By David Christopher, M.H.

Just listen to the hype surrounding GERD, ulcers, and heart burn, and you would think that modern medicine has lost all knowledge of anatomy or simply believes God made a mistake when he created Hydrochloric acid.  Hundreds of antacids, hydrochloric acid blockers, and   P.P.I.s (protein pump inhibitors) have been created. All in an effort to bypass a normal body function. 

When hydrochloric acid is not present, pepsin cannot function; food cannot be broken down properly and thereby cannot be assimilated. This action results in irritation to the intestines and a myriad of nutrient deficient diseases.  Also when proteins are not properly broken down in the stomach and small intestines they end up in the bowel. Here they are acted upon by bacteria. The byproduct of this bacterial action is a lot of gas and bloating, which can be worse than heartburn.
As we age we make less stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Most people are experiencing a timing issue.  They eat a lot of acid forming foods, and then they don’t produce the hydrochloric acid necessary to break down the meal. The food sits and sits until the systems over compensate and flood the stomach with these acids.  By this time they have either moved on to other activities or are lying down. At this time acid runs up the esophagus resulting in the sensation termed heartburn.

The solution is to stimulate the body to make hydrochloric acid at the right time, which allows the body to properly break down and better assimilate meals. This is accomplished by eating a pungent herb prior to and after a meal.  Pungent herbs would include ginger, cayenne, mustard or horseradish. 

Emotions can stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid even when the stomach is empty.

The best remedy for this is Slippery elm bark powder.  This herb coats, calms and soothes esophageal, stomach and all G.I. tract tissue stopping heart burn, gastritis and pain from ulcers.  This is accomplished without compromising the digestive process.

Slippery elm is the herb of choice for all gastrointestinal disturbances.  I have seen it cure ulcers, colitis, leaky gut syndrome, intestinal bleeding, and diarrhea. 

It has been a miracle in cases where everything consumed was rejected or ejected. I remember visiting a friend in the hospital. She could not keep anything down - not even a tablespoon of water.  I mixed a teaspoon of Slippery elm with water and spooned it to my friend. She was so happy because it actually stayed down! Within a short time she was able to eat regularly again.
Another woman was experiencing bleeding bowels, accompanied by 28 watery and bloody bowel movements per day.  Her doctor prescribed cortisone enemas, which were not controlling the bleeding. I explained to her how to mix powdered Slippery elm with Licorice root and water and she consumed a tablespoon of the combined herbs hourly. The bleeding stopped, permanently, in just two days.

We will have more information about Slippery Elm the next two weeks.