Do people die from black licorice?

Reports of people dying from eating too much black licorice are few and far between, but they do exist.

Several case reports show that daily black licorice consumption leads to a condition called pseudohyperaldosteronism, which can be lethal if untreated.

The most recent report — published on Sept. 23, 2020 — involved a 54-year-old man who had been in a fast-food restaurant when he suddenly lost consciousness (1).

Emergency medical personnel arrived at the restaurant and identified that the man was experiencing ventricular fibrillation, a serious type of irregular heartbeat.

The man was rushed to the hospital but died 32 hours later after experiencing electrolyte imbalances and multiorgan failure.

The doctor concluded the patient died of pseudohyperaldosteronism, a medical condition wherein your body mimics the effects of elevated aldosterone with high blood pressure. This suggests that excess black licorice intake had triggered ventricular fibrillation.

Pseudohyperaldosteronism is a condition characterized by high blood pressure, low potassium blood levels, a disturbance in your body’s blood acid-base balance, and low levels of renin, an enzyme that regulates blood pressure (2).

A discussion with the man’s family revealed that 3 weeks prior, he had switched from snacking on fruit-flavored soft candy to black licorice. He was also eating 1–2 large packages per day.

An earlier case report from 2008 discussed a similar incident in which a 55-year-old woman arrived at a clinic with low potassium levels and high blood pressure. She proved unresponsive to blood pressure-lowering medications (3).

She reported eating 1–2 packages of black licorice daily for 4 years after she stopped smoking.

After further medical workup, the doctor diagnosed her with pseudohyperaldosteronism related to excessive black licorice consumption.

She was instructed to eliminate licorice from her diet and eat a potassium-rich diet and take potassium supplements to treat her low potassium levels.

She followed the doctor’s orders and several months later, her blood pressure was managed and her lab results — including potassium — were all within normal limits.

Summary

Several case reports have linked excessive daily black licorice consumption to a condition called pseudohyperaldosteronism, which can be deadly.