6 hidden toxins in your morning routine

Your morning routine is sacred. You rise early. You shower. You nourish. You caffeinate. You start your day with the best intentions. But in the quiet details of your morning, the modern world has laced even your routine with quiet disruptors, chemicals, plastics, stimulants, that slowly unravel your system over time. You don’t feel it right away. But the fatigue creeps in. The skin dulls. Hormones dip. Here are the 6 everyday offenders. Not to scare you, but to offer better ways to begin... 1. Toothpaste Toothpaste is one of those things we use on autopilot, twice a day, every day. Usually without question. But most mainstream brands still use a cocktail of chemicals like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), triclosan, artificial sweeteners (like saccharin), microplastics, and fluoride.  These ingredients can inflame the gums, damage the oral microbiome, and disrupt thyroid function, especially fluoride, which competes with iodine, a mineral essential for hormone health. Some of the most powerful oral care ingredients have been hiding in plain sight for centuries...Eggshell powder is a natural source of hydroxyapatite, the very mineral that makes up our enamel. Rich in bioavailable calcium and trace minerals, it’s been used since the time of the Ancient Egyptians (yes, the original inventors of toothpaste), to polish teeth and restore strength to enamel. Diatomaceous earth detoxifies fluoride, aluminium, and heavy metals from the body, thanks to its rich silica content, a mineral your teeth, bones, and ligaments all rely on. It also naturally helps to scrub away plaque and discolouration, without stripping your enamel. Or even just simple baking soda works by gently whitening teeth over time and helping maintain an alkaline pH that keeps harmful bacteria in check.Look for a paste that includes some of these ancestral ingredients. Your oral microbiome is an extension of your gut, and your toothpaste should be part of your healing toolkit, not something that disrupts it. 2. Takeaway coffee cups We get it, no one loves hauling around a reusable cup after the caffeine’s done its job. It rolls around in your bag, starts to smell questionable by midday, and on a bad day, leaks milk into your notebook. But the alternative is sadly worse. Most disposable cups are lined with polyethylene (a type of plastic) to make them waterproof, and the lids are typically made from polystyrene or polypropylene, plastics known to leach chemicals when exposed to heat. When hot liquid (like coffee or tea) comes into contact with these materials, it accelerates the release of endocrine disruptors like BPA (bisphenol A) and phthalates. These compounds mimic hormones in the body, binding to receptors and throwing off natural signalling. Over time, this can lead to: • Disrupted estrogen/testosterone balance • Thyroid dysfunction (BPA competes with thyroid receptors) • Liver burden (the liver has to process and detoxify these compounds) • Sluggish detox pathways (phthalates reduce glutathione activity, your master detox molecule) • Increased fat storage and insulin resistance (linked to BPA's effects on metabolic regulation) Use a cup made from ceramic (may be a fun date or family activity to make one yourself) or stainless steel. If you’re out and about, try waiting until you’re somewhere you can sip slowly, with both hands and no plastic lid between you and the ritual. And if you’re just stopping by your local cafe on a leisurely Sunday, bring back the art of just taking your favourite mug to the coffee shop. You might look like you just rolled out of bed, but if we all start doing it no one will bat an eyelid. 3. Deodorant Antiperspirants are designed to stop you from sweating. But sweat is one of the body’s oldest, most natural detox channels, a way to offload excess heat, waste, and toxins. When you block it, and simultaneously introduce aluminium, parabens, and triclosan, you disrupt lymphatic flow and potentially feed toxins back into the surrounding tissue, especially the breast and glands. The axillary lymph nodes, roughly 20 to 40 in each armpit, are some of the most densely clustered in the body. They drain lymph from the arms, breasts, and upper chest. Which means that when you swipe a synthetic stick directly over this hub (especially one laced with aluminium or synthetic fragrance), you’re coating one of your key detox gateways in chemicals your body then has to process. Lymph nodes are designed to detect and respond to what’s in the surrounding fluid,  good or bad. But their absorbency also makes them vulnerable. Aluminium and parabens, in particular, have been shown to mimic estrogen in the body, binding to hormone receptors and disrupting delicate hormonal rhythms. For women especially, this can lead to symptoms like breast tenderness, irregular cycles, PMS, and heightened estrogen dominance. In men, it may interfere with testosterone balance and sperm quality. Let your lymph breathe. Use deodorants made from magnesium, baking soda, coconut oil, arrowroot, or clays, or go without now and then to allow your armpit microbiome to recalibrate.Also remember…body odour is natural, but it shouldn’t be overpowering. Sweat itself is nearly scentless, mostly water and electrolytes. It’s only when your detox organs (especially the liver, kidneys, and gut) are under strain that the smell sharpens. Support clean sweat. Move daily, even 20 minutes of walking or stretching to the point of a light sweat helps clear built-up waste. And clean up your fats… industrial seed oils only add to the body’s toxic burden. Prioritise butter, ghee, tallow, and olive oil instead.  4. Your “healthy” breakfast cereal Seed oils are one of the last hidden disruptors still clinging to wellness labels. Even the “clean” granola,  the ones in glass jars with otherwise nourishing ingredients, often slip in sunflower or rapeseed oil. It doesn’t take much, just a drizzle to bind the oats and crisp the clusters. But under heat, these fragile oils oxidise quickly, creating compounds that quietly inflame the gut, burden the liver, and throw off hormones. Many granolas also rely on oats that are unsprouted and sprayed with glyphosate,  a known endocrine disruptor. Without proper soaking or fermentation, these grains can irritate the gut lining and impair mineral absorption  more than their rustic packaging lets on. Start your day with saturated fats and protein, think eggs, grass-fed sausage, liver pâté, bone broth, or even leftover dinner. Or if you, like me,  crave something sweet and spoonable in the morning,  try full-fat Greek or raw yoghurt with seasonal fruit. For that satisfying crunch, sprinkle in cacao nibs or bee pollen, both packed with antioxidants and minerals, without the inflammatory load. 5. Scrolling your phone before sunlight  This might not sound like a “toxin”,  but artificial blue light and stress-inducing content are arguably just as disruptive as any chemical. Your body is designed to sync to natural light cycles. Morning sunlight enters the eyes and signals to your supra chiasmatic nucleus (your master clock) that it’s time to suppress melatonin and raise cortisol, our get-up-and-go hormone. When you scroll your phone instead, your eyes are flooded with blue light at the wrong spectrum and intensity, with no grounding counterbalance from full-spectrum sunlight. Your brain thinks it’s midday. But your body is still in sleep mode. Cortisol rises at the wrong time. Melatonin doesn’t shut off. The whole day feels off…  foggy head, low mood, irregular hunger. Reclaim your mornings. Step outside within 30 minutes of waking, no sunglasses, no screen. Just 5–10 minutes of natural light helps regulate everything from energy to hormones to sleep later that night. Make it a little rule that you can’t go on your phone before your eyes have had a proper chance to see sunlight, and your feet have grounded in the earth. 6. Tap water You roll out of bed and reach for a glass of water, a simple, noble act. But in the UK and US, that tap water often carries chlorine, fluoride, microplastics, pharmaceutical residues, and heavy metals. Municipal water is tested for individual toxins, but not for the cumulative effects of all of them together, nor for how they interact with the body over decades.  The microbiome, liver, and thyroid are especially sensitive to chronic, low-grade exposure, something the standard “safety” limits don’t fully capture.  A hidden issue in the UK? Ageing infrastructure. Many British homes still rely on copper piping, and when water sits in those pipes overnight, it can draw trace amounts of copper into your supply. In small amounts, copper is essential. In excess, it becomes pro-inflammatory. Copper and zinc compete for absorption in the body. So elevated copper can lead to symptoms of functional zinc deficiency… poor wound healing, increased inflammation, brain fog, anxiety, low immunity, and even hormonal imbalance. For women in particular, excess copper can fuel estrogen dominance,  a driver of PMS, skin issues, mood swings, and heavy or irregular periods. If it’s within reach, a high-quality water filter is a brilliant long-term investment in your health. But if not, there are still good options… buy still spring water in glass bottles, or, our personal favourite, find a local spring. And don’t forget about raw milk, which offers not only hydration but also electrolytes, enzymes, and bioavailable minerals. It really is nature’s own mineral drink (and such a satisfying one to have first thing in the morning). Then in the winter, swap it out for a soothing morning glass of bone broth instead. And if you’re reading this thinking, “I use all of these,” please don’t panic... The last thing we want to do is fear monger (there's enough of that already in the health space). Overhauling your routine doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t need to. Every subtle shift is a step toward less burden and more balance. Start with what feels easiest. Swap one product. Question one label. Support one system. Your body will meet you there. Wishing you a calm, clear, and beautiful day ahead.