A Massachusetts man overdosed on black licorice and died after eating a bag-and-a-half of the candy each day for several weeks, causing his potassium levels to drop.
The case was detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine, where doctors reported that the 54-year-old construction worker had essentially ODd on black licorice, which contains glycyrrhizic acid. Dangerously low levels of potassium can lead to abnormal heart rhythms, high blood pressure, and even congestive heart failure.
“Even a small amount of licorice you eat can increase your blood pressure a little bit,” said Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who described the case in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Glycyrrhizic acid is found in many foods and dietary supplements containing licorice root extract. It can cause dangerously low potassium and electrolyte imbalances.
One of the world’s oldest herbal remedies, licorice root comes from the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra), native to Western Asia and Southern Europe.
It was used for flavoring and medicine in ancient Egypt, where the root was made into a sweet drink for pharaohs, Healthline reported. It has also been used in traditional Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Greek medicine to soothe upset stomachs, reduce inflammation, and treat upper respiratory problems.
Eating as little as 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks can cause a heart rhythm problem, especially for those over age 40, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
“It’s more than licorice sticks. It could be jelly beans, licorice teas, a lot of things over the counter. Even some beers, like Belgian beers, have this compound in it,” as do some chewing tobaccos, said Dr. Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and former American Heart Association president, NBC reported.
The construction worker collapsed while eating lunch at a fast-food restaurant a few weeks after he had switched from red licorice to black licorice, Fox News reported. Emergency services performed CPR and he was revived, only to die 32 hours later, the journal reported.
Doctors have reported the case to the FDA in hope of raising attention to the risk. Although the FDA allows up to 3.1 percent of a food’s content to have glycyrrhizic acid, many candies and licorice products don’t reveal how much of it is contained per ounce, Butala said.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
Hershey Company makes the popular Twizzlers licorice twists. Company spokesman Jeff Beckman said in an email that “all of our products are safe to eat and formulated in full compliance with FDA regulations,” and that all foods, including candy, “should be enjoyed in moderation.”
Licorice is hardly the only plant whose delicious products can have toxic side effects. Cherry, apricot, plum and peach pits can produce cyanide. Rice contains arsenic, particularly the rice grown in Texas, according to Bon Appétit. And potatoes can produce solanine, a natural pesticide that’s toxic to humans and concentrated in potatoes that have started to turn green and sprout.
It would take about 50 grams of arsenic to kill the average 150-pound adult and you’d have to eat 1,800 cups of rice in one sitting to achieve death by rice, according to the Bon Appétit article, “8 Foods That Could Kill You (If You Eat Enough of Them).”
