Man Dies From Eating Too Much Licorice Because, Well, Murphy's Law
Are you one of those certifiably weird people that actually like licorice? If you are, please know that I am not only harshly judging your bad taste in candy, but I am, unfortunately, also the bearer of bad news. According to a study published earlier this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating too much of your beloved sugary, fennel-y, star annis-y rope can actually kill you.
According to the study, a 54-year-old construction worker from Massachusetts collapsed at a fast food place and passed away at a hospital next morning. The cause of death, according his doctors? "A poor diet, consisting primarily of several packages of candy daily." But this wasn't just your run-of-the-mill poor diet, no, dear reader, this was the act of licorice malice. About three weeks before his death, he switched from a vice of soft fruit flavored candy to the chewy ropes.
Yet this was more than just an act of bad taste, as licorice is rich with a compound called Glycyrrhizic acid, which according to CNN, is a "a sweetening compound derived from licorice root, can cause a drop in potassium levels in the body, which in turn may cause high blood pressure, swelling, abnormal heart rhythms and even heart failure."
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Although shocking, this apparently isn't news. Licorice can cause a myriad of health problems in people over 40, with the FDA even releasing warnings about avoid overdosing on the candy during Halloween. Licorice - not even once?
