Herb Focus – Slippery elm bark
Slippery elm bark, Ulmus Fulva is an extremely versatile and useful herb.
It is soothing and demulcent, nutritive and topically useful as an emollient. The addition of a few grains of powder or drops of tincture of myrrh enhances its antiseptic and healing action. It has a long lasting antacid barrier and contains an abundance of mucilage.
Its uses are numerous but include inflammation or ulceration anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract, gastric or duodenal ulcer, acute or chromic dyspepsia and wind, diverticulosis, colitis, before a journey to allay travel sickness and IBS.
Its blanketing action protects the gastric mucosa from the erosive effects of too much acid. Reflux is one of the most common causes of dyspepsia; slippery elm bark powder protects the oesophageal mucosa and relieves pain of indigestion. It suppresses acid production during the night when mucosal damage may occur. Together with carminatives such as chamomile and ginger it allays abdominal distension, reflux and hiatus hernia.
It is also of value during convalescence, boils, abscesses or discharging wounds or vaginitis.
Therefore as you can see from the above it is a very useful herb for the gut and I believe if we could only take one herb to a dessert island this would be the one I might pick!