Aloe vera and Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the country's fastest growing and most dangerous diseases. Approximately 16 million people in the U.S. (6% of the population) suffer from this disease and another 30 million are estimated to have diabetes but are undiagnosed.

About one million individuals are diagnosed with diabetes each year, a 40% increase over the past decade.

Furthermore, the rate of diagnosis in people in their 30’s has increased by 70%. This indicates diabetes is attacking Americans an earlier age. Among other health problems, a patient with diabetes can have up to four times the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.

Further study needs to be done to better understand the anti-diabetic activity of Aloe vera. However, Aloe vera along with other lifestyle and diet changes may be able to help control this dangerous disease.

A number of studies have shown that Aloe vera can be part of the answer to help control diabetes. Of course, diabetes is a complicated disease that involves lifestyle and diet modification, but adding Aloe vera to your diet can definitely help. Numerous studies conducted in recent years have proven that Aloe vera has anti-diabetic activity.

For example, a double blind study of 72 people by a team of scientists in Thailand demonstrated Aloe vera’s potential(1). Participants in the test group added a tablespoon of Aloe vera juice to their diet. After six weeks, the average blood sugar level of the 39 participants in the test group declined 43% from 250mg/dl to 142 mg/dl. The “control” group (those not receiving Aloe vera) showed an average increase in blood sugar of 2.4% during the same period.

Also, the Aloe vera treatment group saw blood triglyceride levels decline by 44% over the six week period from an average of 220 mg/dl to 123 mg/dl. The control group showed an average increase in blood triglyceride levels of 8.4%.

The scientists authoring the study believe the results suggest that Aloe vera has potential in treating diabetes because it can lower not only blood sugar, but also triglyceride levels which are often high in diabetic patients.

This study confirms the results of previous work done by Dr. Agarwal, who conducted a clinical trial on 5,000 patients with heart disease over a five year period (2). After adding Aloe vera to the patients diet he found a marked reduction in triglyceride and blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. (Side Note: ALL 5,000 patients were still alive at the end of the 5 years!!)

In 2006, researchers in Tokyo, Japan at the Biochemical Research Laboratory ran a clinical trial of 70 people diagnosed as borderline diabetic(3). The results indicated that regular intake of Aloe vera helped reduce levels of fasting blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin. The scientists concluded that Aloe vera may play a role in preventing and improving diabetes.

The Japanese researchers also identified five phytosterol compounds (also known as plant sterols) that they believe give Aloe vera its anti-diabetic activity. Phytosterols are also the compounds now being added to foods such as butter to help lower cholesterol.


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Bunyapraphatsara N., et al. Antidiabetic activity of Aloe vera L. juice II. Clinical trial in diabetes mellitus patients in combination with glibenclamide. Phytomedicine. 1996;3,(3):245-248.
Agarwal, OP. Prevention of atheromatous heart disease. Angiology. 1985:36(8):485-492
Tanaka, M, et al. Identification of Five Phytosterols from Aloe Vera Gel as Anti-diabetic Compounds. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. July 2006;29(7):1418-22.