Dear Friends,
Recently, I shared some of my favorite reasons to use Aloe vera for digestive and gut health.
As a quick refresher, Aloe vera may help support a healthy stomach acid balance, improve the absorption of certain nutrients like vitamins C, E, and B12, and even act as a prebiotic to help beneficial bacteria grow and thrive in the gut.
But there’s an important catch.
To experience those kinds of benefits, you need to be using a high-quality, potent Aloe vera supplement — the kind used in research.
And unfortunately, that’s not always easy to find.
Historically, Aloe vera has been one of the most adulterated botanicals on the market.
That’s partly because Aloe is used so widely — not just in supplements, but in skin care and topical products too.
And whenever an ingredient becomes popular, bad actors tend to show up.
Some try to pass off fake Aloe. Others use subpar Aloe that lacks potency. And in both cases, the consumer loses.
So today, I want to give you a simple checklist drawn from 25 years of making Aloe vera products — one you can use to help make sure you’re getting a premium, authentic Aloe vera supplement and avoid getting ripped off.
1. Look for USDA Certified Organic Aloe Vera.
This is always a smart idea, but I think it’s especially important with Aloe vera.
You want your Aloe to be as pure as possible — free of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, industrial pollutants, and other contaminants.
And growing conditions matter too.
For example, the main Aloe source we use is grown in ideal conditions in southeastern Mexico. The farm is certified organic, located far from industrial pollution, blessed with mineral-rich soil, plenty of sunshine, and abundant mountain spring water.
That combination creates ideal conditions for growing some of the purest and most potent Aloe vera in the world.
2. Make sure the Aloe vera is freeze-dried, not spray-dried.
This one is very important.
Part of what makes Aloe vera so special is its biological complexity. Aloe contains more than 200 nutritional compounds, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and many other trace nutrients.
Most of these are present in relatively small amounts. But Aloe’s brilliance is not just in one nutrient — it’s in how all of these compounds work together.
Some Aloe researchers compare this to a symphony orchestra. A single instrument can sound nice on its own, but the full orchestra working together is far more powerful.
That’s how Aloe works best too. And that is why drying method matters so much.
High heat methods like spray drying can damage fragile Aloe compounds and reduce potency. Freeze drying does a much better job preserving the full nutritional profile.
At NatureCity, we go even further by using patented freeze-drying methods designed to better preserve Aloe’s natural activity.
Also, spray-dried Aloe often uses carriers like maltodextrin — and that’s where some of the adulteration problems begin.
3. Independently Certified by the International Aloe Science Council (IASC).
If there is one third-party certification I really want to see on Aloe, it’s this one.
The IASC was created specifically to address the problem of fake and fraudulent Aloe vera products.
That matters because when consumers buy fake Aloe and don’t get results, they assume Aloe doesn’t work. That hurts both the customer and Aloe vera’s reputation.
The IASC helps solve this by testing Aloe vera for purity and content. In other words, it helps confirm that the Aloe in the product is real.
There’s even a little trick you can try at home. If you put a drop of iodine on Aloe powder and it turns very dark brown or black, that usually indicates that starch or maltodextrin is present — a sign the powder may not be pure Aloe.
Still, the best protection is independent certification. That’s why we only use Aloe that has been tested for purity and content by the IASC.
4. Make Sure the Product Is Not Made with the Aloe latex Part of the Plant.
This is another important quality point.
Aloe latex contains compounds called anthraquinones, like aloin and emodin, which can have a strong laxative effect and may cause unwanted side effects.
When Aloe is properly made without those latex compounds, it has a long history of being well tolerated.
This is another reason I like the IASC certification. One of their requirements is that the Aloe raw material must test very low in aloin, the main anthraquinone compound.
Their standard is less than 10 parts per million.
The Aloe we use consistently tests at 1 part per million or less — barely detectable, and far better than the IASC standard.
5. Pay Attention to the Brand’s Money-Back Guarantee
This may not sound as glamorous as organic certification or freeze drying, but it tells you a lot.
If a company truly believes in the quality of its product, it should be willing to stand behind it with a meaningful guarantee.
A 30- or 60-day guarantee often isn’t enough time to properly judge a supplement.
That’s why we offer a full 1-year money back guarantee at NatureCity.
We’re able to do that because we’re confident in the quality of our Aloe and the results people experience with it.
So here’s the quick recap.
If you want a premium aloe vera supplement, look for these five things:
1) Certified organic Aloe vera for purity
2) Freeze-dried Aloe vera to preserve potency
3) IASC certification to confirm purity and real Aloe content
4) No Aloe latex to avoid unwanted effects
5) A long money-back guarantee from the brand
If you find a product that checks all five boxes, you have a much better chance of experiencing the real benefits Aloe vera has to offer.
At NatureCity, you can find that kind of Aloe in our TrueAloe capsules and AloeCran drink powder.
And if you’re looking for a topical aloe product, take a look at TrueAloeGel as well.
Yours for Good Health,
Carl Pradelli
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