There are a lot of home remedies available on the market for our pets, one of which is slippery elm. Slippery elm can be given to your pet in a variety of formats, from power to capsules, but what does slippery elm do and can it be used safely in conjunction with CBD oil?
What is Slippery Elm?
The name may sound slightly ridiculous or even made up, but slippery elm is a very real supplement and it has a surprising array of health benefits. Firstly, slippery elm is derived from the inner bark of the elm tree. In its relatively unprocessed state you can expect to purchase a soft and stringy product, otherwise it is more common in powdered and capsule form.
What Does Slippery Elm Do?
Slippery elm has been used as treatment for a variety of aliments for millennia and it is also one of the safest herbal remedies to give to our pets. Slippery elm has a lot of uses, but the most widely researched and peer reviewed uses focus on internal use. Research conducted by McCullough demonstrated that when slippery elm was given to small dogs and cats it appeared useful in managing vomiting and diarrhoea, this is just one of multiple studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of slippery elm on the digestive system. One of the reasons it helps to reduce vomiting and diarrhoea is that it acts as a binding agent due to the fact that it is naturally high in fibre. If your pet is suffering from a chronic gastro-internal issue, slippery elm can help to relieve inflammation, reduce the effects of colitis, ulcers and other widely seen digestive issues in our pets.
What Is CBD and Why Does It Interact With Our Pets Bodies?
CBD has become the generic and widely adopted term for any product that is derived from cannabis. In the cannabis family there is an array of plants outside the marijuana stevia from which CBD can be derived. CBD or cannabidiol is one singular building block of cannabis, out of upwards of 60 cannabinoid compounds that are present in the plant. These cannabinoid compounds, along with the rest of the compounds found in cannabis work together to create what is referred to as the entourage effect. Whilst the effect is still under scrutiny from the wider scientific community, the evidence is showing that when we take cannabis, the 421 compounds work together to create effects on our bodies that are more than they would cause if we took singular compounds. One of the reasons that cannabis has such a profound effect on dogs, cats and humans is the fact that we are all born with an endocannabinoid system. This system runs alongside all of our other biological systems, such as respiratory, central nervous system and endocrine system. The endocannabinoid system are groups of receptors that are found in our brains (CB1) and on the cells within our immune system (CB2). CB1 receptors have been linked to the reduction of anxiety, increased sleep, reduction of stress and even in the role of regulating serotonin. CB2 receptors are found across our immune systems and have been linked to helping to moderate the immune system, reduction of nausea, increase in appetite, and reduction of gastro-internal issues.
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How Can CBD Help My Pet?
CBD has wide ranging benefits that we are only just beginning to understand, if you are currently treating your pet with slippery elm, CBD might also be able to help. As aforementioned, slippery elm has been used for millennia to help manage gastro-internal conditions, be they acute or chronic. CBD has also been tested across a variety of species which have all been suffering from chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis and inflammation of the digestive track. The results yielded showed that CBD was beneficial in not only managing these conditions, but in helping the body to restore balance to our basic functions. A whole plant for full spectrum oil will be most beneficial for your dog or cat, this is because all the compounds that a naturally in cannabis have not been damaged by any isolation process. THC is the psychoactive compound found within all cannabis plants, but it varies in quantities depending on the plant the CBD has bene derived from. With this in mind, don’t limit yourself to isolate only CBD products as you will lose out on the benefits, but instead look for products that are lower in THC than their marijuana counter parts, this way your pet still gets the full array of benefits.
Slippery Elm And CBD
There is no research currently saying that these two compounds can be taken with or without each other, a lot of the evidence that we are seeing is anecdotal. However, slippery elm does limit the absorption of other drugs as it coats the digestive track in mucus, with this in mind, leave at least two hours before you give your pet CBD or any other prescribed medicine to make sure that they are able to digest it correctly. Likewise, there is no agreed dose on slippery elm, so talk to your vet prior to giving it to your pet. Before you are being giving your pet CBD oil, it may be worth taking them off slippery elm to see how they react to a new supplement, this way you can be sure that there wont be any adverse reactions between the two chemicals when they mix. If you are unsure about anything, always speak to your vet prior to starting your pet on any new supplements to make sure that they are happy for you to do so.
Final Thoughts
A lot of the evidence on slippery elm is based on anecdotes, this is in contrast to the picture we are building of cannabis and its interaction on mammalian biological systems. IF you are unsure if you can give your pet both supplements, consult a vet before beginning any new treatment.
