Research has shown that toxins are a plants defense against herbivores in their effort to survive (Nesse and Williams, 1995). There are countless toxins present because herbivores quickly adapt to toxins and this requires plants to make different toxins in the race to survive (Nesse and Williams, 1995). Adaptation in toxin production does come at a cost to plants. Sumner states that tannins cost up to 30 percent of the dry weight of a sugar maple leaf. Tannins provide protection for the plant, but at a considerable price. According to Wilson, more research is needed to understand the cost of the evolution of toxins in plants. Nesse and Williams state that plants can generally have high toxin levels or rapid growth. Thus fast growing plants are usually safer for herbivores to devour than slow growing plants. Likewise, the more important a part of a plant is for its reproduction, the more likely it is to be toxic. For example, sweet fruit is not toxic,

Toxins are present not only in plants that wild animals and insects eat, but also in the foods we consume. The liver is our most important organ to fight against toxins (Nesse and Williams, 1995). Our liver expels enzymes that alter or bind to toxins to protect us (Nesse and Williams, 1995). We get rid of some toxins by spitting them out, vomiting, or having diarrhea. We quickly learn to avoid these foods that make us sick just as other herbivores learn to avoid plants that are toxic, or make them sick. Nesse and Williams quote a book by Timothy Jones who hypothesizes that the more our bodies are exposed to toxins, the better prepared our bodies will be to fight toxins. If our bodies are overloaded with more toxins than our liver can handle, the toxins can rampage throughout out bodies causing damage to cells haphazardly. Nesse and Williams state that we minimize the damage caused by toxins by having a diverse diet. This is the basis of a diet book by Shamblin. She suggests we should eat what our body craves and only when we are physiologically hungry. According to Shamblin, this is what our body needs, thus avoiding toxins that are harmful to our body or possible toxin overload. According to a study by Duncan and Gordon, "pen-fed animals chose foods that maximize growth and other beneficial factors when given food choices". Several studies have shown "post-ingestive feedback and learning as a mechanism for avoidance of dietary toxicity" (Duncan and Gordon).

I have heard about toxins and experienced myself the effects of toxins and how getting si

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