Mountain Rose Herbs is our go-to place for organic bulk herbs. While not all of their spices are clean, their whole herbs are. Shipping with them can be expensive, so we try to try for one or two large orders a year.
Sage Woman Apothecary- We prefer to source many of our herbal tinctures from Sage Woman Apothecary. While most tinctures are typically made with corn or grain alcohol, Sage tends to use cane alcohol, which would likely be much lower in free glutamate. Gaia Herbal tinctures, which can often be found at most health food stores, often use cane alcohol as well. They also offer consultations with their herbalists.
Traditional Medicinals carries a great variety of pre-made medicinal herbal teas and may be beneficial for those just starting off with herbal remedies, those needing a quick resource and/or traveling. They can typically be found at your local health food store, grocery stores and event target. You may want to check for disclaimers for safety with children
Our Favorite 30c Homeopathy Kit: Because we are unable to tolerate most over-the-counter medicines, this kit is the most important item in our medicine cabinet. Not to mention, my absolute love for homeopathy. We actually have two of these professional kits and always travel with one. They also offer a smaller first-aid home kit for those very new to homeopathy. Homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOTadvise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner)
- Sepia- is my self-help remedy for myself when I am feeling really overwhelmed, impatient, down or angry
- Chamomilla matricaria- is our crisis mode remedy for our son. This remedy helps to restore balance when he seems to be very overwhelmed, irritable, emotional and aggressive. This may just be because, inhibits glutamate due to its high concentration of the flavonoid, apigenin. Homeopathy is incredibly strong! We can only personally tolerate two dry pellets diluted in 8 oz of water > 1 drop from that bottle into 10 oz of water (stir with plastic spoon) > 1 drop from that bottle into 10 oz of water (stir with a plastic spoon) > 1 drop from that cup into mouth
Bach Flower Remedies: I use these for acute emotional issues I may personally be struggling with. Everything from stress, nervousness, fears, worrying etc. I have yet to use them with my son, as he seems struggle less and I try not to interfere with his traditional homeopathic remedies
Frankincense & Bergamot Essential Oil: We are not a huge essential oil family, but we became believers in them after trying frankincense and it continues to be one of our most frequently used remedies to date. Frankincense and bergamot have been studied for their neruoprotective qualities, specifically regarding glutamate. They are also hugely anti-inflammatory. Shortly after starting this whole journey, we noticed that when diluted with a carrier oil and applied topically to the back of the neck, we saw an uptick in language. We also use these (in addition to other remedies) when we’ve had a dietary infraction or exposure to a source of inflammation.
Activated Charcoal: Activated Charcoal acts as a great natural binder for toxin removal. It is great to keep on hand for accidental dietary infractions, stomach bugs, detox and hangovers. You can even make a paste of it or apply it topically to whiten teeth, reduce blemishes or even as a natural deodorant. While activated charcoal can be incredibly beneficial, it is also very constipating and should be used in moderation. I also understand that it can be damaging to the gut so we personally tend to avoid ingesting this unless we’ve had an accidental dietary infraction or are managing substantial detox.
Black Cumin Oil: This wonder oil was suggested to be by a dear friend of mine because of its incredible anti-inflammatory properties. Not only does this oil help to lower glutamate and increase GABA, it helps with anxiety, seizures, blood sugar regulation, inhibits cytokine production and has anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties. Click here for a great article on the benefits of black cumin oil. We use a drop or two per day, as needed, especially when sick.
BFB-1 & BFB-2 Biofilm Buster: While we don’t use this frequently, it has been beneficial in helping some of those more stubborn infections. It is an essential oil product that is applied topically to the feet.
Magnesium: Magnesium is hugely important as sits on the NMDA (glutamate) glutamate receptor, can prevent excitotoxicity, calms the body by establish balance between glutamate & GABA, help stabilize mast cells, helps relieve constipation/headaches and so on. It is also my understanding that one will quickly burn through magnesium due to neuron firing when in an excitotoxic state (or a flare). We typically use leafy greens, squash/pumpkin seeds and other whole foods as our source of magnesium, but early on in our journey, we had to randomly supplement with magnesium to help with constipation and keep behaviors down. We searched high and low until we found a “clean” magnesium but it wasn’t until or Integrative Pediatrician suggested the use of ReMag Magnesium, before we agreed to give it a try. Fortunately with diet changes and homeopathy, we no longer have to heavily rely on magnesium supplementation. However, we do keep this in our medicine cabinet for emergencies. (disclaimer- Dr. Reid is not a huge fan of the primary ingredient of magnesium chloride, but this is what our family needed at the time)
Bee Pollen: Why is this important? Propionic acid is often associated with clostridia, gut bacteria imbalances, protein and/or carbohydrate fermentation in the gut & a diet high in grains, all of which are very common with children on the autism spectrum. This can result from the inflammatory signaling but most importantly the propionic acid receptor is actually a glutamate receptor. Therefore, these imbalances in addition to propionic acid will increase glutamate levels. Bee pollen helps to protect against the damage of these. There has since been another study on how clostridium can induce autism disorder and by introducing bee pollen, it can enhance the recovery from autism disorder induced by clostridium. Read more about bee pollen & glutamate here. And, where to buy bee pollen here, Greenbow Organic Bee Pollen
Fish Oil: This is one of the few supplements that we will occasionally incorporate if I find we are not sourcing enough Omega-3’s from diet. We specifically avoid fermented* cod liver oils as they are higher in histamine and glutamate. While I cannot speak of the quality of this oil, it is at least free of additives containing glutamate. This liquid cod liver oil is also relatively clean.
Eye Drops: These Similasan homeopathic eye drops certainly aren’t used frequently but we used it recently for a bit of eye irritation due to environmental allergies.