Can you trip on nutmeg

But winter's favorite spice has also made headlines as an unconventional way of getting high -- it's called a nutmeg high. Nutmeg contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects if ingested in large doses.

The buzz can last one to two days and can be hallucinogenic, much like LSD. Jeffrey Bernstein, medical director at the center. The rewards are not worth the risks. About 30 minutes to an hour after taking large doses of nutmeg, people usually have severe gastrointestinal reactions, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. But that's just the beginning. Hours into the high, people can suffer from heart and nerve problems as well.

One plus one can add up to nine really quickly. This dried nut can then be used to create the spice we know so well. You may also have come across rumors that nutmeg can get you high. Myristicin is a compound found naturally in the essential oils of certain plants, such as parsley, dill, and nutmeg. Myristicin is also found in different spices. It comprises most of the chemical makeup of nutmeg oil and is found in the largest amounts in this spice. In the human body, the breakdown of myristicin produces a compound that affects the sympathetic nervous system.

Peyote is another well-known plant whose compound, mescaline, acts in a similar way to the myristicin in nutmeg. Both mescaline and myristicin affect the central nervous system CNS by enhancing the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. This effect on the CNS is what eventually leads to side effects such as hallucinations, dizziness, nausea, and more.

Research on nutmeg intoxication is sparse. But there are a handful of studies and case reports on some of the dangerous side effects of consuming too much myristicin. In one case report , an year-old female complained of nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, and dry mouth, among other symptoms.

It was later revealed that she had consumed almost 50 grams g of nutmeg in the form of a milkshake roughly 30 minutes before her symptoms began. In a much more recent case study , a year-old female found herself experiencing the symptoms of myristicin intoxication after consuming only two teaspoons roughly 10 grams of nutmeg. Her symptoms also included dizziness, confusion, grogginess, and an extremely dry mouth.

In both case studies, the symptoms occurred within hours and lingered for roughly 10 hours. Both individuals were released after observation and made a full recovery. Investigations into nutmeg have identified numerous components with a variety of biological effects, some contradictory. In laboratory tests, some compounds stimulate the central nervous system CNS , while others have sedative effects.

Some components have anticonvulsant effects, while others cause convulsant activity. The gastrointestinal effects are believed to arise from components that stimulate the CNS and other parts of the nervous system. This is also the cause of the many side effects. Clinical studies have not investigated the effectiveness or safety of nutmeg for any gastrointestinal problem. Use of nutmeg to cause hallucinations has been recorded since the Middle Ages.

As a cheap and readily available recreational drug, its use appears to remain popular, although it usually receives attention only after tragic adverse reactions, which have included fatal overdoses. In spite of its reputation, much remains unknown about its psychoactive properties. Different extracts of nutmeg produce different effects in laboratory tests.

In the amounts used in foods and beverages, nutmeg is safe. However, larger amounts lead to a variety of adverse effects. These arise because the components of nutmeg interact with different parts of the nervous system leading to different effects. People vary unpredictably in their responses and to the dose they can safely tolerate. Prisoners and peasants in 12th-century Europe thought it more of a drug than sensory decoration: Realizing its intense physical side effects — which, in addition to the visual hallucinations and difficulty moving properly, can include up to half a day of vomiting, dizziness, nausea, and seizures — they used it as a last-ditch effort to escape the horrors of imprisonment, induce menstruation in women, or in attempts to abort unwanted fetuses.

Despite the horrible hangover, some people were still willing to take it; the alleged French seer Nostradamus, for one, is said to have induced his prophetic visions by ingesting large amounts of nutmeg. Its hallucinogenic potency comes down to the effects of a volatile compound contained within its flesh.