quality guarantee also extends to the consumer. No other health product company will give you a 60 day money back guarantee with no questions asked!
Forever extends the same quality to its bee products, producing the finest in the world. They not only have their own Aloe growers, they have their own bee farms too. Their production provides work and assists communities worldwide.
In addition if you would like an opportunity to develop your own business with FLP and help others, they are a wonderful, caring, ethical and superb company for developing your own personal dreams and goals with. Believe me you have nothing to lose, you’re recommending the best products to help people with their health!
There is a wide range of products for you to choose from.
Take a look at my FLP website – www.hilarycanto.myflpbiz.com
Love and blessings
Hilary