How Much Licorice Is Safe?

Eating licorice or drinking licorice tea can cause the loss of body fat by blocking the effects of a stress hormone, but at what cost?

I’m so glad I was finally able to publish this. It was removed from How Not to Diet due to space considerations, but I always found this topic so fascinating.

The video I mentioned about animal protein and adrenal function is The Effect of Animal Protein on Stress Hormones, Testosterone, and Pregnancy ( ).

For less risky ways to accelerate weight loss, check out How Not to Diet ( ) from your local public library or, for a taste, see the book trailer ( ) or my Evidence-Based Weight Loss presentation ( ).

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Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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Leroy Johnson
 

  • @naftalibendavid says:

    Wow! Didn’t know this stuff! Thank you.

  • @andrewpawley8883 says:

    I love this channel!

  • @imthinkingthoughts says:

    I was recently on high dose Prednisolone for Crohn’s disease. I was drinking loads of liquorice tea as I love it. During my taper I was experiencing loads of side effects. Turns out it might be because of my consumption of liquorice tea! Wow, there are truely levels to this. So fascinating

    • @Julottt says:

      You should watch the channel “high carb health” on youtube to be able to heal your gut and microbiome from Crohn.
      And all the testimonies too~

  • @zinareid5936 says:

    My mother had a friend who snacked on black licorice all day and, yes, almost died. She was never the same mentally.

    • @Alcooliques_sans_frontieres says:

      The doctor means the root and not the sweets you can buy in the shops.
      The sweets you can buy in the shops often do not even contain real licorice.

    • @hornsteinhof7592 says:

      ​@@Alcooliques_sans_frontieresmany, but some still do (at least where I live). There have also been cases in court where ppl tried to sue because of hospitalization following liquorice consumption (which were rejected)

    • @Alcooliques_sans_frontieres says:

      @@hornsteinhof7592 If people consume excessive amounts of Licorice then it’s their fault.
      Anything in excess causes damage to the body even drinking water in excess.

    • @Tyler_Skye77 says:

      ⁠​⁠@@hornsteinhof7592
      Why were they rejected (if you know)? I didn’t know about that.

  • @mchagawa1615 says:

    Thank you so much for sharing and shining the light on this <3

  • @jmwhitt says:

    Careful of DGL supplements as well, can lower potassium

  • @NutritionFactsOrg says:

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  • @thebravespirit439 says:

    i was about to incorporate licorice tea to my diet for it’s benifits on asthma , but watching this vid made me reconsider it
    thank you sir , very helpful information

    • @Tyler_Skye77 says:

      It should be safe at low amounts with the right brand. It’s always best to play it safe, though.

  • @jeanneamato8278 says:

    I had heard that it was bad for those with high blood pressure so warned customers at my herb shop about it. I might have lost a sale but my customers trusted me and stayed healthy.

  • @Alcooliques_sans_frontieres says:

    Licorice in the United States can be all kind of sweet stuff.. Most people do not mean the roots but some jelly-like sweet substance with anise type of flavor.
    Careful with real licorice because over time it can increase your blood pressure.

  • @dar731 says:

    CONGRATULACION FOR YOUR BOOK IT’S AMAZING, THANK YOU 🎉🎉GREETINGS

  • @paulmaxwell8851 says:

    My sister developed a cardiac arrythmia, specifically a PVC or premature ventricular contractions, which was a tremendous cause for concern. She was otherwise quite healthy. She went for batteries of tests such as treadmill stress tests, bloodwork etc. The doctors didn’t know what to think. In the end, I read up on it and traced the cause to excess licorice consumption coupled with the large daily intake of deionized water. Deionized water was RO or reverse osmosis water, which is devoid of minerals. She cut out the licorice and switched to drinking her perfectly good, delicious well water which has significant amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals. Four years later, she’s never looked better!

  • @ceidrenv387 says:

    Does the topical licorice mentioned early in the video have these side effects?

  • @billsemenoff says:

    Do sassafras next!

  • @ColineRusselle says:

    If you were a British child born just after the war there was food rationing and no poisonous sugar available. As such a kid I was given ginger and liquorice, brit spelling, as treats, we chewed the dried roots all the time. The shops eventually sold liquorice sweets from large selection boxes and when given a whole box one Christmas I proved that a whole box was a single portion! I ate it in quantities far in excess of those you have mentioned until I gave up all carbs at 65. it is still the only thing I miss on my new low carb diet…

  • @im2old4this2 says:

    It happened to me. I was gifted some amazingly delicious black licorice covered with chocolate and salted caramel. European. I found it on Amazon and started ordering it regularly. I got two containers on a Friday, ate one of them. Went to my doctor the next morning – my blood pressure was off the charts. We had no idea what was going on. I went home, and as I ate the second container I did some research. I wondered if perhaps one of my supplements was the culprit. That’s when I discovered the black licorice connection. I sent an email to my doctor. He had never seen such a case before. I went back in a couple of weeks and my BP was close to normal again.

  • @jamesmitchell6925 says:

    Thank Doc! Great job on the video!

  • @Viertelfranzose says:

    I use the Licorice extract powder (from Roots of Glycyrrhizia Glabra) with min. Standardized to 30% Glycyrrhizic Acid) since some month. Seems no effect on me till now..Perhaps someone have other effects 🤔Thank you very much for this interesting video and greetings from Andreas in Alsace /France

  • @MindVersusMisery says:

    As a Swede this is potentially life saving info. Here in Sweden we love licorice with lots of salt, and me and my wife can eat a bag in one sitting in front of the telly. No wonder why I recently felt as if my heart did acrobatics in my chest. Now it’s time for a family emergency meeting about our snacking habits.

    Thanks Doc!

  • @joniroylance8729 says:

    I loved Black licorice since I was 5years old! Ate it whenever I coukd find it. Then a friend sent licorice from Australia! So good, soft and chewy…..but little did I know why my blood pressure was over200/90. No more licorice for me😢,! When I recently looked for some…..all stores. NO longer had it…. All pulled off the shelves…. I then had Afib,and needed an operation as my heart went into crazy beats! Everything has been good since then, but I still crave licorice……but won’t ever eat it again😢.

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