Nutmeg

Nutmeg

Other names : Jaatipatree, Jaiphal, Jatikosha, Jatipatra, Jatipatri, Jatiphal, Jatiphala, Jatiphalam, Javitri, Jayapatri, Macis, Muscade et Macis, Muscadier, Muskatbuam, Muskatnuss, Myristica, Myristicae Aril, Myristica Fragrans, Myristica Officinalis, Myristicae Semen, Noix de Muscade, Nuez Moscada, Nuez Moscada y Macis, Nux Moschata, Ron Dau Kou.

Special Precautions of Nutmeg

• Producing hallucinations. Eating 5-20 grams of nutmeg powder (1-3 whole seeds) might cause psychoactive effects. Because nutmeg and mace are so similar, high doses of mace might also have psychoactive effects but, as yet, this has not been proven.
• Nutmeg and mace are UNSAFE in doses larger than amounts found in foods. Side effects such as thirst, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, feelings of pressure in the chest or stomach, dry mouth, stomach pain, and many other problems might occur in some people. More serious side effects might include hallucinations, seizures, and death.
• Used in large doses nutmeg and mace show signs of toxicity such as nausea, stupor and tachycardia, believed to be due to the myristicin content.
• Tisserand and Young warn that Nutmeg Essential Oil is potentially carcinogenic and can be psychotropic in high doses. They recommend a dermal maximum of 0.8% for East Indian and 5% for West Indian Nutmeg Oils.
• Not enough is known about the safety of using nutmeg and mace on the skin.
• Pregnancy and breast -feeding: Nutmeg and mace are UNSAFE in doses larger than amounts found in foods. In pregnant women, they may cause miscarriages or birth defects.
• Nutmeg contains a chemical, estragole, which has caused liver cancer in laboratory mice.
• Not enough is known about the safety of using nutmeg and mace during breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
• Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P) substrates) interacts with nutmeg and mace
• Phenobarbital (Luminal) interacts with nutmeg and mace.
• Eugenol can be potentially dangerous when ingested in higher amounts. It is hepatotoxic and can have several dangerous side-effects.

The benefits of Nutmeg are

• Diarrhea.
• Stomach problems.
• Intestinal gas.
• detoxes the body
• helps digestion,
• boosts the immune system
• Cancer : Essential oil of nutmeg may help prevent or treat cancer by acting as an antioxidant and inhibiting formation of blood vessels that feed tumors, according to a study published in the April 2012 issue of the "Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine." In the test tube and cell culture study, nutmeg inhibited oxidation of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid and significantly reduced new blood vessel growth. A study published in the April 2012 issue of the "Journal of Food Science" found that myristicin, a component of nutmeg essential oil, inhibited the growth of colon cancer cells.
• Kidney disease.
• Antianxiety and Antidepressant : Nutmeg offers mild sedative, antianxiety and pain-relieving benefits by virtue of its constituent compounds myristicin and elemicin, according to "100 Best Health Foods." A laboratory animal study published in the Spring 2006 issue of the "Journal of Medicinal Food" found that nutmeg exerted significant antidepressant effects. In the study, doses of 10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight of nutmeg extract increased mobility. Researchers concluded that nutmeg's antidepressant benefits may arise from its activation of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.
• Sleeping Disorders : Nutmeg is an incredibly effective remedy in the case of sleeping disorders. It has mild sedative properties which are extremely helpful in the case of insomnia.
• Brain and Central Nervous System : Central nervous system benefits of nutmeg were noted as far back as the 19th century, according to Victor R. Preedy, coeditor of the book "Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention." A study published in the January 2009 issue of the "Journal of Neuroimmunology" found that a nutmeg relative, known as black wild nutmeg, offers benefits for the brain and nervous system. In the tissue-culture study of brain cells, nutmeg extract showed robust anti-inflammatory and protective effects. Nutmeg also promoted growth of brain tissue following a period of low oxygen and glucose. Researchers concluded that black wild nutmeg has potential for use as a natural treatment in stroke rehabilitation.
• Improves blood circulation.
• External use : Nutmeg and mace are applied to the skin to kill pain, especially pain caused by achy joints (rheumatism), mouth sores, and toothache. Moreover it boosts skin health.

References

• Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology: Pharmacological Studies on Myristica Fragrans -- Antidiarrheal, Hypnotic, Analgesic and Hemodynamic (Blood Pressure) Parameters
• Cooking for Healthy Healing: The Healing Diets, Book One; Linda Page
• Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention; Victor R. Preedy et al.
• Journal of Neuroimmunology: Neuroprotection and Enhanced Neurogenesis by Extract from the Tropical Plant Knema Laurina After Inflammatory Damage in Living Brain Tissue
• Journal of Medicinal Food: Antidepressant-Like Activity of N-Hexane Extract of Nutmeg (Myristica Fragrans) Seeds in Mice
• Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine: Antioxidant and Antiangiogenic Activities of the Essential Oils of Myristica Fragrans and Morinda Citrifolia
• Journal of Food Science: Extraction and Separation of Volatile and Fixed Oils from Seeds of Myristica Fragrans by Supercritical Co₂: Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity on Caco-2 Cancer Cells
• 100 Best Health Foods; Parragon Books
• Journal of Medicinal Foods: Antidepressant-like Activity of N-Hexane Extract of Nutmeg (Myristica Fragrans) Seeds in Mice
• Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 366-367