Nature’s toxins,how they evolvedand why we use and abuse them. A deadly secret lurks within our spice racksmedicine cabinetsbackyard gardensand private stashes. Scratch beneath the surface of a coffee beana red pepper flakea poppy seeda mold sporea foxglove leafa magic mushroom capa marijuana budor an apple seedand we find a bevy of strange chemicals. We use these to greet our days (caffeine)titillate our tongues (capsaicin)recover from our surgeries (opioids)cure our infections (penicillin)mend our hearts (digoxin)bend our minds (psilocybin)calm our nerves (CBD)and even kill our enemies (cyanide). But why do plants and fungi produce such chemicals? And how did we come to use and abuse some of them? Based on cutting-edge science in the fields of evolutionchemistryand neuroscienceMost Delicious Poison reveals the origins of toxins produced by plantsmushroomsmicrobesand even some animalsthe mechanisms that animals evolved to overcome themand how a co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience. This perpetual chemical war not only drove the diversification of life on Earthbut is also intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplantmushroomfruitvegetableor even the last 500 years of human historythe same way again.