If it tastes good, it's probably bad for you. This is sage advice you are likely to hear from a number of older folks, and the latest proof is the recent FDA warning against black licorice. Yes, the candy – but the real stuff, not Twizzlers or the other licorice-flavored kind.

According to the FDA warning, eating too much black licorice can lead to such potentially fatal conditions as congestive heart failure, edema, abnormal heart rhythms, lethargy, and high blood pressure. The agency defines "too much" as two ounces daily for a couple of weeks.

That doesn't sound like much, if you're a licorice fan. Even scarier, the NIH had previously warned against eating more than one ounce daily for two weeks, due to an increased risk of erectile dysfunction, paralysis, and brain damage.

So, what gives? The problem lies in a substance called glycyrrhizin, a drug present in licorice root. This has been used for centuries in herbal medicine for a variety of ailments, but it causes a drop in potassium levels, and may be an estrogen mimicker. For this reason, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have estrogen-sensitive conditions like breast cancer, are urged not to eat black licorice at all.

The moral of this story? Too much of a good thing really might kill you.

Source: http://www.grannymed.com/news/food-and-diet/is-black-licorice-deadly