Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins—From Spices to Vices

Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins—From Spices to Vices (2023) Noah Whiteman

Many of the plants we treasure–for the way they taste or the way they make us feel, were developed by plants not for our benefit, but as defense mechanisms from threats like herbivores.

It just happens that we are less susceptible to the toxins of those plants than the insects or animals.

But notice that less in there.

Many of these chemicals and compounds aren’t “safe”, but then as the author reminds us,

As sixteenth-century Swiss physician Paracelsus noted, “the dose makes the poison.”

Which is something we do well to remember.

The book covers a variety of chemicals created by plants used by humans for everything from making our food taste better to healing illness to getting stoned.

Matricin is additionally found in chamomile and yarrow, plants used in traditional healing today and for thousands of years.

It also goes into both the history of these compounds…

…gall ink without iron was likely used seven hundred years earlier by the calligraphers of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

As well as the science.

Our bodies make isoprene as a by-product of cholesterol biosynthesis, and the amount emitted can even be used to determine a person’s cholesterol levels.

The author also talks about how these toxins have influenced his own life, primarily the death of his father due to AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder).

AUD is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, the first being tobacco use, and the second, poor diet and lack of exercise.

I tended to enjoy the history bits more than the since bits, likely because this was by bedtime reading, and much of the science was too much to grok when I was falling asleep.

I recommend this both for the history, but also for the reminder than many of the spices and medicines we take for granted aren’t harmless simply because they are “natural.”

Cover art by Justin Metz

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark

Rating: 7.5/10

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