Man Dies from Eating Black Licorice Every Day for a 'Few Weeks'

[rcjordan]

Maybe worth posting as Halloween approaches

https://people.com/food/man-dies-from-eating-bag-and-a-half-of-black-licorice-every-day/

Researching it, licorice ingredient Glycyrrhizin is a potent 'potassium binder'.  Glycyrrhizin can cause potassium levels in the body to fall. When that happens, some people experience high blood pressure and/or arrhythmia.

Black Licorice: Trick or Treat? | FDA
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/black-licorice-trick-or-treat

[ergophobe]

And you thought Covid was dangerous.

[rcjordan]

Potassium in one of the top nutrients monitored by labs while on dialysis.  Just a couple of points off-target puts you in the hospital ...or dead.

[ergophobe]

Our particular pleasure is elderberries. People keep telling us we're going to die (which of course we will, but probably not from that).

Unfortunately, it is simply the best fruit to put in pancakes. Can't be helped. What's harder to figure out is just how much cooking you need to render them totally safe. I regularly grab handfuls while out in the yard, and so far no problem. But based on Healthline, you would need to eat a lot berries to kill yourself, but it does seem like my pancakes have about 2% of a fatal dose.

I do know people who have gotten sick though.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000311.htm
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/elderberry#risks-and-side-effects
https://nypost.com/2019/09/25/columbia-professors-homemade-flu-remedy-seriously-backfires/