Instead, they look for triggers that may aggravate a pre-existing
genetic condition. These include everything from vaccines to
environmental toxins, like mercury, in fish, arsenic in drink-
ing water and lead in air pollution; overuse of antibiotics and
over-the-counter medicines in early infancy; and a diet heavy
in wheat and dairy that contributes to gut inflammation.
This holistic view of autism’s causes also extends to the
potential range of treatments. These may include chelation
therapy (removing heavy metals), gluten- and casein-free diets
(removing wheat and dairy), administering supplements with
omega-3 fatty acids and/or hyperbaric oxygen therapy (in
which oxygen is administered in a pressurized chamber).
“The presumption,” advises Richard Lathe, a molecular
biologist and author of Autism, Brain, and Environment, “is
that environmental toxicity has increased enough that, com-
bined with childhood vaccines, [industrial] production and
fish consumption, it has led to an increase in total exposure
to heavy metals.”
Consequently, these concerned researchers are pointing
out clear steps that parents can take to minimize their own
and their children’s toxic exposures, starting by taking pre-
cautions during pregnancy, minimizing exposure to mercury
by avoiding fish like shark and swordfish and limiting con-
sumption of albacore tuna. Pregnant women, counsels Lathe,
should also be sure to take the proper prenatal vitamins, such
as calcium, so that the fetus is not drawing minerals from the
mother’s bones, where heavy metals are stored.
“The body locks heavy metals away in bone and fat,”
explains Lathe. “During pregnancy, that stuff is recycled [in
supplying nourishment] to the child.”
It’s also important to avoid exposures to toxic chemicals
via cleaning products, both during pregnancy and after birth.
Homemade substitutes, using ingredients like distilled white
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vinegar and baking soda, are safe (and cheap) alternatives.
Other chemical culprits? Plastic containers and bath toys
can leech chemicals when heated, cleaned or used for teeth-
ing. Car seats and crib mattresses made with flame retardants,
as well as toys with lead paint, carry toxins.
A 2005 study from the nonprofit watchdog Environmen-
tal Working Group found an average of 200 industrial chemi-
cals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood samples from 10
babies born in U.S. hospitals around the country. Of these,
the report said, “180 cause cancer in humans and animals,
217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system and 208 cause
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Brita Belli is the editor of E – The Environmental Magazine.
natural awakenings January 2010 23
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