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Clair Hamaker
3307 SW 331 Street
Federal Way, WA 98023
October 5, 2011
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
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A. A HISTORY OF SLIPPERY ELM.
B. LOCATION OF SLIPPERY ELM.
C. CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF SLIPPERY ELM.
D. MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF SLIPPERY ELM.
E. CONTRA-INDICATIONS OF SLIPPERY ELM.
F. KNOWN HERBAL FORMULAS OF SLIPPERY ELM.
G. DOSAGE AND APPLICATIONS OF SLIPPERY ELM.
H. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
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THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
A HISTORY OF SLIPPERY ELM
Slippery elm was found and first used by the Native Americans. Using the inner bark of
the tree they used it for almost every health need. They used it topically to treat wounds, boils,
sores, etc. because of slippery elm’s wonderful healing powers. Recently in history they have
found that some of the natural sugars in slippery elm are thought to have immunity-stimulating
properties as well as anti-inflammatory properties. The Native Americans would mix it into a
paste and, as it dried, it made the most wonderful natural bandage. Slippery elm also made a
wonderful poultice for inflammation. For stings and bites it was wonderful for drawing out the
venom and poisons. Another useful application the Native Americans found for slippery elm was
not for a health need, but to preserve food by wrapping meat in the bark.
As the great West began to be populated by more and more pioneers, hunters, trappers,
etc., the Native Americans shared their knowledge of the wonderful properties of their different
medicinal herbs, including slippery elm. It has been documented and recorded that the pioneers,
like the Native Americans, prized slippery elm and used it for almost everything. They used it
for sore throats, boils, wounds, cold sores. They used slippery elm to treat the chaffings of a
farm worker. Conquering the great West came with a lot of health needs, and slippery elm came
to the rescue almost every time. It was even recorded that in war times it was used as a topical
antiseptic cream for gunshot wounds. And was also used as a survival gruel.
The King’s Dispensatory, a medical text published in 1898, had this to say about Slippery
Elm:
Elm bark is nutritive, expectorant, diuretic, demulcent, and emollient, and
is a very valuable remedial agent. In mucous inflammation of the lungs,
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253-874-3310 bowels, stomach, bladder, or kidneys, it is used freely in the form of a
mucilaginous drink (1ounce of the powdered bark to 1 ounce of water), it
is highly beneficial, as well as in diarrhea, dysentery, coughs, pleurisy,
strangury, and sore throat, in all of which it tends powerfully to allay the
inflammation. A tablespoon of the powder boiled in 1-pint new milk affords
a nourishing diet for infants weaned from the breast, preventing the bowel
complaints to which they are subject, and rendering them fat and healthy.
Some physicians consider the constant use of it, during and after the
seventh months of gestation, as advantageous in facilitating and causing
an easy delivery; ½ pint of the infusion to be drank daily.
The following story is an excerpt from the talk, Rise to the Stature that is within You, by
Gordon B. Hinckley (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) about a story
of a boy healed by slippery elm during the pioneer days.
One of the darkest chapters in the history of our people occurred in 1838 when
they were being driven from Missouri. The incident to which I refer is known as
the Haun’s Mill Massacre. In that tragic happening Amanda Smith lost her
husband and her son Sardius. Her younger boy Alma was savagely wounded. In
the darkness she carried him from the mill to a shelter in the brush. His hip joint
had been shot away. Through the night she cried out in prayer, “Oh my Heavenly
Father … what shall I do? Thou seest my poor wounded boy and knowest my
inexperience. Oh Heavenly Father direct me what to do!” She later wrote in her
journal concerning what happened: “I was directed as by a voice speaking to me.
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“The ashes of our fire [were] still smouldering. We had been burning the
bark of the shag-bark hickory. I was directed to take those ashes and make a lye
and put a cloth saturated with it right into the wound. It hurt, but little Alma was
too near dead to heed it much. Again and again I saturated the cloth and put it into
the hole from which the hip-joint had been ploughed. …
“Having done as directed I again prayed to the Lord and was again instructed as
distinctly as though a physician had been standing by speaking to me.
“Near by was a slippery-elm tree. From this I was told to make a slippery-elm
poultice and fill the wound with it.” (In Edward W. Tullidge, The Women of
Mormondom, New York, 1877; reprint, Salt Lake City, 1957, 1965, p. 124.)
She was able to get the injured boy to a house. With a mother’s love and a
mother’s faith, she said to him, “The Lord can make something there in the place
of your hip.” She had him lie on his face, and there he remained while a miracle
occurred. Of that miracle she wrote, “So Alma laid on his face for five weeks,
until he was entirely recovered—a flexible gristle having grown in place of the
missing joint and socket, which remains to this day a marvel to physicians.
“On the day that he walked again I was out of the house fetching a bucket of
water, when I heard screams from the children. Running back, in affright, I
entered, and there was Alma on the floor, dancing around, and the children
screaming in astonishment and joy.
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“It is now nearly forty years ago,” she concluded, “but Alma has never been the
least crippled during his life, and he has traveled quite a long period of the time as
a missionary of the gospel and a living miracle of the power of God.”
Not only a wonderful medicinal herb for the pioneers but, like the Native Americans
using the herb for preserving meat and other non-medical uses, the pioneers found many ways to
use this herb and the whole tree itself in their daily life. For instance, slippery elm wood makes
wonderful hubs for wagon wheels owing to the shock resistant nature of the interlocking grain in
the fibers of the tree. Slippery elm’s fibrous nature in its inner bark made it an excellent source
to make rope, twine, and even thread. The pioneers wove it into such items as bow strings, rope,
clothing, woven mats, snowshoe binding, and even some musical instruments. The wood can
also be cured and used to start fires using the bow drill method. It grinds into a very flammable
powder from the friction. Slippery elm’s uses are many, not just medicinally, but in a really
practical sense as well.
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
LOCATION OF SLIPPERY ELM
Found in North and South America, the slippery elm tree is a large tree about 50-60 feet
in height, recognized by its reddish-brown bark and wood. It has a bark of a rough and scaly
quality. The part of the tree used for medicinal purposes is actually the inner bark of the tree.
When ground it has a pale brown color. Strips of the inner bark can also be used to bind wounds
as well. The leaves of the tree are broad, long, acuminate type leaves. They are rough on both
sides and hairy. The coloration of the leaves is very interesting as they are a deep yellow, olive
green above and lighter and sometimes rusty colored beneath. The buds are covered in a russet
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down. Small flowers appear between March and April. It is a deciduos tree. Slippery Elm is
mainly located in North and South America preferring soil that is found in high, open places
where it can be firm and dry. Slippery elm in North america is most prominent in the regions
stretching from Southeast North Dakota to Maine and Southern Quebec down south to the
northern borders of Florida and over to Eastern Texas.
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENT OF SLIPPERY ELM
Slippery Elm is noted for being a demulcent, a diuretic, an emollient, an expectorant, a
pectoral, a nutritive and a tonic. It is also slightly astringent. It is a demulcent as its
mucilaginous qualities coat and soothe the digestive tract as it makes its way down through the
system. It makes a protective coating on the walls of the digestive tract as it goes down the
system, and that is what causes the soothing, pain relieving qualities of the herb. It is a mild
diuretic and helps increase urine flow, eliminating waste from the body. As an emollient it coats
the insides of the body and it helps to soften and protect the surfaces of the organs that it is
lining. As an emollient it also “greases” the way and helps move waste out of the body. As a
nutritive it helps sustain the body in a holistic and natural, life-sustaining way. It feeds the
body’s tissues with many important vitamins and minerals. The best thing about this nutritive
herb is that it is so mild that even if a patient cannot keep any other foods down, slippery elm is
mild enough that the body will accept it. In today’s world where “mild foods” for the sick means
sugar-filled Jell-O or chocolate pudding, slippery elm is a wonderfully nutritious alternative.
This is because it doesn’t just feed the body but heals it as well. Being a tonic, one can use it for
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very long periods of time, and this is especially helpful in instances with long-term digestive
illness, or in cases of famine.
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF SLIPPERY ELM
Dr. Christopher goes into great detail about the wonderful medicinal qualities of slippery
elm in his Herbal Reference Book. He explains how, because of slippery elm’s great
mucilaginous properties, it is excellent for soothing and dispersing inflammation in the system.
It draws out impurities as it heals tissues rapidly. It also strengthens the tissues it comes into
contact with, I believe, because of the wonderful nutrients it possesses. Slippery elm helps by
absorbing noxious gases in the stomach and helps to bring the body into a more neutral and
alkaline balance. All these qualities not only show what an important herb this is to the digestive
system, but also to the body as a whole to help cleanse, nourish, and heal itself.
In the How to Herb Book by Velma J. Keith and Monteen Gordon there is quite
an extensive list of ailments typically treated by slippery elm:
Has been used in the following: Adrenal glands, asthma, bladder, boils, bowels,
bronchitis, burns, cancer, colitis, colon, constipation, cough, cramps, cystitis,
demulcent, diabetes, diaper rash, diarrhea, digestion, diphtheria, diverticulitis,
dysentery, eczema, esophagus, eyes, fever, flatulence-gas, flu-influenza, food,
gangrene, gastrointestinal, hay fever, hemorrhage, hemorrhoids, herpes, hiatal
hernia, hoarseness, inflammation, intestines, kidneys, lungs, mucous membranes,
to remove mucus, nutrition, pneumonia, poultices, poison ivy, rashes, respiratory
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system, sex stimulant, sores, stomach acidity, sore throat, tonsillitis, tumors,
ulcers, urinary tract, vaginal discharge, vaginal douche, venereal disease,
whooping cough, worms-parasites, wounds, yellow jaundice.(V. Keith and M.
Gordon 59)
Whoo! What a list! Slippery elm is a WONDERFUL HERB!!! Although it is such a wonderful
herb, so healing and life giving, there are times when it is a person’s time to go. Dr. Christopher
gave an example of this in his Herbal Reference Guide:
We once had a case of an eight-year-old boy who was like a skeleton. He could
not eat any food or drink any water. He’d lain in the hospital so long that he had
developed very bad bed sores. His spine was open with the bones protruding, as
was his hip bone, which also protruded through the flesh. The hospital physician
had sent him home from the hospital as a hopeless case. There was nothing more
they could do for him.
He was put on slippery elm gruel, one teaspoon at a time. Poultices of slippery
elm were placed on his hips and spine. Within weeks, he was back to normal
weight, his flesh was restored, and he looked like a perfect specimen of health,
but he lacked energy. Nothing we gave him would give him strength. It was
suggested that our healing ministrations could be contrary to the Lord’s will
concerning this boy. With this change, it was believed to be his time had come,
and the only thing that the parents could do was administer to him and dedicate
him to the Lord. This was done with the boy’s approval, and as soon as the
“amen” was said, the little boy looked up and smiled. He then said, “Good-bye
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Daddy, good-bye Doc.” and he was gone with a smile on his face. (D.Christopher,
The School of Natural Healing Reference Guide 342)
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
CONTRA-INDICATIONS OF SLIPPERY ELM
I have found only a few minor contraindications for slippery elm. Slippery elm is one of
the safest herbs that even tiny infants can ingest with complete safety. It really is not only a
medicinal herb but a very safe and nutritious food that can be eaten regularly. The How to Herb
Book says that it should be taken with a copious amount of water, and in my experience with this
herb that is sound advice as it expands in the body as it goes down the digestive tract, mixing
itself with the liquids found therein. Those who have found allergies to elm tree pollen might
have a reaction to slippery elm powder, but this is a slight risk. Also, slippery elm might slow
down the absorption of other medicines that you are taking, so that is something to be aware of.
Generally though, slippery elm is one of the mildest and safest herbs to ingest in the body or to
use externally.
An important last thing to note, as far as contraindications of slippery elm go, is that in
past history people have used the whole bark, both the outer bark combined with the inner bark,
to cause a natural abortion to happen in a pregnancy. I have had no personal experience using
the outer bark of the slippery elm tree, and in all my memories of my studies I believe that I have
only ever heard of herbalists using the wonderful inner bark of slippery elm. All herbs should be
used with caution, and should be researched even if they are being administered by a
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knowledgeable practician. We each should be in charge of what goes into our bodies, and I
expect any good herbalist would encourage the people they are helping to try and learn as much
about the herbs they are using as possible.
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
KNOWN HERBAL FORMULAS OF SLIPPERY ELM
Slippery Elm has several known herbal formulas, but I have found that because of its
mucilaginous and binding qualities it is included in many other herbal remedies as a binding
herb. The three main herbal formulas I have found (and used) for slippery elm are: the slippery
elm drink, the slippery elm gruel, and the slippery elm paste. All three of these have variations
on a theme, but can be used in their most basic forms with wonderful success.
The slippery elm drink is simply a tablespoon of the slippery elm powder mixed quickly
into about 8 ounces of distilled water. Drink down before the liquid turns into a gel. Follow
immediately with another 8 ounces of distilled water. This herbal remedy is excellent for aiding
digestion. It not only coats the entire digestive tract but, as the water is mixed with the herb, it
also saturates the herb and expands, quite like dehydrated foods that expand as they fill with
digestive juices in the digestive process. As it expands it helps to push food and waste through
and out the bowels. It also seems to gather up extra mucus along the way and help it out the
proper channels as well, cleaning the entire bowel.
Slippery elm gruel is a wonderful herbal remedy for any kind of stomach upset such as
nausea, flu, motion sickness. Anytime your body needs food, but you are having a difficulty
keeping anything down, you need to reach for the slippery elm gruel. To make the gruel, first
take about a teaspoon of the slippery elm powder and mix just a tiny bit of distilled water into it.
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Slippery elm is very hard to mix in with water so you need to start out making more of a paste
(think gravy making), and then, after you have made a good paste, you can thin it down with
water. Not very much of the powder is needed to make a large portion of the gruel. Again this
gruel coats and soothes the stomach and digestive tracts while aiding the digestive system to rid
itself of mucus and waste and also feed the body with good nutrition.
The third basic herbal formula for slippery elm is the slippery elm paste. This is
extremely basic and was used by the Native Americans. To speed healing of a scrape or wound,
mix up a tiny bit of the slippery elm powder with a tiny bit of water, make a paste and put it on
the wound. A few things are happening here, as the paste dries it makes a natural protective
band aid for the wound. It keeps the germs out, but it also is giving a little bit of nutrition to the
wound, and helping it to heal.
Each of these formulas could be altered in different ways to gain more benefit for an
individual’s needs. For instance, the slippery elm drink could have licorice added to it to aid
digestion even more. I have seen one herbal remedy that was a slippery elm drink but the
preparer had added licorice, marshmallow, bentonite clay and psyllium seeds to it. All of these
added herbs were complimented by the slippery elm and they all worked beautifully together to
help the body cleanse and be nourished so it could heal. The slippery elm gruel also has several
variations. To benefit a child who didn’t like the texture of the gruel, a preparer could add a little
applesauce. A little bit of cloves could be added for antibacterial qualities, or cinnamon for
aiding digestion and warming the body. A mild tea like red raspberry could be made up and
used as the liquid to make the gruel. Catnip for children would be another option and very
calming and soothing as well. Even the paste could have a tiny bit of goldenseal or comfrey
added to it to help heal the wound. Slippery elm is extremely useful and very versatile.
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As I mentioned before, slippery elm is used in many different herbal combinations. In
Dr. John Christopher’s School of Natural Healing Herbal Reference Guide I counted slippery
elm being used as an ingredient in at least 17 herbal formulas and was referenced as a wonderful
aid for more than fifteen illnesses. I wanted to have a visual for how many times slippery elm
was referenced in this book, so inserted a note card into every page where it was mentioned and
after over 80 references you can imagine how the binding on my book was taxed. Slippery elm
is a wonderful herb worth having in your herbal medicine cabinet.
Some other herbal formulas that Dr. Christopher included in his chapter on slippery elm
in his book The School of Natural Healing Herbal Reference Guide include the following
formulas for gastritis, bruises, sores, female genito-urinary problems, growths, tumors, etc, and
several combinations for coughs, whooping cough, etc.
Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach)
1 ounce Slippery elm(Ulmus rubra; U. fulva)
1 ounce Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus)
½ ounce Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis)
½ ounce Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)
1 teaspoon Cayenne (Capsicum frutescens; C. minimum)
Preparation: Simmer the first 4 herbs for 20 minutes in 1 quart of water and strain
hot over the cayenne. Dosage: 2 ounces every hour, or more frequently if the case
requires. Administration: Always use slippery elm gruel for this condition, and
give cayenne. Where there is persistent vomiting, cleanse the stomach with an
emetic of lobelia. A cayenne fomentation on the abdomen will ease bad pains, the
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lower bowel tonic will regulate. A catnip enema relieves the bowels.(D.
Christopher 340)
Bruises (poultice)
1 pound Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra; U. fulva)
1 pound Wild indigo powder (Baptisia tinctoria)
½ pound Gum Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha, var. molmol)
¼ pound Prickly ash, powder (Zanthoxylum americanum)
Preparation: Wet and mix to paste consistency with good brewer’s yeast.
Administration: Apply over the affected area and cover. (D. Christopher 339)
Sores (hasten suppuration) and gangrenous wounds (will arrest gangrene)
Sufficient Slippery Elm Powder (Ulmus rubra; U. fulva)
Sufficient Brewer’s Yeast
Sufficient raw milk
Preparation: Mix the herb and yeast with hot milk. If the brewer’s yeast is not
available, dissolve a yeast cake in warm water and mix. (D. Christopher 340)
Slippery elm pack (female genito-urinary problems, growths, tumors, etc.)
Preparation: Add sufficient water to slippery elm to make a bolus (soft mass).
Knead until it is quite stiff, 3 inches long, and the size (diameter) of the patient’s
middle finger. Cut into 3 pieces, each 1 inch long. On a fine sea sponge, sew a
piece of silk thread firmly to the sponge, leaving 3-4 inches of the thread extra.
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Smear the sponge with eual parts of Vaseline and vegetable glycerin and set aside
for use. Administration: Dip 1 piece of the slippery elm bolus into hot water and
insert as far as possible into the vagina. Follow with the second and third pieces.
next, insert the smeared sponge into the vagina opening, which will hold the bolus
in place, and leave for two days. Remove the sponge by pulling down on the silk
thread, syringe(rinse) thouroughly with a cleansing agent such as yellow dock
(rumex-crispus), or Dr. Christopher’s Vaginal Douche (yellow dock
combination), and repeat the pack. (D. Christopher 341)
There were several preparations for coughs, whooping cough, bronchitis, etc. Here are a couple
of them.
Asthma remedy(also for bronchitis, chronic cough, whooping cough, lung trouble,
cystitis, catarrh of bladder, poison ivy, burns, and tuberculosis)
2 ounces of Slippery elm bark, powder (Ulmus rubra; U. fulva)
1 ounce Horehound, cut (Marrubium vulgare)
1 ounce Garden thyme, cut (Thymes vulgaris)
1 ounce Red clover tops, cut (Trifolium pratense)
1 ounce Yerba santa, cut (Eriodictyon californicun)
1 ounce Lobelia herb, cut (Lobelia inflate)
1 ounce Resin weed leaves, cut (Grindelia robusta)
1 teaspoon Cayenne, powder (Capsicum frutescens, C. minimum)
1 1.2 pounds Blackstrap molassess
½ pint Vegetable glycerin
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Preparation: Soak the herbs for two hours in 2 quarts of distilled water and bring
to a boil (well-covered). Simmer slowly for 30 minutes; strain and press. Return
the liquid to the clean pot and reduce to 1 pint; add the blackstrap molasses and
vegetable glycerin. Bring to a boil and simmer very slowly for 5 minutes; cool
and bottle. Note: Slippery elm mixes more uniformly with the other ingredients
when first made into a paste and stirred into the water. Dosage: 1 tablespoon
every hour until relief and relaxation is obtained; thereafter, 1 tablespoon 3-4
times daily. (D. Christopher 341)
Cough Syrup
2 ounces Elecampagne root (Inula helenium)
4 ounces Spikenard root (Aralia racemosa)
4 ounces Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis)
2 ounces Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
2 ounces Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
2 ounces Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
1 ounce White poplar or quaking aspen bark (Populus tremuloids)
2 ounces Slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra; U. fulva)
½ ounce Senega (Polygala senega)
½ ounce Lobelia herb (Lobelia inflata)
Preparation: Place the herbs in 3 pints of grain alchohol (vodka) and let stand for
14 days out of sunlight (shake occasionally), strain and add sufficient honey to
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make a syrup. Dosage: 1 tablespoon occasionally in mucilage of slippery elm. (D.
Christopher 347)
The How to Herb Book mentions a case study where a family used slippery elm to help
their animals recover from diarrhea. Slippery elm is so soothing and safe that people have used
it for their animals’ digestive complaints as well. In some cases this has saved the animals from
an untimely death, such as in the case study. A little girl had a lamb with diarrhea, as I guess
happens very often when lambs are just born. Many lambs have perished because of this ailment
in their youth. She used a little bit of slippery elm mixture and the lamb came out right as rain.
This is such a neat example of the beauty medicinal herbs can bring into our lives. We are very
blessed to have these for our aid and healing!
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
DOSAGE AND APPLICATIONS OF SLIPPERY ELM
Slippery elm is a very safe herb and can be used as much as needed, even with small
infants. Of course, a small infant would need less than an adult, and the size of a person should
always be taken in consideration when administering herbs to anyone. The basic dosages for
slippery elms most notable applications are as follows: For the slippery elm drink, 1 tsp to 1
tablespoon of herb to 6-8 ounces of distilled water. Stir in quickly and then follow with another
8 ounces of water. For the slippery elm gruel, mix about 1 tsp of herb with about 1 tablespoon of
distilled water, mix into a paste and then add more water until you get your desired consistency.
For slippery elm paste, it will largely depend on the wound, but use just enough water to make a
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thick paste. The drink can be used 3-4 times a day or as needed. The gruel is the same. I have
found that with slippery elm your body is pretty good at telling you when you have had enough
or need more. My children will ask for it when they are unwell in the stomach until they don’t
need it anymore.
Dr. Christopher also mentions that slippery elm can be used in a tincture, pessary and
suppository form. For the pessaries and suppositories it is being used mainly for its binding
qualities. I have not thought to use it in a tincture form, but I wanted to mention that Dr.
Christopher mentioned that it could be used, like most other herbs, in that form as well. He lists
dosages as follows:
Decoction: 2 ounces3-4 times daily.
Infusion: 1 tea cup 3-4 times daily.
Powder: 1 teaspoon or more in capsules 3 times or more per day.
Tincture: 5-40 drops 2-3 times.
Mucilage or gruel: ½ -pint (warm) 1-3 times daily (more if needed).
(D. Christopher 336)
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF SLIPPERY ELM IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I was very grateful when I learned about slippery elm, and have used it numerous times.
Of all the herbs I think it is the most important and the least scary of herbs to use. I have
especially noticed that friends who aren’t normally open to other teas will use slippery elm. I
have used slippery elm the most for stomach problems such as ulcerous conditions or
constipation, but I have been the most grateful for knowing about this herb for my daughter’s
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motion sickness. We went on a cruise as a family last winter and she threw up 3 or more times a
day for a week and a half. I didn’t have any slippery elm with me and she just could not keep
anything down. Eventually it was almost like her body was used to throwing up her food and
couldn’t keep even the mildest things down, and then even water was difficult to keep down.
When we got home I remembered slippery elm. I fed her slippery elm gruel and everything got
better within a short time. I remember her saying how good it tasted to her tummy and how it
made her tummy feel better. She didn’t love the consistency of the gruel all the time, so I added
a little bit of honey and powdered cloves, or sometimes applesauce and cinnamon to it.
The times when I have received the most benefit from slippery elm were when I used it to
help my ulcer and constipation problems. My father passed away very suddenly this last summer
and I was on day eight of a 15-day juice cleanse (the jointhereboot.com challenge). Because of
the craziness of dealing with all the funeral arrangements and dealing with my grief, I had to stop
the cleanse very suddenly and eat whatever was handy--which usually ended up being
constipating foods such as pizza or fast food. My stomach, which already had a huge history of
chronic constipation and nervous tendencies, went completely crazy and by about September I
was starting to feel ulcer pains in my stomach lining. I didn’t think of slippery elm at first. I
thought of aloe vera juice at first actually, it had been wonderful for that in the past. I happened
to be at the natural foods store looking for something else when I found myself in cleansing
section. I ended up getting a cleanse-type package from a local herbalist with a whole cleansing
program in it. It had a tea, a few tinctures, an herbal bowel aid and also an amazing gel-type
drink with slippery elm as the main ingredient. After just one drink my ulcer pains were soothed
and as I started to cleanse my system and continued to use this drink my whole digestive tract
began to heal and start really functioning again. I have read in Dr. Christopher’s books that I can
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mix slippery elm and licorice into a very soothing digestive drink, and I think that the next time I
am having painful digestion problems that need soothing I am going to try that combination.
WORKS CITED
Christopher, John R. School of Natural Healing Herbal Reference Guide, Springville:
Christopher Publications 1976.
Hinckley, Gordon B. “Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You” NOV 1989.
Keith, Velma J. and Monteen Gordon The How to Herb Book, Pleasant Grove : Mayfield
Publications 1984.
Schar, Douglas “slippery elm” <www.planetbotanic.ca/fact_sheets/slippery_elm_fs.htm>
“ slippery elm” <http://www.slipperyelm.com/history.html>
“slippery elm” <www.ehow.com/list_6927452_slippery-elm-contraindications.html>
“slippery elm” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmus_rubra>
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