THE DIGESTIVE HEALER: SLIPPERY ELM

 

Ulmus Rubra

Other names know by: Slippery Elm Bark; Red Elm; Indian Elm

As you would have read in my introduction Slippery Elm Bark was the beginning of my interest in herbs. It was introduced to me by my dear old Nana (who passed away in 2008, about 3 months before her 100 birthday). At the time I was suffering with a lot of abdominal problems. I was in and out of hospital constantly with no real answers to speak of - just different vague verdicts from different doctors and specialists.

Even as a child my parents had me at the doctor on a regular basis with tummy problems which were usually put down to constipation. I now realise that meant that the good old Doc really had no idea what was going on and so the results of these doctors visits were that we usually left with some prescription that didn’t make any difference to my problems anyway.

Once I got into my late teens and early 20’s the ‘tummy troubles’ got much worse with frequent repeated visits to doctors and hospitals, tests and medications that still left me none the wiser and with no real results.

I had ignored dear old Nana’s advice until I after moving to Australia and discovering that once again the latest medication didn’t work long term. I’d had enough, so remembering Nana’s advice, I was off to hunt down some slippery elm bark. I had nothing to lose, might as well try it as a last resort and as I said, the rest is history.

What is Slippery Elm?

Slippery Elm is a powder, made from the inner bark of the Red Elm tree. Slippery Elm was introduced to western herbal medicine many years ago by the American Indians who have used it forever. It can now commonly be purchased in its powdered form or in capsules or tablets.

I have found the powdered form to be the best option. It is the most effective option as well as being the most cost effective with the capsules to be the next best option. The tablets often don’t seem to be quite as effective probably due to the binders used to hold the tablets together and making the slippery elm less available.

Slippery Elm has sooooo many uses! The most common one being for problems in the digestive tract where it works brilliantly. Slippery Elm Bark is a very healing herb and so it soothes and assists with healing all tissues it comes into contact with both internally and externally.

Taken internally it can bring fast relief to indigestion. In my case, my eventual diagnosis all those years ago was dyspepsia (not that that really means anything) and a possible ulcer (never confirmed). Slippery elm taken regularly helped to heal and calm these problems and changes in my diet eventually eliminated much of the problem completely. However, I do still have a bit of a sensitive belly and so I still take it off and on and it always helps every time. It is great for diarrhea as well as constipation. It will help with any digestive tract issues - anywhere from the top, down to the bottom! (Pardon the pun….).

Slippery Elm is not ‘just a medicinal herb’ - it is a food on it’s own- i.e. it contains vitamins and minerals and has great nutritional value. I have read that Slippery Elm as been used by people on chemotherapy and has been the only thing that they have been able to keep down, giving them some good quality healing nutrition. It can be made into a gruel or porridge and it is great for invalids and those recovering from serious illness.

My Nana apparently used it in my Dad’s bottle when he was a baby to settle his tummy and I wish I’d known about it when my kids were babies! I have used it for our dog when she was a puppy as she had a very easily upset belly due to being taken from her mother and bottle fed. She had slippery elm on her food every day for the first 12 months of her life and now at 9 years old, has a cast iron gut from what we’ve seen over the remaining years!

Slippery Elm taken internally will also help with coughs and other lung complaints and also supports the adrenal glands.

It can be used externally as a poultice for anything that is inflamed or that needs drawing such as splinters or boils. I have used it just a week ago on an abscess that my husband had had for about 3 weeks that just wasn’t clearing up. I made a poultice from approximately one teaspoon of slippery elm powder, a couple of drops of lavender oil and enough unpasteurised apple cider vinegar to form a paste. I put it on a gauze pad and wrapped a bandage around it, and left it on overnight. One application was all that was required, it cleared up over the next few days.

I also used the same mixture a few months ago on a spider bite. I didn’t think to use it until about two days after the bite occurred behind my knee - by this stage my leg from the knee down was very swollen, the area around the bite was hard and red and very hot to touch as well as being extremely uncomfortable. The first poultice made it feel a lot better within a few hours (although I felt quite yuck for a while). I left it on over night and by the morning the heat was gone along with a lot of the swelling. I think I applied two more over the next day and night and it was good. It was a little itchy for a while and the skin peeled around the bite but I’ve never had any more problems with it unlike a previous bite from about a year ago that I had on my shoulder which was left untreated as I didn’t know what it was when it happened and now still flares up and gets itchy and sore every couple of months. Maybe I should try the poultice next time it flares up and see if it helps to get rid of it!

To take slippery elm powder internally, mix about a teaspoon with a small amount of water and drink. If you leave it to sit for a while, it will thicken and become mucilaginous (like wallpaper paste). It is great to take it like that, but if you can’t handle it just mix and swallow. It’ll still do a great job!

That’s some basics on my favorite herb Slippery Elm Bark. Buy some, and keep it in the cupboard (it keeps forever), but don’t forget it’s there - use it!