Highs and lows of poppy seeds
Opiates is a technical word to describe drugs extracted from opium. Opium naturally is found in the poppy plant.
Extracts of the poppy plant have been used as a medicine and abused as a recreational drug for many years. At one point in history, doctors prescribed opium with too much liberty. If you happened to have pain, insomnia or a cough, opium was often prescribed.
Ancient Egyptians ate parts of the poppy plant and recognized it as an effective sedative.
Yet you can get easily addicted to opium and this can have harmful effects on your health. Nowadays we classify all drugs derived from opium and all synthetic drugs with opiumlike effects as scheduled medicine.
Opiates include codeine, heroine and morphine and many other drugs, including some 'recreational street' drugs. Low doses of codeine can still be found in some cough syrups.
One common side effect of codeine is constipation! Morphine is a drug that is still available for serious pain management, such as in some cancer cases.
Medicinally, poppy seeds have been used in many remedies.
Through many years of cultivation, the exact quantity of opiates in poppy seeds has most likely changed.
Different suppliers of poppy seeds give different results in the exact make-up of the seeds.
Generally poppy seeds are high in fiber, calcium and essential fats. Poppy seed oil is great for cooking and skin care. The seeds are hardly used to produce drugs because their content is negligible.
You can never get really 'high' or feel drug-like effects from eating poppy seeds.
Poppy seed oil has been mass produced to be incorporated into products such as paints and soaps. Sometimes if you eat quite a bit of poppy seeds and undergo a drug test you may test positive.
This is because poppy seeds may carry trace amounts of opiates, yet they are too low to have noticeable drug-like effects.
Poppy seeds are sources of antioxidants, essential oils and nutrients. Add or sprinkle poppy seeds over bakery foods (such as muffins) and milk based drinks.
They are definitely friendly foods, especially during the festive December season!