No licorice during pregnancy

Professional Association of Gynecologists: Pregnant women should refrain from the consumption of licorice

The professional association of gynecologists in Munich points out that women should not eat liquorice during pregnancy. Maybe expectant mothers risk unfavorable development of their child, as it was said. Studies indicate that licorice consumption adversely affects the cortisol level of the child.

Klaus König of the professional association of gynecologists warns against the consumption of licorice in the course of pregnancy. Individual scientific studies have shown that children who ate liquorice in their mothers during pregnancy suffered from increased cortisol levels. The cortisol level was three times that of children whose mothers did not use licorice. Already one gram of liquorice per week would have been enough to increase the cortisol levels massively.

Stress hormone Cortisol affects the organism
Cortisol is a steroid hormone (stress hormone) of the adrenal cortex and has a great influence on the human organism. There is a connection between the hormone and the ability to cope with stress. Similarly, cortisol has a direct impact on the development of obesity and diseases such as diabetes. This finding is not new, because it was already observed a few years ago that with a consumption of more than 100 grams of licorice per week during the course of pregnancy, children later suffered from increased behavioral problems and concentration problems. Scientists suspect that the licorice root ingredient glycyrrhizin makes the placenta more permeable to the mother's stress hormones, thereby adversely affecting the unborn child. (sb, 02.11.2010)

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