NUTMEG - essential oil

Nutmeg comes from several species of tree in the genus Myristica. The most important species is indigenous to Indonesia's Banda Islands in the Moluccas (Spice Islands) - myristica fragrans. Nutmeg is the seed of the tree, while mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering or aril of the seed; it is the only tropical fruit that produces two different spices from the same seed.

Nutmeg was a prized and costly spice in medieval Europe, and in Elizabethan times (because nutmeg was believed to ward off the plague), demand increased and its price skyrocketed. Nutmeg was also known as a valuable commodity by Muslim sailors and was traded by Arabs during the Middle Ages. In 1512 the Portuguese found the Banda Islands and started buying their nutmeg, mace, and cloves. Full control of trade by the Portuguese wasn't possible, and when the Dutch East India Company waged a bloody battle with the Bandanese in 1621 the island's population plummeted from 15,000 to 1,000. The dutch then constructed a nutmeg plantation system which included forts and a colonial town for trading and governance.

The Dutch weren't the only occupants of the Spice Islands however, and the British negotiated with village leaders on Rhun Island to protect them from the Dutch in exchange for a monopoly on their nutmeg. Rhun accepted England as their sovereign, and it became the first overseas English colony. Control of the Banda Islands was contested until 1667 when the British ceded Rhun to the Dutch in exchange for the island of Manhattan (New York) in North America.

Health benefits
• Brain tonic: mental exhaustion, stress, concentration, improves dream quality
• Heart: stimulates cardiovascular system
• Mouth: bad breath, antiseptic (toothaches, aching gums)
• Liver Tonic: liver disease (removes toxins from the liver)
• Kidneys: infections, diseases, dissolves kidney stones, accumulation of uric acid
• Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, sedative: pain relief (muscles, joints) arthritis, rheumatism, lumbago, menstrual cramps
• Indigestion: stomach aches, gas, vomiting, diarrhoea, increases appetite
• Respiratory: cough, congestion, cold symptoms, asthma