Food fright!
★ SOMETHING smells a bit fishy round here! Sewage spills in our rivers and seas are leaving their inhabitants high on drugs, as we revealed yesterday.
★ Here KIM CARR reveals 10 foods and drinks which can make you feel off your nut…
Bream dreams: Romans were fans of sea bream, and chomping sarpa salpa species in particular in large amounts for the very reason that it can cause hallucinations if you snaffle enough of it. In Arabic it’s known as the “fish that makes dreams.”
Cup o’woah: Boffins at La Trobe University School of Psychological Sciences in Australia conducted a study in 2011 which found that five cups of coffee a day can lead to people “hearing voices”.
Oh crumbs: Careful what you throw out for the birds if you’re someone who buys or bakes your own rye bread. When it goes mouldy the ergot fungus inside can make people feel trippy due several psychoactive chemicals.
Feelin’ hot, hot, hot: If you like ordering the top-level curry and get a buzz afterwards it might not be down to the accompanying beer washing it down. Chillies belong to the same botanical family as tobacco and necking heaps can lead to a rush of endorphins.
Flower power: While a crispy loaf of bread topped in poppy seeds is a nice treat, too many of the seeds can make you high as they come from the opium poppy. Trace amounts are stuffed with enough morphine to show a positive result on a drugs test, even if you don’t appear to be physically out of it.
Bushy business: Unripe mulberries can not only give you a dicky tummy but cause hallucinations. They produce a milky juice which stimulates the nervous system which leads to a fruit feeling which might not be berry nice.
Spicy stuff: Watch out how many hot cross buns you eat this Easter as too much nutmeg – one of the spices used in making them – can give you a hangover feeling and paranoia. As little as two tablespoons can cause a reaction to the body due to an organic compound called myristicin.
Shroom for one more bite?
They were depicted in Stone Age art in Africa and Europe and the Aztecs called them the “flesh of the God”. A variety of mushrooms contain psychedelic compounds like psilocybin and psilocin and have seen celebs including Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus admit some trippy experiences.
A shot of mischief: The spirit absinthe’s main flavouring thujone is a hallucinogen and was the drink of choice for artist Vincent Van Gogh. The tipple is said to have played a key part in his creativity. Writer Oscar Wilde also necked the stuff and said: “After the first glass you see things as you wish they were.”
Beesy does it: Only one teaspoon’s worth of Mad Honey – produced by the world’s largest bees, Himalayan giants – is enough to give a buzz to match the effects of THC in cannabis. Larger amounts lead to hallucinations and even temporary paralysis.