Herb info 05/2017: Nutmeg.

Like other spices, nutmeg is aromatic (spicy), that is, warming and drying.

It strengthens the digestion. Herbally, you can use it for insomnia (the kind where you wake up and can't get back to sleep) and for premature ejaculation.

Nutmeg will give you 8 hours uninterrupted sleep. Don't use it if you don't have time to sleep for 8 hours. Start with ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg in warm milk (or warm almond milk). Drink the mix a few hours before bed. If you're walking around with your eyes closed the following morning, you should take the mix in the afternoon instead.

If needed, you can raise the dose after a week of ¼ teaspoon a day to ½ freshly ground nutmeg instead. If that doesn't help your problem, you can raise the daily dose a week later to one teaspoon a day. If even that isn't enough, nutmeg might not be for you.

Nutmeg is great for premature ejaculation. Use the same ¼ teaspoon a day in some fatty liquid and raise the dose as slowly as for insomnia.

Don't use preground nutmeg, it won't work.

Nutmeg has a reputation as a hallucinogen, but all it gives you is a splitting headache, nausea and dizziness plus a good night's sleep.

Adverse effects start with about 10 ground nutmegs, but some people are more sensitive than others, which is why the teaspoon a day as a maximum dose.

It's easy to grind nutmeg: you can shave it with a knife, you can buy a teensy tiny nutmeg grater and you can buy nutmeg mills.

The oil in nutmeg makes acrylic nutmeg mills brittle within a few years, and they break. It's better to buy wooden or metal mills.

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