Killing yourself with nutmeg
I am quite fond of nutmeg, and I use it regularly in my cooking. With this being the Christmas season, I’m drinking eggnog; probably more than I should, judging by its nutritional profile. To this, of course, I add nutmeg.
Perhaps too much nutmeg. Tonight I decided to have a cup full and began grating a nutmeg into it. Soon the cup contained half a grated nutmeg. I stirred it, added a small splash of brandy, and began sipping it. Halfway through the cup it occurred to me that this could be a very dumb idea: I knew nutmeg could be hallucinogenic or toxic in relatively small quantities (neither of which effects I wanted), but I had no idea what “small” meant. A gram? 10 grams? 50 grams? I put down the eggnog and performed a Google search for “ld50 nutmeg”. LD50 is a term that denotes the fatal level of consumption for fifty percent of the population (that is, if you have a group of one hundred people and give each of them the LD50 of a substance, around fifty of them will die.) A very cool article debunking nutritional toxicology scares (showing that “natural” ingredients could be far more hazardous than “artificial” ingredients) that I read four years ago got me convinced that the LD50s of many common substances are well within reach.
So, to begin with, how much had I injested? I had three nutmegs left, and weighed them on the finest-precision scale available to me, my postal scale. The three nutmegs came in at a third of an ounce (or around 10 grams) total. That meant that each nutmeg was a little over 3 grams, half a nutmeg was between 1.5 and 2 grams, and half a cup of eggnog containing half a nutmeg delivered under a gram of nutmeg, total. I found a webpage that read “Even though there have been cases of narcosis and collapse with just one whole nutmeg, people universally use nutmeg as food seasoning.” This was not particularly good news. The next source was also not very positive (intriguingly, this is from a book entitled Legal Highs: A Concise Encyclopedia of Legal Herbs and Chemicals with Psychoactive Properties by one Adam Gottlieb, self-proclaimed 20th Century Alchemist. This is an interesting counterpoint to my position: I’m trying to make sure that I didn’t do something very stupid and injest dangerous amounts of a substance while using it for flavoring, while there are apparently people who want to know if they can use it as a psychotropic drug without injesting dangerous amounts.)
“Possible nausea during first hour; may cause vomiting or diarrhea in isolated cases. Takes anywhere from one to five hours for effects to set in. Then expect severe cottonmouth, flushing of skin, severely bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils. [...] “Intense sedation”. Impaired speech and motor functions. Hallucinations uncommon in average (5-10 gm) doses. Generally followed by long, deep, almost coma-like sleep (expect 16 hours of sleep afterward) and feelings of lethargy after sleep. [...] Safrole is carcinogenic and toxic to the liver.”
So, bad things can happen, and I was unsure how exactly to interpret this paragraph. “Hallucinations are uncommon in average [...] doses”, but what about the other effects? Common? Do they set in at a lower threshold than the hallucination? The final source I found said this:
“The perceptible dose is 5 to 15 grams (1 to 3 ground nutmeg seeds). It is a carminative in a dose of 0.03 mL. It is used as a hallucinogen in doses of 2-4 teaspoonfuls or greater than 2 whole nutmeg or 18 grams of fresh ground nutmeg. Effects begin in 3 to 6 hours but may be delayed 8 hours after ingestion and the duration is up to 60 hours. Effects are similar to LSD. Toxicity produces dry mouth, GI upset, abdominal pain, agitation, tremors, feeling of impending doom, delirium, psychosis, and coma. It is reported to produce miosis or mydriasis, hypothermia, hypotension. Cardiovascular effects including chest pain, palpitations and mild hypertension have been reported. One fatality reported in an 8 year old boy who ingested 14 grams was reported in 1908. Severe reactions with shock, hypotension, cyanosis and hypothermia may occur with very large amounts .” I had to look up carminative, miosis, and mydriasis, by the way.
OK, we finally have a definition of the perceptible dose, which is a factor of 4 to 12 above what I injested. So it looks like I’m in the clear, although this safety margin is significantly lower than I would like.
Do we need a moral here? Don’t be an idiot like me: many herbs and spices contain dangerous chemicals in significant amounts. Significant increases in their culinary usage should probably be investigated before ingestion, not after.
Email subscription
April 17th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
[...] This is the article on nutritional toxicology that I mentioned earlier. The key passage: “Toxicology today possesses the means to incriminate any substance to which it cares to devote sufficient testing. This science can indict any substance if it has the inclination.” [...]
June 9th, 2006 at 3:19 am
Hi, i would agree with nearly everything in this article, i have tried Nutmeg before about a month ago, im 16. The reason why i did it was becuase it was legal to buy, it was said to give such effects of the drug ’speed’, LSD, and it seems like everyones writen statements of the effect where all nealry different. Me and my mate brought 25grams of nutmeg which was 5 whole nutmegs (fresh) each containing 5grams each. my friend grinded all of the nutmeg up, and the next day, at lunch time, we both consumed (ramdom tablespoon amounts) problery 5 grams.
The method we used was mix the fresh grinded nutmeg in water, stir, then down the drink as fast as possible. At the time, i was shaking becuase i wasn’t really sure what was going to happen to me. We timed it right that in 6 hours time (which at the time we had read it takes to kick in) would be the time we were out at night walking and talking to the streets. After we got back from school, we both took some more Nutmeg, this time i problery did 5-7grams, this time i neally puked.
Very quickly my eyes becasue blood shotted, and quite dry, and so was my mouth and throut.
Me and my friend then watched “fear and loathing to las vagas” which at the time fully mucked up my head, as the nutmeg made me quite dizzy (not sick dizzy) and really tired. The film lasted for ages it seemed. I only slightly remember going out of the house, and some main parts on our adventure in our city. My imagination was over the limit, this one point, on a shop wall, there were like lines on it, and my friends told me that i was saying that i thought it was a gun point, where in the second world war, they used to shoot out of at the tanks on the other side of the road. It all got slightly weird after that, can’t rememeber, but at the time i was having fun.
Some how we got home, we walked home some time pffft… dunno, and i rememeber just sitting on the arm chair, and when i closed my eyes, it felt that my body was moving, not me thinking im moving, but i kept werving side to side, and i couldn’t stop my self.
I woke up next morning, we the suprise that i though i didn’t go to bed, i felt fine lining in bed, but as i got out, my whole face went complete num. It was the weirdest feeling EVER. i didn’t eat or drink much as my friend stated that you don’t want to eat/drink much incase it has a chemical reaction to nutmeg. So i couldn’t sick, so i didn’t feel sick.
My experiance of nutmeg was alright, as that if i got court by the police, then they couldn’t arrest me becuase they would of though i that i have been taking weed or something, but no its nutmeg.
Im not sure if i will take it agian, the good thing about it that it makes your feel weird, its legal, cheap and you don’t smoke it…
the BAD things about it is that the effects are still vary with people to people, some people have been in coma’s becuase of it, had fits, Nutmeg is a poison too at high levels, the dye eyes and mouth was quite irratating, but i could of got some eye drops or something.
To be honest, who ever reads this, i don’t think you should take Nutmeg, just leave it out, it’s not worth the pain for the effect it gives. I tierd it becuase well, im slightly stupid, but i have that “i’ve tried it, and got high off it” under my belt.
Just like to point out that im not a druggy, i have only taken one puff of weed before, it was stupid, becuase the effect was limited, i got drunk twice, and thats with a 2 year gap, so now you know where you stand with the nutmeg. Becuase my other mate, who is quite into his shit took 25 grams of Nutmeg, and it had no effect on him, im not sure that the shit he has taken got his body up a level which shitty drugs like Nutmeg just doesn’t make an effect or was it his size, i don’t know, but its not worht the coma.
so my english is not up to standards, but i thought i would share my expericance online to other who are thinking about nutmeg. Hope you learnt something from me and if you want any questions just email me and d4rk.z3r0n3@gmail.com, thanks
September 13th, 2006 at 7:57 am
Hey is it anything like Trilpe-C
September 13th, 2006 at 7:57 am
(Coricidin Cough and Cold)
April 24th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
[...] This is the article on nutritional toxicology that I mentioned earlier. The key passage: “Toxicology today possesses the means to incriminate any substance to which it cares to devote sufficient testing. This science can indict any substance if it has the inclination.” [...]
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Umm….
U need to chill out. Its just nutmeg. You’ll have to eat like 25g or maybe 8-10 whole nuts to make yourself really get physically ill or ‘trip balls’ if thats what you’re into.
On to that other post….
Watching fear and loathing while tripping, like watching any movie while tripping, seems kind of silly to me. Once I was on mushrooms and watched Star Wars Episode 2…it was a waste of time and felt very plastic and artificial as an experience. Vision quests are to be a self-driven experience, possibly with a friend or shaman as a guide. Being led around through someone else’s plot line might get you confused or upset, or worse; you might waste a good opportunity to grow spiritually.
(one exception may be Dark Side of Oz or other video/music combinations, since you get to take away from it whatever metaphors work best for you personally.)
I think if people want to trip on nutmeg and approach it patiently, cautiously at initially low doses, they should.
December 1st, 2007 at 11:30 am
i took about 7 table spoon of it in about 4 hours ..
my experience was beyond what i read on the internet …
my trip was SOO intense and severe … that … i can proudly say that the the English language limits my explanation of it
i suggest non of you take this stupid ussles drugg
and just stick to cronic … aka pot …
its better .. funner … easier to get into the blood and everyone knows it and does it
December 18th, 2007 at 12:13 am
February 14th, 2008 at 2:53 am
July 29th, 2008 at 1:15 am
i ate maybe 1 nut after drinking one night and woke up the next morning after sleeping 12 hours in the worst state. i was in the washroom guzzling water and couldn’t throw up or go to the bathroom. i was boiling hot and feverish. i woke up on the bathroom floor with a huge bruise on my head. i just read the side effects and they were bang on. bad idea..
August 15th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
me and my 3rd oldest brother dont get along. he hates me because i’m the screw-up in the family and he’s the good guy but my parents and other brothers love and respect me more because i stoped all the evil ways to get a good career, so i could help out my parents with their house. my 3rd oldest brother been cooking everyday for the family for the last month and a half. everything he cooks smells great and tastes good,but he doesn’t eat himself. we been getting into alot of pretty bad fights for the last 4 to 5 months. everyone in my family been getting pretty sick in the last month, but him. ever since he’s been cooking i have seen him grind up 1 or 2 whole pieces of nutmeg into every dish. my 3rd oldest brother met up with this new friend of his a.k.a. his meth dealer about 3 months ago but doesn’t know that his new friend was once one of my crime’meez. my old crime’mee called me and told me to watch out for my brother because he smoked out my brother and my brother told him he was ploting to poison someone