Nutmeg is safe in cooking quantities, but large amounts can cause nausea, palpitations, confusion and hallucinations lasting a day or more. Myristicin and elemicin are the compounds usually blamed.
The short answer¶
Nutmeg as used in cooking, a grating over a béchamel, custard or eggnog, is safe. Problems come from eating much larger amounts, usually well over a teaspoon of ground nutmeg at once, whether by accident, as a dare or because nutmeg has a reputation online as a legal "high". The result is typically not pleasant: many hours of nausea, a racing heart, dizziness, anxiety and sometimes hallucinations, often lasting into the next day. Serious harm is uncommon, but people do end up in hospital.
What causes it¶
Nutmeg and mace, which come from the same fruit of Myristica fragrans, contain an essential oil rich in aromatic compounds. Several are thought to be responsible for toxicity, chiefly myristicin and elemicin, with a smaller contribution from safrole. How exactly they act on the nervous system is not fully understood; it is often suggested that the body converts some of them into compounds with stimulant or hallucinogenic effects, but the evidence for this is limited.
The oil content of nutmeg varies with origin and freshness, which is one reason reported toxic doses vary so much. Poison centres and medical case reports generally describe symptoms appearing after ingestion of around 5 g or more of ground nutmeg, which is roughly two teaspoons, and more severe effects at higher doses. Some people react to less.
🔬 How much is in a recipe
A whole nutmeg weighs roughly 5 to 10 g. A typical recipe for four uses a pinch or a few gratings, perhaps a quarter of a teaspoon at most, which is a small fraction of the amounts linked to poisoning.
Symptoms¶
Symptoms usually start several hours after eating nutmeg, which is one reason people take more, thinking it has not worked. Commonly reported effects include:
- nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain
- a fast heartbeat and palpitations
- dry mouth, flushing and thirst
- dizziness, drowsiness or agitation
- anxiety, a feeling of doom or unreality
- confusion and, at higher doses, hallucinations
Symptoms commonly last 24 hours or longer, and some people report feeling unwell for a couple of days. Deaths attributed to nutmeg alone are very rare in the medical literature, but it can be more dangerous combined with other drugs or alcohol, and in young children or people with heart conditions.
If someone has eaten too much¶
This page is not medical advice. If you think someone has eaten a large amount of nutmeg:
- Call NHS 111 (in the UK) for advice, or your local poisons or medical helpline elsewhere.
- Call 999 if they have chest pain, a very fast or irregular heartbeat, are hard to wake, are having a seizure, or are severely confused or distressed.
- Note roughly how much was eaten and when, and keep the packaging.
- Do not try to make them sick.
Treatment in hospital is generally supportive: monitoring, fluids and managing symptoms while the effects wear off.
Children and pets¶
Young children are more vulnerable because of their size. Keep jars of whole and ground nutmeg out of reach, particularly if children like to "cook" with the spice rack. Nutmeg is also listed by veterinary poison services as toxic to dogs in large amounts; a sweet treat with a little nutmeg is unlikely to matter, but a dog that has raided a jar needs a call to the vet.
Nutmeg in the kitchen¶
None of this is a reason to avoid nutmeg. Used as recipes intend, it is one of the great warm spices of European, Caribbean, Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, from mixed-spice and quatre-epices to garam-masala. Freshly grated whole nutmeg is more aromatic than ground, so you need less.
See also nutmeg, mace, the-spice-islands and coumarin-in-cinnamon.