“Sensitive patients, having already grasped that they share their symptoms with their healthcare providers, are likely to be labeled as psychologically unstable or are understandably reluctant to do so. The single most important aspect of approaching these patients is to believe them.”
Neil Nathan starts off the book showing a full understanding for those suffering from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, and Chemical Sensitivities, things that in today’s healthcare system in the UK get very little media attention in the UK. So much so that people can often be described as “crazy” by their doctors. Nathan offers patient mentorship throughout the book, particularly in the earlier and later chapters, which can be supportive towards those in desperate need of help in fixing their health. He chooses to focus on the root cause of issues in modern day health, like Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme disease, and mold problems which have become epidemics in our modern day society. I feel that the functional medicine literature has been craving less overly complicated viewpoints on these issues whilst still giving authors great insight into them. I found it extremely engaging and moving in the right direction. I feel in modern day health there is too much of a focus on what we eat and not a look at the real issues that are plaguing our society beyond food which is where Neil Nathan comes to explain.
Pros:
- One thing that I really enjoyed about this book was it’s clarity, especially in terms of cleansing and detoxing mold. We’ve seen authors like Dave Asprey write about this issue before, even making movies about this topic, but there are rarely books written with such clarity that explain how we can detox from mould and what the best binders to use are.
- Even aside from mold testing, Dr. Nathan offers a clear path into what one should do to test for Mycotoxins. Again, this issue has been handled by authors like the Ben Greenfield’s and Sayer Ji’s of this world but never with such clarity and well-planned delivery of ideas.
- The book is diverse and focuses on a broad range of ideas from genes to mast cell activation to how to reboot almost all parts of the human body from the nervous system to even your psyche and spiritual awakening.
- The provision of people’s personal experiences is useful too, with some of the patient’s bios showing particularly harsh journeys towards recovery. Betty’s story in chapter 22 is a particular example of this in which her healing journey took around 20 years. I found stories like this, whilst difficult to read about, set realistic expectations for those viewing Lyme, Mold and co-infections as a long-term process to recover from rather than a short-term, easy fix. A lot of people can be deluded or not really properly understand the length of time required to recover from these illnesses, and Dr.Nathan constantly reiterates that this is a long-term process.
- There are some useful tips about mould remediation that, whilst not being as in-depth as a lot of mould books, are good for those starting out.
- The diagrams and illustrations help to explain complex scientific processes well to those even without a scientific background.
- The information on Babesia, Bartonella, and Borrelia, I found particularly useful. Especially as a person who’s had to deal with these co-infections myself, it was really encouraging to see a doctor so self-aware of the problems these three illnesses can cause, particularly going into the differences between the three of them was super useful.
- I believe this is the book we needed to finally explain clearly how big an issue mould is in modern day society, and many symptoms for depression, ADHD, joint pain are actually just cover ups for mould toxicity
Cons:
- For those new to the health and “biohacking” scene, I believe this book will be too much for them to take. It’s a lot of new info that hasn’t been covered much at all by the mainstream diet books. A few of the topics have been covered by Greenfield and Asprey but not to this extent.
- Could have had a bit more on EMF mitigation. Considering EMF plays a pretty big role in today’s Lyme pandemic, some more advice could be needed.
- Could have added some more parasite cleanses for issues like rope worms. I was surprised at Dr. Nathan for not including many of these considering those with Lyme and Mould usually have underlying rope worm issues or parasites that need to be cleansed. Something similar to a Microbe Formulas protocol including Mimosa Pudica would’ve been useful for the readers.
- Potentially could have included more on heavy metal detoxing, and looking at the different types of products that could be useful also dealing with Amalgam Fillings could’ve been more in depth.
- Was surprised when he included SRIIS in his treatment for anxiety. Many people have suffered permanent side effects from taking these drugs, so to recommend them seems odd.
- Would’ve liked to have seen more data linking Mycotoxin detox to infrared saunas. I know there have been some interesting studies on people recovering from Mycotoxins using saunas, and I believe Dr. Nathan could’ve used them here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29861191/
Conclusions: Toxic by Neil Nathan breaks new boundaries in the science field. It’s delightful to see that health books have evolved to deliver something very relevant in our changing environments. I believe everyone in the biohacking scene can gain a lot from this book and understand more about how the environment, mould, and EMFs can impact their health. It addresses key issues that are missed by so many doctors in modern day health, and I hope this book can be a big step towards rectifying our broken healthcare system.
9/10
The Rational Biohacker 