Maybe you love it and have wondered how nutritious it actually is or you may not be a fan, but are intrigued to know more about it.

Pseudoaldosteronism is a health condition that can lead to people becoming overly sensitive to a hormone within their adrenal cortex. If you are over the age of 40 and have heart and blood pressure issues, you should eat it with caution Word has it that many centuries ago, it was reportedly drunk by Alexander the Great due to its supposed medicinal qualities. Panda Liquorice Raspberry barsare made with delicious real raspberries, for a mouth-wateringly smooth taste, without any preservatives or white sugar.As well as their original natural soft liquorice you can also enjoy liquorice sweets from RJ’s in raspberry flavour, chocolate covered liquorice as well as fun liquorice allsorts. Lakeland’s sweetie cupboard Look out for ones that have high-quality, real liquorice inside and haven’t got unnecessary ‘filler’ ingredients. If you are eating liquorice, it can sometimes be mixed with extra sugar and other calories. You should treat it as any normal sweet if you are eating it like this.

It’s a herb that grows in Europe and Asia, with the root containing something called glycyrrhizin. And the really interesting bit is that it can cause side effects to the body. So, what can it do, we hear you ask? When you think about all the natural benefits, liquorice could be a healthier choice thanpure-sugar sweets - if you like the unique taste. However, it does depend on what else has been added into the mix, e.g. added sugar and other flavours. Summary Its health benefits come from the compounds that the liquorice root contains. There are over 300 of these compounds including glycyrrhizin, lycoricidine and liquiritin.

Liquorice root

New Zealand-based father and son team Roger Halliwell (dad) and Regan James (RJ) started making liquorice in their hometown of Levin in 1995. They wanted to make high-grade soft liquorice made from liquorice root that didn’t blow your head off and was enjoyable to eat. RJ’s was born.

There are currently no guidelines for safe intake levels of liquorice, but both the World Health Organisation and the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food recommend no more than 100mg a day of glycyrrhizic acid – a potentially toxic compound found in liquorice – a day for the average adult. 23,24 These are also split into handy bars so they are perfect for popping in your bag and taking with you on the go. Liquorice is thought to have antimicrobial as well as other properties,and most of this is down to its active ingredient. 4,5,6 Licorice or liquorice? According to a 2011 study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, it was effective at helping people with indigestion.Yes, particularly if you're over 40 and have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure, or both. Liquorice comes from the root of a plant called glycyrrhiza glabra. 2 The root extract has a sweet flavour, and contains over 300 different active compounds. 3 Studies show that liquorice may be effective for a number of conditions, including indigestion, hot flushes and low blood pressure . Is liquorice good for you? As a result, it was concluded that liquorice may help slow down the progression of COPD when used with standard medical treatments. And we’ve even got jelly dinosaur sweets and safari sweets from the Natural History Museum in London – a portion of the sales helps to fund the museum and its work too. What a great cause to support as you chomp down on your delicious jelly sweets. Give the gift of liquorice This liquorice contains less than 0.4% fat and has no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

Researchers in Egypt gave liquorice to one set of patients to gargle with just before an operation. Some people simply love the taste of liquorice – especially those who love a good old-fashioned sweet shop!

What’s in liquorice?

The naturally soothing sensation of warm tea soothing your throat paired with liquorice’s natural benefits seem to complement each other. These delicious strands of RJ’s Soft Eating Natural Raspberry Liquorice are enough to convert any liquorice sceptic thanks to their sweet taste of juicy ripe raspberries and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The liver infection, Hepatitis C, can potentially be treated using liquorice root extract due to its glycyrrhizin content. The results showed that a low dose of glycyrrhetinic acid (from liquorice) in combination with normal treatment resulted in positive symptom improvements. 11 They are also suitable for vegetarians so they make a great alternative to chewy sweets which often contain gelatine.