The January Detox : But Not As You Know It

Inspired by my book of the Month, Staying Alive In Toxic Times, By Dr Jenny Goodman.

For my first blog of 2025—actually ever—we’ll be talking about detoxing. I can almost hear you all yawning. Hasn’t this topic been pretty heavily canvassed in Januarys past already? Well, definitely not from the angle we’ll be approaching it. I’m not going to tell you to stop drinking, give up chocolate, or sit in a sauna for hours each week (although that last option does sound appealing). Inspired by the work of Dr Jenny Goodman, whose first book, Staying Alive in Toxic Times: A Seasonal Guide to Lifelong Health, is a fascinating look at how we can stay well, today we’ll explore detoxing from the things in your life you didn’t even realise were toxic.

The Big Picture

The dramatic innovations of the past 250 years have improved countless lives, yet they’ve also brought consequences few could have fully anticipated. Since the Industrial Revolution, innovation has outpaced our understanding of its impact—on both the planet and ourselves. While technological advancements have fuelled economic growth and urban development, they’ve also introduced significant challenges, such as pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, which we continue to grapple with today.

Most people would agree we’re in the midst of an environmental crisis, but not everyone sees the connection between this and a health crisis. The very activities polluting and degrading our planet are also harming our health. Industrialised agriculture and petrochemical industries, for instance, are depleting nutrition and poisoning our air, water, soil, and, ultimately, our bodies. Plastic, once celebrated as a revolutionary invention, is now recognised as a major health concern. Diseases that were once rare—such as certain cancers, chronic fatigue syndromes, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes—are increasingly common, with many of their causes being linked to these environmental factors.

The evidence is clear: we’re facing both a health crisis and an environmental crisis, and they share the same root causes. The good news? The solutions to these problems are also interconnected. By addressing the underlying causes, we can heal both ourselves and the planet.

What’s interesting is that I thought I already knew a lot about this topic—and perhaps you’re more informed than I was—but reading Dr. Jenny Goodman’s book made me realise I’d only scratched the surface. I’m now halfway through her next book, and it’s proving to be even more of an eye-opener. Stay tuned—there’s more to share next month!

Starting Small : Awareness

Today is about awareness. It’s about putting everyone on an equal footing and allowing you to decide which, if any, of the things I suggest are changes you want to make in your lifestyle. You don’t need to (and wouldn’t be able to) implement everything at once. Trying to do so would just cause unnecessary stress in an already busy life. Simply knowing your options makes you more likely to come across something that makes you think, I can make that change. That works for me right now.

I’m throwing a lot at you in this blog, and it’s only really the headlines. There will be more information over the next two months on my Instagram account @thinkecosolutions and more Easy Eco Swaps going up on this website. If you’re detoxing from Instagram, good for you. I’ve also included many resources and suggested further reading as I go along.

Researching for Eco Solutions has been like having a veil lifted from my eyes. There are so many things I hadn’t considered before that I can’t unseen now. It’s been a heady ride and no doubt challenging, but it’s left me feeling energised rather than exhausted. Let’s see if I can do the same for you.

So here we go—these are the things to start looking out for:

Food

What's the Problem?

The problem is, we often don’t know what we’re eating. We trust nameless, faceless corporations to prioritise principles over profit, but that trust is often misplaced. Even if we read every list of ingredients, we still might not understand what’s in our food. Many of the chemicals used in food production, to keep things looking fresh for example, don't actually have to be declared on an ingredients list at all. They certainly don't have to list the chemicals that were used to grow the food. A real trigger for me was discovering my tea bags contained plastic. Plastic melts when heated, releasing microplastics into boiling water that we then ingest. If I could figure this out, there’s no way big brands didn’t know it. Not on the label by Felicity Laurence is another great resource for understanding what’s on your ingredients list.

Another veneer-shattering revelation from Dr Goodman: organic food is just ordinary food. Everything else has been altered. Some of you might roll your eyes over that one, but I really did have to have it spelled out to me in such simple terms. Organic food is the food our ancestors used to eat before synthetic chemicals, pesticides, fertilisers, and hormones were used to enhance our ability to mass produce. The scariest thing is learning about the history of these modern innovations in mass farming. Synthetic fertilisers were developed as explosives during the war. Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides—‘cides’ means to kill. These were all developed as nerve agents initially. Their primary function was neurological damage! Any food that is not organic has been treated with one, or all, of the above and is often lacking in many of the nutrients you would expect to find in those foods due to the quality of the soil it was grown in. More on nutrients in food to come if you follow me @thinkecosolutions.

What's the Solution?

The biggest change I’ve made is approaching things with a mindset of suspicion rather than trust. Question everything. Read the ingredients. Find brands you trust. Avoid ingredients ending in ‘-ose’ (sugars), and pay attention to the order of ingredients—the first listed is the most prevalent. There’s a fantastic app called Yuka that scans product labels and independently analyses their contents, giving you a clear, simple assessment of whether the product you’re considering is a good choice.

Prioritise organic where possible. Yes, it’s often more expensive, but in the 1950s and 1960s, we spent about a third of our income on food. Now, it’s just 8%. Why has the quality of what we put into our bodies—and our children’s bodies—taken such a back seat?

You don’t have to rely on supermarkets for organic food anymore, especially since it’s often wrapped in plastic anyway. As a busy working mum, I’ve discovered the convenience of incredible companies that deliver organic veg straight to your door. There are so many across Britain now. I personally use the Riverford fruit and veg box, which I find well-balanced and super flexible—you can customise what’s included. And it’s not just veg—you can add fruit, meat, and eggs too. You might need to adjust your spending to make it work cutting back on pricier items like meat and eating more veggie meals. Organic food should be the norm. We need to do anything we can to support organic farmers and encourage all forms of regenerative agriculture, which prioritises quality over quantity.

Another thing to consider is taking vitamin supplements. I’d never given supplements much thought before reading this book. I assumed that, because I had a varied and healthy diet, I wouldn’t need them, right? Wrong. Sadly, over-farming has so severely degraded our soils that fruit and vegetables no longer contain the same quantity or quality of nutrients our bodies need.

I’m definitely not the best person to advise you on which supplements to take, but I’ve listed some helpful resources below. The key is to be cautious. Not all brands prioritise nutrients over marketability. Remember what I said about ingredient order and avoiding ‘-ose’?

Take a look at the ingredients list of a well-known kids’ supplement sold in Boots: 

Vitabiotics WellKid Peppa Pig Vitamin D

Wheat Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Gelling Agent: Fruit Pectin, Acidity Regulators: Citric Acid & Potassium Citrate, Strawberry Flavouring, Vitamin D3 …

Simply put, these “vitamins” are sweets.

My preferred sources for vitamins are Viridian Nutrition or Pure Bio – no artificial colours or ‘ose’s’ to be seen. My children have Viridikid Synerbio Powder, Zinc drops and Vitamin D3 drops in their breakfast.

Plastic

What's the Problem?

I can’t lie—I hate plastic. So, I’m pretty biased when writing this. But as much as I loathe plastic for its terrible impact on the environment, I had no idea of the true extent of the threat it poses to human health. When I first started on this journey, I thought microplastics were the biggest health concern. What I hadn’t anticipated was the extent to which plastic chemicals can leach out of anything made of plastic and be absorbed into our bodies.

Soft plastics are particularly worrying because the substances like, BPA, and phthalates plasticisers (which make them soft) are easily absorbed through the skin. These chemicals are linked to cancer, fertility issues, and neurological health problems. BPA, in particular, is concerning because it acts as an oestrogen mimic. If you want to fully understand the implications of that, you need to read Dr Jenny Goodman’s book. Not only does she explain the science, but she also shares a case study about a woman suffering from severe menstrual cramps and extreme PMS, which left her bedridden for weeks. The root cause? Plastic. After some investigation, Dr Goodman found that this woman regularly drank water from a plastic bottle (often left on a windowsill or in her car to warm up), wrapped leftovers in cling film, and worked in a shop where she constantly handled till rolls (essentially a giant version of cling film containing BPA). By following a strict detox plan for a year, the woman reported feeling 80% better!

What's the Solution?

Plastic and cooking: Plastic leaches chemicals and microplastics when heated. Avoid using plastic cooking utensils and never heat food in plastic Tupperware, even if it’s labelled “microwave-safe.” That only means it won’t melt in the microwave, not that it’s free from harmful leaching. Even your average dishwasher tablets are wrapped in plastic which release microplastics that settle on your crockery and cutlery—meaning you ingest them. For natural alternatives, check out My Top 3 Eco Swaps For Your Kitchen.

Plastic in food and drink: Refuse plastic wherever you can. Switch to glass or stainless-steel bottles, avoid cling film, and choose loose produce at the supermarket whenever possible. For those who think fruit and veg wrapped in plastic are somehow cleaner or better, the UK government is considering regulations to ban plastic packaging on supermarket produce. The goal is for 30% of fruit and veg to be sold loose by 2025 and 50% by 2030. WRAP—a global environmental action NGO—is an excellent resource for learning more.

Plastic in our clothes: This one is relatively new revelation to me, so I have not had a chance to test out alternatives. Synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester are petrochemicals are essentially plastic. They release chemicals onto our skin, and it gets worse. Researchers at the University of Birmingham found in a study in 2024 that the oily substance our skin produces when we sweat increases the absorption of these chemicals. In short, synthetic clothing—especially gym wear—is actively leaching harmful substances into our bodies so opt for natural fabrics as much as possible. Bamboo is a great alternative for gym wear, although I haven't had a chance to try out any brands myself yet, so if anyone has please tell me your thoughts!

Plastic in our water: The other issue with synthetic materials is that they shed hundreds of thousands of microplastics every time you wash them. Microplastics are quickly being seen as the greatest manmade disaster of our time. They are everywhere, and in 2023 were even discovered in the human brain tissue! For ideas on how to prevent your clothes shedding microplastics into the waterways from your washing head to My Top 3 Eco Swaps For Your Laundry.

For more ideas on reducing plastic in your home, subscribe to Eco Solutions. I’ll be sharing many more suggestions over the coming months, so you can take it one step at a time—there’s no need to change everything all at once.

Cleaning Products

What's the Problem?

The issues with our cleaning products are written all over the packaging. Your pot of vanish simply states, "ingredients used in products can be toxic to humans." Fairy liquid has written very clearly on the back, alongside a big exclamation mark, "this product is harmful to aquatic animals," yet—by design—we wash it down our drains into the waterways. And don't be conned, whatever is harmful to aquatic animals is harmful to us too. By mixing Fairy liquid with boiling water and then standing over the sink, we breathe in the chemicals it releases—many of us enjoying the smell because it's linked to cleanliness. Just a cursory look under the kitchen sink will throw up detergents, disinfectants, stain removers, furniture polish, aerosol sprays, oven cleaners, etc., each of which is likely to have a warning symbol on it, some of which even have skull and crossbones. We seem to have become desensitised to these symbols, but the meaning is still the same. They are harmful. And by having them in our homes and using them regularly, we are exposing ourselves to thousands of low-dose exposures, which accumulated over many years amounts to chronic exposure.

What's the Solution?

Start switching to natural alternatives. Check out my Easy Eco Swap Blogs for fantastic, affordable, natural alternatives to synthetic cleaning products. My Top 3 Eco Swaps for your Kitchen would be a great place to start.

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Final Thoughts

Detoxing our lives doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Small, manageable swaps make a difference—for us and the planet. And awareness is the only way we can get started. I am still very much on my journey. The more I learn, the more I will continue to share. Please share this email with anyone you think would be interested and bring them along for the journey too.