Some ideas for eliminating/reducing exposure to dietary toxins include:

Remove aspartame (NutraSweet®Equal®).

Aspartame is a neurotoxin and a common cause of hyperactivity, aggressivity, and impulsive behaviour. It is important to note that many prepared products that boast of low sugar may contain aspartame.

Remove MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate).

MSG is an excitotoxin which can cause brain damage and is a common cause of hyperactivity.

See www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm for a list of foods that commonly contain MSG.

Reduce and aim to remove all artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives. Artificial like these are chemicals, not nutrition, and a common cause of negative behaviours, attention deficit, and hyperactivity.

Remove fluoride toothpaste and replace with a non-flouride, SLS-free (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) toothpaste. Flouride is a known neurotoxin and SLS is a caustic detergent.

Buy organic where you can.

Buying organic can be costly but recent studies have shown that the positive impact on children makes this worth the extra expense; one such study can be found here

Information provided by the Amercan-based Environmental Working Group about buying organic www.foodnews.org/index.php can help you make informed decisions about the fruits and vegetables that are most important to buy organic.

Washing fruit and vegetables well can help, as can peeling (you will lose important nutrition though); however, it is best to buy organic as much as possible. In the UK, there are a number of excellent organic farmers who will often deliver products such as meat, fruit, vegetables, and dairy right to your door at very reasonable prices.

Graig Farm, Devon Rose, Abel and Cole and Sheepdrove Farm are just a few of the companies that parents recommend for organic meat and vegetables. Treating Autism is periodically able to offer discounts to certain suppliers, check the newsletter. Again, Treating Autism receives no payment for endorsing these companies, it is simply reporting what its members have told them.

Reducing toxic exposure in the home is a positive move for the entire family.

The Environmental Working Group has a page that can be very helpful to parents trying to green their environment www.ewg.org/forparents and these guides from Canada http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp and http://www.toxicnation.ca/ may prove useful as well.

One mum in the autism community, Dana, has compiled information on sources of toxic heavy metals www.danasview.net/metals.htm.

Below are some ideas regarding possible exposure you may want to investigate further.

Your garden may contain pressure treated wood or some bark chippings, both of which may contain considerable amounts of arsenic. You can find some information on this issue here

Old paintwork may contain lead. Some hosepipes contain lead to help keep the plastic supple. Always run the hose into a drain before using on the garden to remove any water sitting for extended periods in the pipe. There are no safe levels of lead. You can find some general information on lead here .

Mattresses, carpets, and soft furnishings can contain antimony and arsenic. Both are toxic heavy metals used as fire retardants. Some parents choose to remove most carpeting and buy organic mattresses. Some parents choose to wrap ordinary mattresses (details here ).

Children's pajamas also contain fire retardant and are therefore toxic. Washing the pajamas six times in washing soda can remove most of it. Some parents choose to use long underwear instead of pajamas and avoid the problem altogether.

Cleaning materials often contain toxic chemicals. Please read Green your Clean from our newsletter to help you get started. You can find it in the Useful Documents section.

Cooking pans and crockery can pose dangers. Teflon® can emit toxic fumes. Aluminium, nickel and copper pans can leech toxic metals into food. Many people test their stainless steel cookware with a magnet. If the magnet sticks, the nickel levels will be quite low, and this is desirable. Many parents also use brands such as Le Creuset and Chasseur, or glassware such as Visions, as safe alternatives. Lead is used in some glazes for crockery. Be sure to verify carefully with the manufacturer in regard to lead.

Old paintwork, including previously painted but stripped wood, can contain lead. European countries generally have very high levels of lead in the environment. The following is a decent introduction to the dangers of lead, which has been found in common household items such as children's toys, necklaces, and lunchboxes, and also in the dirt in your back yard and the dust in your windowsills.

Read More

Water can contain chlorine, which destroys beneficial bacteria in the gut, as well as causing other health issues. Water can also contain lead, copper and other heavy metals from pipes, solder points, or the supply itself. Carbon filtration systems can remove some of these contaminants. Some people choose to install Reverse Osmosis Filtration Systems which are very effective in cleaning water. It is important to teach children how to swim; however, if your child swims in a chlorine pool, you may choose to give your child epsom salt baths and probiotics, especially if water has been swallowed, after each session.