--- description: Too much of the spice can make you feel as if you are "encased in mud" title: Beware of Thanksgiving Nutmeg image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [food and drink](/tag/food-and-drink/) ## food and drink Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Beware of Nutmeg This Thanksgiving ## Video: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1nM4dSof.m3u8) (1:44)  _Published 2014-11-26. If not for some fortunate circumstances, Thanksgiving could've been a holiday of fasting — rather than feasting — every fourth Thursday of November._ by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 27, 2014 1:42 PM CUT by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 27, 2014 1:42 PM CUT There’s a new threat this holiday season. The [New York _Times_ reports](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/a-warning-on-nutmeg/ "undefined") that toxicologists have a warning for anyone getting into the spices over Thanksgiving to be extra careful of nutmeg. The spice has long been noted for its unpleasant side effects when abused or taken in large quantities, thanks to a chemical in it called myristicin, which “belongs to a family of compounds with psychoactive potential.” It seems that the spice has often been used by prison inmates or teenagers who are looking for an accessible high. As little as two tablespoons of nutmeg can cause what the _Times_ describes as “an out-of-body sensation.” So just what does an overdose of nutmeg feel like? “People have told me that it feels like you are encased in mud,” Dr. Edward Boyer, Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, told the _Times_. “You’re not exactly comatose, but you feel really sluggish. And your remembrance of events during this time period is incomplete at best.” Boyer also told the _Times_ that he’d seen two cases of nutmeg poisoning that were so severe, the patients needed to be hospitalized. There is good news, however, for most nutmeg fans. The amount of spice added to traditional pumpkin pie recipes or sprinkled on egg nog won’t cause any adverse reactions. \[[_NYT_](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/a-warning-on-nutmeg/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/"},"headline":"Beware of Nutmeg This Thanksgiving","datePublished":"2014-11-27T13:42:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:25:45.337Z","description":"Too much of the spice can make you feel as if you are \"encased in mud\"","url":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/","keywords":["food and drink","health","Poison","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-and-drink/","name":"food and drink"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/","name":"Beware of Nutmeg This Thanksgiving"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving","description":"If not for some fortunate circumstances, Thanksgiving could've been a holiday of fasting — rather than feasting — every fourth Thursday of November.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1nM4dSof/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-26T17:46:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1nM4dSof.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/","duration":"PT1M44S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3608753/beware-of-nutmeg-this-thanksgiving/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```