What if I told you that a common herb, often praised for its health benefits and found in everything from teas to candies, could be secretly sabotaging your efforts to maintain healthy blood pressure? It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s a dangerous reality that many people are completely unaware of. This isn’t some rare, exotic plant; it’s an herb you’ve likely consumed many times without a second thought.
We’re talking about licorice. Yes, that same familiar flavor from your favorite candy or soothing tea. While licorice root has been used for thousands of years as a remedy for various ailments, it contains a powerful compound that can have serious consequences, especially if you have or are at risk for high blood pressure. In this article, we’re going to pull back the curtain on this popular herb. You’ll learn exactly how it can disrupt your body’s delicate balance, who is most at risk, and what you can do to enjoy its benefits without the dangerous side effects. Understanding this information is crucial for taking control of your cardiovascular health.
Key Takeaways
- The Herb to Avoid: Licorice is the number one herb to be cautious with if you have high blood pressure.
- Electrolyte Imbalance: It causes your body to retain excess sodium while flushing out essential potassium.
- Health Risks: This imbalance can lead to elevated blood pressure, muscle cramps, weakness, and even dangerous heart arrhythmias.
- The Mechanism: The active compound in licorice, glycyrrhizin, interferes with a key enzyme that regulates the stress hormone cortisol, leading to these adverse effects.
- The Real Danger: The primary risk comes from chronic, low-dose consumption over time, not a single, isolated use.
- A Safer Choice: Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) is a safer alternative that has had the problematic compound removed, allowing you to get the benefits without the risks.
1. The Surprising Culprit: Why Licorice Can Be Dangerous
When you think of things that raise blood pressure, your mind probably goes to salty junk food, stress, or a sedentary lifestyle. You probably don’t think of a natural herb. But licorice root is a potent substance. People consume it in many forms: as a sweet black candy, a comforting herbal tea, or as a supplement in capsules, often to support adrenal health and combat stress. Its use dates back over 3,000 years for treating everything from ulcers to coughs. However, its power is a double-edged sword. The very compound that gives licorice many of its therapeutic properties is also the one that can put your heart in jeopardy.
2. How Licorice Hijacks Your Body’s Stress Response
To understand the danger, you need to know a little about your body’s stress hormone, cortisol. Your body has a brilliant built-in safety system to prevent cortisol levels from getting too high. An enzyme, known technically as 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11BHSD2), acts like a security guard, deactivating cortisol to keep things in check. Why is this important? Because excessive cortisol tells your kidneys to hold onto sodium and get rid of potassium. This shift is a primary driver of high blood pressure.
Here’s where licorice comes in. The active compound in licorice, called glycyrrhizin, blocks this protective enzyme. It essentially ties up the security guard, allowing cortisol to run rampant and exert its effects unchecked. So, when you consume too much licorice, you are tricking your body into a state of high cortisol activity. The result? Your body starts hoarding sodium and dumping potassium, your blood volume increases, and your blood pressure begins to climb. This isn’t a direct effect of the licorice itself, but rather how it manipulates your own hormones against you.
3. The Critical Role of Potassium (And Why Licorice Depletes It)
Let’s talk more about potassium, because its loss is one of the most hazardous effects of licorice overconsumption. Potassium is an absolutely vital electrolyte for your health. It works in partnership with sodium to maintain fluid balance, but its most important jobs relate to your heart and muscles. It’s essential for generating the electrical impulses that keep your heart beating in a steady rhythm and for allowing your nerves and muscles to function properly. It also helps your body store sugar as glycogen for energy and protects against blood sugar issues.
Shockingly, studies show that up to 98% of the population doesn’t get the recommended 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day. Most of us are already running on a deficit. When you introduce licorice into this equation, you can go from a simple deficiency to a severe one. When potassium levels drop too low, you can experience symptoms like muscle weakness, fatigue, cramps, and, most frighteningly, heart arrhythmias. For someone already dealing with high blood pressure, this added strain on the heart can be incredibly dangerous.
4. Who Is Most at Risk? Identifying Your Vulnerability
While anyone can be affected by too much licorice, certain groups are far more vulnerable to its negative effects. You need to be especially cautious if you fall into any of these categories:
- Older Adults: As we age, our kidney function can become less efficient, and our bodies are generally more sensitive to shifts in electrolytes and blood pressure. This makes older individuals more susceptible to the effects of licorice.
- People with Existing High Blood Pressure: If your blood pressure is already elevated, consuming licorice is like pouring gasoline on a fire. You are directly triggering a mechanism that will make your condition worse.
- Anyone Taking Diuretics: Many blood pressure medications are diuretics, which work by helping your body flush out excess sodium and water. However, many of these drugs also deplete potassium. Combining a potassium-wasting diuretic with licorice is a recipe for a severe electrolyte imbalance.
- Individuals on Corticosteroids: If you take a synthetic version of cortisol, such as prednisone, for an inflammatory condition, you should absolutely avoid licorice. You are already taking a powerful cortisol-like drug; licorice will amplify its effects, leading to a dangerous excess.
5. How Much Is Too Much? Understanding Safe Consumption
The real danger with licorice isn’t from a single piece of candy or one cup of tea. The problem arises from chronic, consistent consumption that allows the effects to build up in your system. So, what’s the tipping point? Research suggests that consuming over two cups of licorice tea every single day could be enough to start shifting your electrolyte balance. For candy, eating as little as 100 milligrams of licorice candy daily for over two weeks has been shown to cause problems, even landing people in the hospital.
It’s the slow, steady, low-dose exposure that catches people off guard. You might feel fine for a while, but internally, the glycyrrhizin is steadily doing its work, depleting your potassium and raising your blood pressure until symptoms finally emerge.
6. The Safer Alternative: What Is DGL Licorice?
After hearing all this, you might think you need to banish licorice from your life forever. But there is a safe way to get its benefits, particularly for digestive health. The solution is DGL, which stands for Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice.
As the name implies, DGL is a special extract of licorice where the problematic glycyrrhizin has been removed. This simple extraction process leaves you with the beneficial compounds that soothe the digestive tract—making it excellent for issues like stomach ulcers and acid reflux—without affecting the enzyme that controls cortisol. With DGL, you don’t have to worry about your blood pressure, potassium levels, or other electrolyte issues. If you’re looking to use licorice for its gut-healing properties, especially long-term, always make sure the product you choose is the DGL form.
7. Don’t Get Misdiagnosed: Why You Must Tell Your Doctor
One of the most fascinating and concerning aspects of licorice overconsumption is its ability to mimic other serious medical conditions. The hormonal state it creates can look almost identical to an adrenal tumor or a disorder called hyperaldosteronism. A doctor seeing the lab results—high blood pressure, low potassium—might start looking for a tumor as the cause.
This is why it is absolutely critical to inform your doctor about everything you are taking, including herbal teas, supplements, and even candy. If you’re a regular licorice consumer, that piece of information could be the key to a correct diagnosis, saving you from unnecessary stress, expensive tests, and potentially incorrect treatments. The good news is that if licorice is the cause, the symptoms are typically reversible. Simply stopping your consumption will usually allow your body to return to normal.
Conclusion: Be an Informed Health Advocate
Herbs are nature’s medicine, and many, like licorice, are incredibly powerful. But power demands respect and knowledge. While licorice has a long history of therapeutic use, it’s not universally safe for everyone. Its ability to disrupt your cortisol regulation, deplete potassium, and raise blood pressure makes it a significant risk for a large portion of the population.
By understanding how it works, you can make informed decisions for your health. Be mindful of your consumption, especially if you have high blood pressure or are in a high-risk group. If you need the gut-soothing benefits of licorice, opt for the much safer DGL version. Ultimately, being your own health advocate means looking at everything you put in your body, even the ‘natural’ things, with a curious and critical eye.
Source: Dr. Eric Berg