1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,820 In this episode, being careful about nutmeg. 2 00:00:04,980 --> 00:00:07,410 Welcome to the Anxiety Road Podcast. 3 00:00:07,410 --> 00:00:11,220 This is the involuntary journey, finding treatment options and 4 00:00:11,225 --> 00:00:15,480 resources for people that have anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias.. 5 00:00:16,290 --> 00:00:18,360 This podcast is treatment agnostic. 6 00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:20,370 My name is Gena Haskett. 7 00:00:21,170 --> 00:00:22,760 Well, here we go again. 8 00:00:23,090 --> 00:00:27,320 An old food substance is being presented as a way to treat anxiety. 9 00:00:28,250 --> 00:00:30,650 Scraper sites are picking up the idea. 10 00:00:31,070 --> 00:00:36,769 A person uses an AI app to juice it up a bit and slaps it on a website for clicks. 11 00:00:38,390 --> 00:00:42,440 If you're new here, this is the podcast that looks at medical, behavioral 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:47,630 health, meditation, relaxation, and X equals the unknown treatment options and 13 00:00:47,630 --> 00:00:51,170 resources for those of us that have an anxiety or a mental health condition. 14 00:00:52,010 --> 00:00:56,750 And part of my ongoing challenge is to find reputable, accurate information 15 00:00:57,050 --> 00:01:01,580 about foods and supplements that claim to help you with anxiety symptoms. 16 00:01:02,510 --> 00:01:05,480 My email box is swimming in nutmeg. 17 00:01:06,285 --> 00:01:11,060 Apparently it's the next big thing for anxiety relief or natural anxiety relief. 18 00:01:12,020 --> 00:01:15,080 Between the lies, damn lies and the truth. 19 00:01:15,620 --> 00:01:16,790 There are answers. 20 00:01:19,250 --> 00:01:20,660 So let's start at the beginning. 21 00:01:21,770 --> 00:01:25,670 There is a tree with a scientific name I can't begin to pronounce. 22 00:01:26,690 --> 00:01:31,310 Nutmeg is a seed of that tree that's grounded into a spice powder 23 00:01:31,370 --> 00:01:35,480 for food and medical properties, and it has been for centuries. 24 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:42,350 That spice is used by multiple cultures for flavoring, and some people use it 25 00:01:42,350 --> 00:01:47,390 as a part of their traditional healing practices in very small amounts. 26 00:01:47,390 --> 00:01:51,620 You can have it in teas, baked goods, desserts, and curries. 27 00:01:52,670 --> 00:01:57,710 And when I say small amounts, I'm generally talking about maybe an eighth of 28 00:01:57,710 --> 00:02:05,750 a teaspoon or point 28 grams or a quarter of a teaspoon, or about point 55 grams. 29 00:02:06,570 --> 00:02:09,750 If you have to, and you probably shouldn't, one 30 00:02:09,750 --> 00:02:12,030 teaspoon is about 2.2 grams. 31 00:02:12,325 --> 00:02:12,895 One more thing. 32 00:02:13,045 --> 00:02:17,935 Spices have a limited shelf life, so you wanna make sure you stick with 33 00:02:17,995 --> 00:02:23,425 maybe containers that have a date or processing date on the container. 34 00:02:24,025 --> 00:02:29,965 Once open, you have about six months to a year of potency, and this makes 35 00:02:29,965 --> 00:02:31,555 a really good case for buying retail. 36 00:02:32,215 --> 00:02:34,945 You don't know how long an item has been sitting on a shelf 37 00:02:34,945 --> 00:02:37,345 or is actually what it is that 38 00:02:37,345 --> 00:02:39,085 you paid for if you buy it online. 39 00:02:39,865 --> 00:02:43,345 The United States Food and Drug Administration does state that 40 00:02:43,345 --> 00:02:47,785 nutmeg is generally recognized as safe as a food ingredient. 41 00:02:49,055 --> 00:02:51,755 So what's the kick about anxiety? 42 00:02:51,755 --> 00:02:52,715 What can it do for you? 43 00:02:54,110 --> 00:02:58,910 There's anecdotal claims that taking nutmeg in a beverage before bedtime 44 00:02:58,910 --> 00:03:00,740 can help you with sleep and anxiety. 45 00:03:01,550 --> 00:03:05,240 There's also talk about nutmeg helping with erectile dysfunction 46 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:07,340 or male sexual performance. 47 00:03:07,970 --> 00:03:11,930 There have been studies on mice and rats, but nothing more than that. 48 00:03:13,340 --> 00:03:18,290 At this time, I cannot find any scientific or verification on the statement 49 00:03:18,590 --> 00:03:20,690 that it helps with anxiety symptoms. 50 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,880 There's little to no scientific based information on nutmeg for anxiety. 51 00:03:27,870 --> 00:03:32,580 There is no food or drug administration approval for medical use for nutmeg. 52 00:03:33,950 --> 00:03:38,780 However, there is a lot of information about nutmeg, the spice. 53 00:03:38,780 --> 00:03:42,140 There's one thing that traditional and alternative medicines agree on. 54 00:03:43,070 --> 00:03:48,110 Too much nutmeg may can cause problems including increased 55 00:03:48,115 --> 00:03:55,070 anxiety, irregular heartbeat, nausea, dizziness, hallucinations, and worse. 56 00:03:56,020 --> 00:03:58,780 There are products online that present themselves as being 57 00:03:58,780 --> 00:04:00,100 a nutritional supplement. 58 00:04:01,255 --> 00:04:05,335 There will be people who say it must be safe because it's in the supplement that 59 00:04:05,485 --> 00:04:07,615 they found at the drug store or pharmacy. 60 00:04:08,785 --> 00:04:12,145 The FDA generally does not regulate food supplements. 61 00:04:13,045 --> 00:04:16,825 They only step in if there's been an ingredient added that 62 00:04:16,830 --> 00:04:18,745 would cause harm to users. 63 00:04:19,975 --> 00:04:23,275 When a search for searched for supplements, I found products that claim 64 00:04:23,275 --> 00:04:25,720 not only to help you with the sleep, but. 65 00:04:26,260 --> 00:04:28,270 It can be used as an antioxidant. 66 00:04:28,275 --> 00:04:29,800 It fixes bad breath. 67 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,540 It supports healthy libido and performance and provides brain and 68 00:04:34,540 --> 00:04:40,420 relaxation support and that all of that mishmash, I just said, that is 69 00:04:40,425 --> 00:04:43,390 your second clue about being cautious. 70 00:04:43,810 --> 00:04:47,680 When you see something labeled as an anxiety product, especially in 71 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,420 a supplement, you may have anxiety, but you do wanna be a safe consumer. 72 00:04:54,565 --> 00:04:58,705 If a supplement promises multiple things that aren't related to each other, 73 00:04:59,425 --> 00:05:01,225 it may not be an authentic product. 74 00:05:02,305 --> 00:05:05,845 I'm not saying that fixing bad breath will help you sexually. 75 00:05:06,625 --> 00:05:10,985 Well, actually, it would, , for those of you that have an external 76 00:05:10,985 --> 00:05:15,245 appendage below the belly button, it probably will not help you. 77 00:05:17,045 --> 00:05:19,055 So what's the bottom line? 78 00:05:20,599 --> 00:05:25,849 If you wanna try a pinch or a dash of it in your tea or your smoothie or your 79 00:05:25,849 --> 00:05:28,640 beverage before you go to bed, go for it. 80 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,650 Or if nutmeg is in your favorite sweet treat scarf away. 81 00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:38,360 Just be really careful about overdoing it. 82 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,039 As usual, I do have some resources for you. 83 00:05:44,045 --> 00:05:47,195 There is the Mosby's Book of Herbs and Natural Supplements 84 00:05:47,195 --> 00:05:49,055 by Linda Skidmore Roth. 85 00:05:49,715 --> 00:05:53,435 I would suggest you check your local library, or if you wanna purchase it, you 86 00:05:53,435 --> 00:05:59,534 can, go to your online book vendor and there are ebook versions available now. 87 00:05:59,594 --> 00:06:06,235 This book is specifically for, people who are deeply interested in herbs and 88 00:06:06,235 --> 00:06:09,295 natural supplements or medical providers. 89 00:06:09,669 --> 00:06:13,840 So that's why I'm suggesting if you're really interested in this, go to your 90 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:18,880 local library and there is a section in the book that talks about nutmeg. 91 00:06:20,799 --> 00:06:25,080 There is a page on drugs.com about nutmeg. 92 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:26,159 It's very thorough. 93 00:06:27,539 --> 00:06:33,659 There is an abstract from the Encyclopedia of Toxicology, third edition from 2014, 94 00:06:34,139 --> 00:06:38,659 and they have, even in that short abstract will give you everything you need to 95 00:06:38,659 --> 00:06:40,580 know about messing around with nutmeg. 96 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:46,189 The National Capital Poison Control Center, Kitchen Surprises and 97 00:06:46,189 --> 00:06:51,109 Cautions list a number of kitchen ingredients that if you overdose 98 00:06:51,109 --> 00:06:53,419 on them, can cause some problems. 99 00:06:55,069 --> 00:07:00,559 From the Tennessee Poison Center, and again, they talk about what 100 00:07:00,559 --> 00:07:04,159 can happen if you take a little bit too much of the substance. 101 00:07:05,539 --> 00:07:09,289 So I just wanted to get that out there because every time I'm 102 00:07:09,289 --> 00:07:14,919 opening up my, email and there's alerts about nutmeg and anxiety 103 00:07:14,919 --> 00:07:16,809 and it's like, but, but wait, stop. 104 00:07:17,859 --> 00:07:18,609 Think a moment. 105 00:07:19,664 --> 00:07:23,474 I know it's increasingly rare for people to do it, but I'm, I'm gonna keep trying 106 00:07:24,554 --> 00:07:32,024 and you can find all of the links for the items I mentioned@anxietyroadpodcast.com, 107 00:07:32,604 --> 00:07:35,564 blog, website for links and other information resources. 108 00:07:35,774 --> 00:07:40,874 You can listen, download or subscribe to the podcast via any free podcasting app. 109 00:07:41,294 --> 00:07:45,324 You can also find it on Apple Podcast, Amazon, Ganna. 110 00:07:45,749 --> 00:07:48,359 Pandora or on the Listennotes.com. 111 00:07:48,869 --> 00:07:52,639 Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and 112 00:07:52,639 --> 00:07:54,529 do not constitute endorsements. 113 00:07:55,309 --> 00:07:58,879 Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with 114 00:07:58,879 --> 00:08:02,569 questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder. 115 00:08:03,559 --> 00:08:08,599 This podcast is intended for information and education purposes only, and nothing 116 00:08:08,629 --> 00:08:13,759 in the program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological. 117 00:08:14,419 --> 00:08:19,099 Psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.