uncertainty

i looked up whether aloe vera was edible, because i found these specimens in an asian grocery. the answer to my question was yet one more example of the uncertainty of modern life. the gel may help with burns, but it may not. the gel has moisturizing properties, but may not, as often claimed, soothe psoriasis. the gel is edible, and yet may be toxic. the gel itself, separated from a layer of aloin near the skin is likely safer than consuming both, but may still contain toxins. what seems the most clear is that some people have eaten it in some way ever since ancient egypt and greece. and that science had not made anything much clearer since then, but that if you and your people have eaten some form of aloe for several millenia, you should listen to your mother and your grandmother and eat it, preparing it carefully the way they do, and the way their ancestors have always done. i wish it were simpler. i wish there weren’t so much incentive and money behind making things complicated, so that we all begin to be dependent on experts who probably don’t know more than mothers always have.

aloe vera gel and skin