Medical Mysteries MISTLETOE: THE HOLIDAY KISS OF DEATH?

One of the best holiday traditions is the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Every year around Christmas, boughs of mistletoe hang in our houses. You know how it goes: anyone standing under the mistletoe is subject to a kiss from anyone else. This practice has been popular for years among star-struck young lovers, shy adolescents, and lecherous old men.

The tradition of hanging mistletoe in the house goes back hundreds of years to the ancient Druids. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe comes from England. “The original custom was that a berry was picked from the sprig of mistletoe before the person could be kissed and when all the berries had gone, there could be no more kissing,” according to WhyChristmas.com.

When you learned about the mistletoe custom, you also received an ominous warning—mistletoe is deadly poison. You learned if you ate a tiny sprig, you would foam at the mouth, your eyes would bug out like a Looney Tunes cartoon character, and you’d die a hideous death.

Like most of the scary stories we’ve heard, there is a modicum of truth to this one, but not very much. Yes, mistletoe is poisonous, but it’s not going to kill you. It isn’t the kiss of death. The New York Times summed it up by saying, “Mistletoe is not deadly. But it can be hazardous, so don’t eat it.” While mistletoe isn’t deadly, The Times added it can “cause gastrointestinal distress, a slowed heartbeat, and other reactions.”

Two Pittsburgh physicians and researchers studied data from the American

Association of Poison Control Centers and found out of 1,754 reports of mistletoe exposure over a seven-year span. There were no deaths. In about 90 percent of the cases, the patient experienced no effects at all.

There is still the possibility that “eating any part of the plant can cause drowsiness, blurred vision, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weakness and seizures,” according to CBS News. “The symptoms are caused by a poisonous ingredient called phoratoxin, which is found in all parts of the plant, including the berries, and is especially concentrated in the leaves.”

The word mistletoe comes from two Anglo Saxon words “mistle,” which means “dung” and “tan,” which means “stick.” You could translate mistletoe as “poop on a stick.”

That kissing stuff isn’t so appealing any more, is it?

Sources

“The Tradition of Mistletoe at Christmas,” WhyChristmas.com http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/ mistletoe.shtml

“7 surprising facts about mistletoe,” by Amanda Schupak, CBS News, December 24, 2014 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/7surprising-facts-about-mistletoe/

“Is Mistletoe Really Poisonous?” by Dr. Anne Marie Helmenstine, About Education, About.com http://chemistry.about.com/od/ christmaschemistry/f/mistletoe-toxicity.htm

“The Claim: Don’t Eat the Mistletoe. It Can Be Deadly,” by Anahad O’Connor, The New York Times, December 11, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/ health/11real.html?_r=0

“How Poisonous Is Holiday Mistletoe?’ eNatureBlog, eNature.com, December 2013 http://wild.enature.com/blog/is-holidaymistletoe-poisonous