Slippery elm is a tall tree from the elm family that can be found in the eastern part of the North American continent from Canada all the way down to parts of Florida. Though a common tree, its inner bark has many uncommon uses, including those make it still a component of many commercial medicinal products approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The tree has had other historical functions aside from medicine making however, including being an important source of wood for wagon wheels as well as archery bows. But, its slippery elm bark tea benefits that the tree may be most well known for, and these uses employ the tender inner bark of the towering tree.
The chemical compound found in the tree’s inner bark responsible for positive health benefits is precisely the same substance that gives the tree its name. When combined with water, constituents found in the inner bark produce a gel-like material, hence the term ‘slippery.’ Though sometimes the leaves of the tree can be ground and used in many different herbal tea recipes, it’s typically the inner bark which is easy to find also in powdered form that is attributed to medicinal uses. A typical slippery elm bark tea recipe may include sweeteners like honey, cinnamon, nutmeg or blackstrap molasses for added flavor. The brew can be made by adding one cup of freshly boiled water to one tablespoon of powdered, inner bark. Milk is often included for a creamy beverage and one popular addition is coconut milk, about two ounces per each cup. Slippery elm bark tea benefits are almost all attributed to the tree’s contained compound known as mucilage. Though more than ten healthful benefits have been linked to this natural chemical, the best ten can be found here.
1. Sore Throat
The general mechanism of action of mucilage is a soothing effect on various mucous membranes found in the body. In terms of a sore throat, it’s often these areas that are the source of irritation and inflammation. The mucilage found in slippery elm can help reduce the discomfort associated with a sore throat in this way and the proven results have even led to the herbal remedies’ inclusion in various natural lozenges for sore throat relief. Of course, another of the most basic slippery elm bark tea benefits is a hot and soothing beverage which no doubt provides additional relief to painful throats.
2. Urinary Tract Benefits
The same coating and soothing action that slippery elm promotes in the mucous membranes of the throat may also occur in the urinary tract, where comparable symptoms like pain and discomfort due to inflammation and irritation are alleviated when mucilage is introduced.
3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
In some preliminary studies, people who have used a combination product in which slippery elm is included encountered less bloating, gas and stomach pain as a result of irritable bowel syndrome. Perhaps slippery elm bark tea benefits that affect mucosal regions elsewhere in the body are also beneficial to the digestive system, promoting the effects displayed in these early trials.
4. Diarrhea
A coating action throughout the intestine is thought to be the action that makes slippery elm a potentially useful treatment for diarrhea and other general stomach problems. In fact, in alternative medicine, slippery elm bark tea benefits are thought to include diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and more thanks to the soothing and coating relief of the tree’s mucilage.
5. Coughing
When coughs are the result of irritation or inflammation of the throat or respiratory system, the mucilaginous properties of slippery elm may be able to not only soothe the areas, but also help reduce the source of the problem as well.
6. Psoriasis
Interestingly enough, though many external applications of slippery elm have been explored in folk medicine, the effects that the inner bark of the tree may have on psoriasis are related to taking it internally, instead. It’s thought that slippery elm bark tea benefits related to the coating of the intestine are actually what are behind the herbal remedies’ purported use in psoriasis symptom relief.
7. Water Retention
Slippery elm is associated with urinary health as previously mentioned, because it may help keep the inner workings of the urinary tract supple and healthy while reducing inflammation and irritation. But, slippery elm bark tea benefits may go a step further in terms of urinary health, by helping to promote reduced body fluid by reducing unhealthy levels of water retention thanks to the herb’s natural diuretic properties.
