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A Massachusetts construction worker’s love of black licorice ended up costing him his life. Eating a bag and a half every day for a few weeks derailed his nutrients and caused the 54-year-old’s heart to stop, doctors reported Wednesday.
“Even a small amount of licorice ingested can raise blood pressure a bit,” said Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who described the case in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The problem is glycyrrhizic acid, which is found in black licorice and many other foods and dietary supplements that contain licorice root extract. It can cause dangerously low potassium levels and imbalances in other minerals called electrolytes.
Eating as little as 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks could cause a heart rhythm problem, especially for people over 40, warns the US Food and Drug Administration.
“It’s more than liquorice sticks. It could be jelly beans, licorice teas, many over-the-counter things. Even some beers, like Belgian beers, have this compound, ”as do some chew cigars, said Dr. Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and former president of the American Heart Association. He had no role in caring for the Massachusetts man.
Death was clearly an extreme case. The man had gone from the fruit-flavored red hints to the black licorice version of the candy a few weeks before his death last year. He collapsed while having lunch at a fast food restaurant. Doctors discovered that she had dangerously low potassium levels, which caused her heart rate and other problems. First responders did CPR and he revived, but died the next day.
The FDA allows up to 3.1% of a food’s content to have glycyrrhizic acid, but many candy and other licorice products don’t reveal how much it contains per ounce, Butala said. Doctors have reported the case to the FDA in hopes of drawing attention to the risk.
Jeff Beckman, a spokesperson for the Hershey Company, which makes the popular Twizzlers licorice twists, said in an email that “all of our products are safe to eat and are formulated in full compliance with FDA regulations,” and that all foods , including sweets, “Should be enjoyed in moderation.”
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. AP is solely responsible for all content.
