Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Thu, 28 Oct 1999 13:27:59 +1000 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
Interesting post from another list
Liquorice (syn. licorice) contains a plant steroid that raises BP by
causing sodium retention. It is relatively harmless on a very low salt
diet like the Paleodiet and dangerous at high salt intakes. There is a
Dutch liquorice with added salt, and it is even sold in a double-salt
variety. The taste is like a mixture of liquorice and seaweed, but it is
said to be more addictive than plain liquorice. The doctor's first
question to a newly diagnosed hypertensive in Holland is how much liquorice
the patient is eating.
A little liquorice may be harmless but the problem is that some people get
very fond of it. Taking 200g of black liquorice confectionery a week as an
arbitrary threshold for a harmful effect, a study of high school students
in Dunedin found that 5.9% of the girls and 4.9% of the boys were eating
potentially harmful amounts. Two children were eating more than a
kilogram a week. The authors thought it deplorable that confectionery with
quite powerful steroid activity and semi-addictive properties should be
available to children across the counter of a sweet-shop. The reference is:
Simpson FO, Currie IJ. Licorice consumption among high school students NZ
Med J 1982;95:31-33.
Children before they learn to spell often pronounce it LICKERISH. An
amazing number of Australian adults have not learnt to spell this word, and
the longer I live the worse it gets. When I learnt the word it rhymed with
poultice, mortice and practice.
Ben
|
|
|