Jessica Washington first learned about slippery elm bark when she was a patient dealing with symptoms of a Helicobacter pylori infection. “I’ve always been more holistic-minded, but I was new to the world of stomach issues,” she told The Epoch Times. “Of course, I tried to learn as much as I could about slippery elm.
Using herbs and plants as medicine is a really good way to support your body—possibly without running into side effects.” Ms. Washington said slippery elm helped “take away some of the pain I was dealing with, and I think it helped with my healing.
I felt like it was doing something good for my body.” Demulcents prevent the caustic effects of irritants by coating the GI tract as they make their way through it, allowing people to tolerate eating without aggravating symptoms. “The predominant utilization of slippery elm as a demulcent comes from extensive historical medical literature that supports its use for a wide range of internal applications where a soothing demulcent is indicated, in irritated and inflamed mucous membranes and tissues,” the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia’s article on slippery elm explained.
Slippery elm has been used for a number of inflammatory and mucosal irritations involving the GI tract, as well as other organs, as noted in “The Physio-Medical Dispensatory” written by William Cook in 1869. Bark poultices were used both externally, for wounds and frostbite, and internally to treat diarrhea and dysentery. By coati.