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(Newser)
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If you have always hated black licorice, you may continue to hate it because too much of it can cause medical problems, as one elderly Canadian has found. Live Science reports a study in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association detailing the case of an 84-year-old man who presented to the emergency department after a week of high blood pressure readings at home, as well as headache, chest pain and swelling of the calf. The doctors found that his systolic reading was 200 mm HG; a normal reading is 120mm HG, with 180mm HG or higher indicating a "hypertensive crisis." The man revealed that for the past two weeks he had been rejecting a glass or two a day of homemade "erk sous", a very popular Egyptian licorice tea, often served during Ramadan and made from licorice root. The culprit that causes the distress of the patient: glycyrrhizin, a compound that is found in licorice root and that can drop the level of potassium in the body.
This, in turn, can lead to swelling, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure, according to the FDA. Although licorice and its derivatives have long been used in oriental medicine – as well as as a sweetener in non-alcoholic beverages and snacks – and the FDA has generally considered them to be safe if used sparingly. "The traditional belief that licorice is a healthy natural substance without effects leads to liberal consumption, which can sometimes be dangerous," notes an independent study. The FDA notes that although no one should be bingeing on large amounts of liquorice at one time, many liquorice flavored products in the United States do not contain licorice flavored with oil. anise. As for the elderly patient, the study notes that he returned home nearly two weeks later, with normal blood pressure, after a "total abstinence" of licorice during his hospitalization. (A man who ate a lot of Twizzlers sued the Hershey Co.)
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