Licorice

Mahes Visvalingam
Post-retirement postings

Please note that this site is under construction.

Some Experiences with Natural Medicine
and related observations

LICORICE

Licorice features prominently in Eastern medicine and cuisine and is also used in Western herbals. I tend to use DGL tablets given convenience and the warnings. For gastritis, I sometimes add one tablet to one mug of ginger tea (which makes 2 doses).

Types of licorice

sweets - eg Licorice All sorts, Chinese candies.
root
deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL)
See http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/licorice-000262.htm for notes on toxicity of root.

Often used in Eastern medicines to counteract the toxicity of other herbs and to counteract the bitter taste of some medicinal herbs.

Good for

Bad for or during

anorexia - liver tonic and sweetness
celiac disease - since it is anti-inflammatory
constipation
depression
flu - decoction of root
gastritis; bloating, indigestion; acidity; ulceration; associated sore throat
hay fever rhinitis
heat exhaustion
hypotension - low blood pressure
liver diseases, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis
respiratory complaints
sore throat
sweetener masks taste of other medicines but may have drug interactions.

Other claims:

anti-cancer
For Addison's Disease
anti thrombotic - so for altitude sickness and thrombosis
liver tonic - according to Chinese

Avoid prolonged habitual use http://www.botanical-online.com/alcaloidesregalessiaangles.htm

Breast and Uterine Cancer - affects hormones
Diabetes - given its sweetness
Erectile dysfunction - lowers testosterone
Fluid retention - too much Licorice can cause heart attack and fluid retention due to loss of potassium.
Glaucoma
Heart problems Stop if you experience muscle weakness due to potassium loss.
High Blood Pressure
Hypothyroidism
Kidney Disease - western and eastern medicine warn of this
Liver disease

Reports on research:

http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/licorice.html

http://www.botanical-online.com/licorice.htm

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