black licorice Can Potentially Kill You
Too much of a good thing can be harmful, that is with anything in life. However, one Massachusetts man found out the hard way because of his love for black licorice. A 54-year-old Massachusetts man “overdosed” on black licorice. The problem is that the candy contains glycyrrhizic acid, which caused his potassium levels to drop. The U.S Food and Drug Administration warns if you’re over 40, eating 2 ounces of black licorice a day for around 2 weeks can make you end up visiting the hospital. The compound that’s in it can cause irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia.
Very low levels of potassium can lead to heart problems, high blood pressure, and some cases even death. It’s scary to think that a candy that many of us have liked for so long could be potentially deadly. What about all the other candy out there? It really makes you think about the things we ingest that we think are harmless.
“Even a small amount of licorice you eat can increase your blood pressure a little bit,” Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and one of the authors of the case report in the NEJM, told the Associated Press.
Video Source – ABC NEWS
