The information shared within this page does not act as medical advice and I do not encourage the use of the following suggestions without consulting your physician or certified health practitioner first. The following information is based on my personal opinion. The following items have been linked via Amazon and/or Thrive Market affiliate pages where I may earn a commission from. Products may need to be sourced based on availability and/or pricing.
Frequently Used Remedies
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 NOT advise 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)
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.
Cold & Flu Remedies
Herbs: Traditional Medicinals Children’s Cold Care, Gypsy Cold Care or Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat are often a quick fix to help relieve the symptoms of the common cold or flu. The following herbs may also be use to help fight underlying infections associated with colds.
- Antibacterial herbs- Clove, Oregano, Goldenseal, Oregon Grape Root, Cinnamon, Thyme, Raw Garlic, Honey, Ginger
- Anti-viral herbs: Clove, Calendula, Cat’s Claw, Chinese Skullcap, Licorice Root, Astragalus Root, Olive Leaf, Oregano, Milk Thistle, Ginger
Homeopathy: At the very first sign of a cold or flu, I try to dose myself with a homeopathic remedy. If the sickness seems to suddenly appear and hit like a ton of bricks, I typically use Aconitum Napellus. If the sickness seems to slowly creep on, I use arsenicum album. If for some reason, these remedies do not work and we develop a full-blown cold and/or flu, we use specific acute remedies or the Oscillococcinum Homeopathic Remedy (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner). We’ve dosed this with only 4 dry pellets, instead of the full vial.
Essential Oils: Natural defense EO’s like OnGuard or Thieves, rosemary, sage and thyme
Other: Homemade Elderberry syrup (if you’re local to me, Sweet’s Syrup is a fantastic option! She has even made sure there are no sources of free glutamate in her products), cold fighting pineapple ginger drink, ginger, raw local honey and lemon tea. We also up green juices to get extra nutrients in. If they won’t drink, try making popsicles out of the juice and use the opportunity to sneak some elderberry syrup or herbal tea into the mix.
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, or slightly more when sick.
Croup
Croup is one of those horrible respiratory infections that we seemed to very frequently get early on. In fact, we’ve even had it reappear in response to homeopathic remedies as part of a healing crisis. Here are some ways you may natural combat croup.
Herbs: Thyme, Licorice Root, Fenugreek Seed, Fennel, Sage, Marshmallow Root, Plantain Leaf, Oregano, Ginger, Rose Hips, Cat’s claw, Goldenseal, Eucalyptus*, Elderberry (do not consume items indicated with * in conjunction with homeopathy)
Homeopathy: Homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner). However, these remedies may be beneficial in treating coup. Aconitum Napellus, Spongia, Hepar Sulphuris Calcareum
Essential Oils: Natural defense EO’s like OnGuard or Thieves, peppermint*, tea tree*, thyme, lavender, oregano (do not consume items indicated with * in conjunction with homeopathy)
Other: Elderberry syrup (if you’re local to me, Sweet’s Syrup is a fantastic option! She has even made sure there are no sources of free glutamate in her products), cold fighting pineapple ginger drink, ginger, raw local honey and lemon tea
Strep
Herbs: Clove, Oregon Grape, Barberry, Goldenseal, Goldthread, Raw Garlic, Turmeric, Oregano, Peppermint*, Basil, Ginger and Neem (do not consume items indicated with * in conjunction with homeopathy). Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat may help relieve the symptoms of strep as well.
Homeopathy: Homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner). However, these remedies may be beneficial in treating strep. Streptococcinum, Hepar Sulph and/or Mercurius Solubilis
Essential Oils: Natural defense EO’s like OnGuard or Thieves, clove, oregano, lemon, tea tree*, eucalyptus*, peppermint* (do not consume items indicated with * in conjunction with homeopathy)
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.
Biocidin: Not ideal because of the extracts but may be worth the risk when dealing with Strep to avoid PANDAS.
Other: avoiding probiotics (and obviously yogurts/ferments) containing streptococcus thermophilus, cold fighting pineapple ginger drink
Upset Stomach & Stomach Bug Remedies
Surprisingly enough, our son has never had the stomach bug. However I have, and here are some of the remedies I have found to be beneficial.
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.
Herbs: Chamomile, peppermint, marshmallow root, bidens, goldenseal, licorice, cloves, ginger, nettle
Homeopathy: Homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner). However, these remedies may be beneficial in treating an upset stomach. Here is a chart I created to help determine which remedy to use.
Other: Cold fighting pineapple ginger drink
Allergies & Histamines
Take a look at this blog post for more information on our experience with histamine.
Herbs: Nettle, Goldenrod, Milk Thistle, Red Clover, Gingko. Traditional Medicinals Nettle Tea may be beneficial for those just starting out.
Homeopathy: homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner) However, the remedy Histamines Hydrochloricum is known to help with overall histamine load.
Mast Cell Stabilizers: Because glutamate activates mast cells, many remedies suggested to lower glutamate, also help to stabilize mast cells. Take a look at this post for more suggestions.
- Quercetin- Raw chili peppers, asparagus, kale, berries, plums, peppers, red onions, broccoli, sophora japonica leaf/flowers (does not degrade with heat and also stabilizes mast cells)
- Luteolin- flavonoid found in celery, carrots, chamomile, parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, peppermint, artichoke, spinach and ground ivy.
- Curcumin- found in turmeric
- 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. We typically use leafy greens, squash/pumpkin seeds and other whole foods as our source of magnesium.
Other: Elderberry syrup with local* honey (if you’re local to me, Sweet’s Syrup is a fantastic option! She has even made sure there are no sources of free glutamate in her products)
Managing & Detoxing from Dietary Infractions
Immediately* following a dietary infraction, we give a capsule of activated charcoal (opened and poured into a glass of water…it will turn the water black). We also make an effort to increase fibrous vegetables and water consumption to help detox on a cellular level. If you find yourself in a bit of crisis mode, take a look at this post for additional ways to lower glutamate.
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.
Epsom Salts: Epsom salt baths are a great way to naturally increase magnesium levels and help the body to detox. We started with 1/4 cup of salts in a bath filled with just enough water to cover the belly button, and worked our way up in frequency from there. When in the tub, we allow for a long soak and do not rinse with fresh water following the soak. If you’re unable to take a full epsom salt bath soak, simply soaking the feet may help. Many often use baking soda or bentonite clay in this process, although we do not. If you see an increase in foul smelling gas or hyperactivity following the baths, it may be indicative of a sulfur sensitivity. Take a look here for my glutamate lowering salt soak recipe.
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.
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. Because of these properties, it can be very important following a dietary infraction. We typically use leafy greens, squash/pumpkin seeds and other whole foods as our source of magnesium. See above comments on magnesium regarding supplementation.
Homeopathy: homeopathy is unlike traditional medicine and is hugely dependent on the state of the person and symptoms. (I would NOT advise taking these unless you’re working under the care of a practitioner) However, here are some of the remedies we’ve used to help.
- Nux Vomica- While I will admit that I have not used this with my son for acute dietary infractions, I have used it for myself with good success. The primary reason I have not used it with him, is because I don’t want to stray from our overall healing progress with our practitioner. Nux vomica is a great remedy to help the body rid toxins.
- 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