Halloween is just over and now this. Anyone who is a licorice fan should now use the product made from the licorice root less often. Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found out: Too much licorice is unhealthy. If you are 40 years or older, consuming as little as 50 grams of licorice over 14 days can cause an irregular heart rhythm.
Licorice and Glycyrrhizin
Licorice is a low-growing shrub, the true licorice, grown primarily for commercial use in Greece, Asia, and Turkey. Licorice is often used as a flavoring in foods, and it is also often aniseed oil, which has the same taste and smell like licorice.
Black licorice contains the compound glycyrrhizin, a saponin, and triterpenoid found in the root of the licorice plant. Glycyrrhizin may cause potassium levels to drop rapidly, causing abnormal heart rhythms, high blood pressure, swelling, or lethargy. Potassium levels can usually be restored with no lasting health problems when consuming high amounts of unhealthy licorice is stopped.
So if you like to eat licorice, be careful not to eat large amounts of it at one time. If you’ve eaten a lot of licorice and experience an irregular heart rhythm or muscle weakness, stop eating the candy immediately and talk to a doctor. You can also consult a doctor about possible interactions since licorice reacts with different herbs, dietary supplements, or medicines.
Healthy alternatives
But if you completely eliminate the unhealthy licorice from your diet, but still don’t want to do without the typical taste of licorice, you can make your own pastries and other delicacies with aniseed. How about, for example, delicious aniseed donuts, aniseed sticks, aniseed balls, or aniseed-almond cookies?
