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Slippery elm bark is a common herb found in throat lozenges and in cough drops, but you can use it for a variety of other purposes as well. This herb is capable of providing relief for coughs, sore throats and upset stomachs. If you want to buy it in bulk rather than in a cough drop or a lozenge, then the best route for you to take is to boil it and simmer the slippery elm bark in a powdered form in a cup of water. Between one and three teaspoons of the herb is best for 8 ounces of water and you can have as many as three cups of the herbal tea per day.
The herb slippery elm bark comes from elm trees and these trees are primarily native to the Appalachian mountains which are in the eastern United States. The elm leaves have been dried and used to create tea and skin washes. Natives haven eaten the inner bark of the tree because it offers high carbohydrate levels and can be digested easily. The inner bark can be used for many other purposes as well. You can use slippery elm bark to relieve a number of gastrointestinal conditions as well as respiratory irritations, sore throats and ulcers. There are also external use benefits for slippery elm bark including the treatment of skin conditions, hemorrhoids and vaginitis. Some people recommend the use of slippery elm bark as a cough medicine or for use to soften and smooth out the skin.
You can take a 500 mg capsule of slippery elm bark three times daily to benefit from its numerous health advantages. You may also combine one part slippery elm bark to ten parts of water in liquid form or one part of slippery elm bark powder to eight parts of water in order to take advantage of the health benefits offered by this herbal supplement.
