Pregnant and hypertensive patients should not eat licorice

Pregnant women should restrain themselves better with liquorice
Especially in the north, liquorice is very popular with many people. Some groups of people should withstand the dark candy but better. For pregnant women and people with high blood pressure licorice can be dangerous.

Pregnant women should only enjoy licorice in moderation
While some people may not appreciate the idiosyncratic taste of licorice, many still love the dark sweetness. However, experts point out that especially pregnant women and people with high blood pressure should only enjoy licorice in moderation. The basis for licorice products is an extract of liquorice roots containing glycyrrhizin. This plant substance can affect the degradation of the human body and the water and salt balance.

Pregnant women and people with hypertension should only enjoy liquorice in moderation. A vegetable substance contained in it can influence the water and salt balance in the human body. (Image: Antonio Gravante / fotolia.com)

Warning on increased content
"Caution should be exercised, especially in the case of hypertension and pregnancy," explained Andrea Danitschek from the Bavarian consumer association.

Therefore, so-called liquorice with an elevated content of glycyrrhizin carries the warning "contains licorice - in case of high blood pressure an excessive consumption of this product should be avoided".

But there are other reasons why it is better not to consume licorice during pregnancy. Because this will negatively affect the cortisol level of the child, as the professional association of gynecologists in Munich reported years ago.

Medically active plant substance
The candy should not be consumed by other groups in large quantities. High consumption threatens heart problems. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recommends that consumers consume no more than 100 mg glycyrrhizin per day.

However, glycyrrhizin also has positive effects on health: "The special thing about licorice root is that it contains glycyrrhizin, a medicinally active plant compound," says Danitschek.

Extracts from the "medicinal plant of the year 2012" are used, inter alia, as a home remedy for stomach pain, as a home remedy for hoarseness and as a cough remedy. (Ad)