Of course, anything used for medicinal purposes can have adverse effects, to. Some licorice today does not contain actual licorice extract but an artificial flavor instead. The artificial licorice does not result in the same negative health effects. Of interest today is recent information that may lead researchers to study effects of licorice on weight loss. Seven volunteers were asked to eat 3.5 grams of licorice a day - only about half a licorice stick.
Volunteers has their weight, body fat and water mass calculated before starting.
After two months, their body fat dropped but they significant increases in water retention. Their weight did not change. Because the test used true licorice extract, the finding is consistent with previous information that true licorice van increase blood pressure. There fore, anyone with high blood pressure, even if it is treated, should be careful when consuming licorice. Researchers concluded that the strong taste of licorice affected taste buds, resulting in the volunteers eating less, so they lost body fat.