Public Service Announcement: The Nutmeg Diaries

They say that as you get older, you get wiser. Hmmm.

Lately my intellectual horsepower has been more on a par with really bad sequels of Dumb and Dumberer. At least when it comes to putting foreign objects or alleged food in my mouth. See Pick Your Poison

I used to have a wonderful tortoiseshell kitty cat named Nutmeg. God rest her soul. We lost her in 2008. She was a sweet, smart little bitty. But this story isn’t about that Nutmeg. It’s about the spice.

Turns out it can be deadly. Read on to hear of my latest stupid human trick.

Last night I had insomnia. My doctor mentioned recently that nutmeg helps you sleep, advising me to put some in hot milk at bedtime. I thought she said a heaping teaspoon.

So at 11:30 I heated some milk in a mug, added honey, and chased it with a big spoonful of nutmeg. Heck, I thought. I’m really wide awake. I should try more. So I doubled it. I’d say I maybe had a tablespoon of nutmeg in that milk.

I sat on the couch and started drinking. After drinking most of it, I decided to surf the interwebs for info about nutmeg. This was the first thing I saw:

Oh shit. I thought, I’m headed for Nutmeg psychosis and maybe death. I jumped off the couch and immediately induced vomiting.

Then I called the Poison Control Center, and they told me since we weren’t sure how much I ingested, I should stay awake for three more hours to watch for signs of toxic overdose, such as vomiting, hallucinations, and tachycardia.

You’ve got to be kidding. I’m going to die tonight. From an overdose of one of my favorite spices. Larick was in Marangu for the night and was unable to help me. Gah.

Fortunately, after three hours I felt just very tired and somewhat dizzy, so I concluded I was going to live. I fell asleep and woke up at 10 am, seemingly no worse for the wear.

To sum up, in the last few months I ate glue and overdosed on nutmeg. If there was any doubt about my current brain function, I think those doubts can be put to rest.

Moral of the story: Seriously, Badger. Know what you’re eating before you partake. And that goes for the rest of you as well. It just goes to show that ordinary everyday foods can be harmful if not used in the right amounts.

Carry on. And let me know in the Comments whether you were aware of the dangers of nutmeg. {Nutmeg party at my house later.}

-Badger OUT! (Looking for a brain. Duh.)