[at-l] GOT: Threshold effect (was) Sugar Substitutes

[nealb at midlandstech.edu (William Neal)]

Everything has a threshold level.  Even water.  Can anyone drink a whole
swimming pool of water at once?

Some people have a low threshold level: Alcoholics are often warned not to
take certain cough medicines because of the high percentage of alcohol in
them.  Some people have a high threshold level: Like my friend (or me when I
was younger) who can drink and drink and show NO "clearly seen" levels of
drunkenness: I know he was stopped (because of a broken tail light) and the
officer let him go.  And for some substances, the threshold levels are so
close for all people that all people are rated at the same level (more or
less).  For example, serious poisons and nutmeg.

NUTMEG at one time was a "controlled" substance in some jurisdictions and (I
think) was being considered for federal listing (maybe it was listed).  But
it dropped from governmental view when two factors were considered: One, it
is a commonly used substance in cooking and an important export from some
poor countries.  Two, the amount of nutmeg you have to ingest to get a
hallucinogenic high is EXTREMELY HIGH.  Usually most people get the "running
trots" long before they get high.

So thresholds have to be considered for any substance.  And potentially all
substances are harmful if that threshold level is reached.

William, The Turtle