The Consequences of Eating Too Much Black Licorice Could Have on Your Health

Doctors at a Massachusetts hospital came across a very rare case last year when a man who died from overeating black licorice. The case was detailed recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. The 54-year-old was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital after having a heart attack in a fast-food restaurant. EMTs were able to resuscitate the man, but he never fully recovered. The man died 32 hours later after kidney failure. Doctors also determined that the man had little chance of recovering his full brain function. In his final hours, his doctors were able to figure out what happened: He had eaten a toxic amount of black licorice over the previous few weeks. The chemical that gives black licorice its peculiar sweet taste is called glycyrrhizin. Too much of this particular chemical can increase blood pressure and reduce potassium levels, which can cause heart arrhythmias that, in turn, may lead to heart attacks. The sweet component in black licorice can also cause kidney failure.