Liquorice can kill!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54269144

A few months on a bag of liquorice a day and he died.
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A construction worker in the US state of Massachusetts was killed by his liquorice habit, doctors say.

The man, who has not been named but was 54 years old, ate about one-and-a-half bags of black liquorice every day.

He had suffered no symptoms before suddenly going into cardiac arrest in a fast food restaurant.

Describing the man's case in the New England Journal of Medicine, his doctors said the glycyrrhizic acid in liquorice was to blame.

"We are told that this patient has a poor diet and eats a lot of candy. Could his illness be related to candy consumption?" Dr Elazer R Edelman said.

He said studies had shown glycyrrhizic acid - the active ingredient in liquorice - could cause "hypertension, hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, fatal arrhythmias, and renal failure" - all of which were seen in this patient.

Hypokalemia is when a person's potassium levels in their blood become dangerously low.

Another thing to worry about!

@rorosemary

I'm dutch and eat licorice every day. It's well known to cause high blood pressure, if anything that's an extra reason for me to eat it (I have low blood pressure). A few sweets is fine. He ate a ridiculous amount.

swarte & witte are very nice as well.

@TW2013

You can probably kill yourself by breathing too hard

Well oxygen is a carcinogen hence the hype around antioxidants. Harder to avoid than liquorice.

Wha....??? 😱😱😱😱

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I knew I should have put 'light-hearted' in the title or the OP.

Rookie error OP

Though I'm sure I recognise your username and you're no rookie. For shame, no excuse

And that is why foods containing liquorice have to contain a liquorice warning.

Well they don’t of course! But some of us are allergic to it and if doesn’t show up prominently on a list of ingredients things like bastarding herbal teas with hidden liquorice root can make us unwell.

Also vocalzone. Didn’t check the back of that packet before I took it. Oops.

Everything is toxic, it depends on the dose (to badly quote Paracelsus )

@BewareTheBeardedDragon, I am indeed very far from a rookie. I go so far back that it was totally unnecessary to say 'light-hearted'. Times have changed. I need to get with the programme.

I'm Dutch and I love licorice. I was diagnosed with very high blood pressure over 4 years ago - no symptoms whatsoever! - and am on medication. I haven't touched licorice since diagnosis and avoid teas with licorice root in.

This man had an insane licorice addiction.

Don't - I like your programme!

The man, who has not been named but was 54 years old, ate about one-and-a-half bags of black liquorice every day.

I read this earlier. How big is a bag? I love the stuff. I guess aniseed is similar as a replacement? panicking about Pastis

I always knew the stuff was poison.

Everything in moderation. Cliche, I know. Liquorice is bad for high blood pressure but exceedingly good for dealing with constipation. A diet rich in syrup of figs and liquorice toffee should suit anyone who feels like their rectum is stoppered.