Nutmeg

Nutmeg is notable for salicylate, histamine, oxalates and gluten. Clear on tyramine, sucrose, FODMAPs, lactose, oligosaccharides, sorbitol, fructose and nickel.

Nutmeg contains moderate levels of salicylate. A dried seed, grated fresh in tiny amounts. The quantity used is what keeps this at moderate rather than high, not the concentration itself. Paterson's spice assay gives a salicylate ceiling for the class and no figure for any one spice, so this level is an ordering.

Nutmeg contains only low levels of histamine. Nutmeg is not a strong spice liberator: no published work makes it one. The Swiss list rates “nutmeg” 1 of 3, notes that small amounts are well tolerated, and marks no letter at all — where it marks L on every entry it holds to be a liberator. The culinary dose is small in any case: one whole nutmeg grates over a great many dishes.

Nutmeg contains only low levels of oxalates. Nutmeg is the lowest of the ten Indian spices Ghosh Das measured — and lowest still meant 194 mg per 100 g of total oxalate, with 41 of that in the soluble form the body can absorb. Against green cardamom's 4,014 that is genuinely small. The figure is for the ground spice as sold; a béchamel takes a grating.

Nutmeg contains only low levels of gluten. Whole nutmeg has no gluten and no route to any. Ground nutmeg is where the question arises: ground spices are sometimes extended with flour, and the finer the grind the easier that is to hide. Grating your own removes the question entirely. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.