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---
title: Beware of Thanksgiving Nutmeg
description: Too much of the spice can make you feel as if you are &quot;encased in mud&quot;
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author: Megan Gibson
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article:published_time: 2014-11-27T13:42:09.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:19.096Z
article:section: Health
og:title: Beware of Thanksgiving Nutmeg
og:description: Too much of the spice can make you feel as if you are &quot;encased in mud&quot;
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twitter:title: Beware of Thanksgiving Nutmeg
twitter:description: Too much of the spice can make you feel as if you are &quot;encased in mud&quot;
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# Beware of Nutmeg This Thanksgiving

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## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ

### Definition

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### The seven newsletters

| Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% |
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Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience.

### Key data points

| Metric | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 |
| Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 |
| Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 |
| Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 |
| Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 |
| US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 |
| Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 |
| Publishing since | 1923 | TIME |

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### FAQ

#### What newsletters does TIME publish?

TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers.

#### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to?

It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters.

#### Are TIME's newsletters free?

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#### Who writes TIME's newsletters?

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#### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter?

Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1nM4dSof.m3u8" -->
## 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)

![5 Things You Didn't Know About the History of Thanksgiving](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1nM4dSof/poster.jpg?width=720)

_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](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/)


## Megan Gibson


Nov 27, 2014 1:42 PM UTC

by 

[Megan Gibson](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/)


## Megan Gibson


Nov 27, 2014 1:42 PM UTC

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/) 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.

\[[_NYT_](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/a-warning-on-nutmeg/)\]

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