# Licorice: food of the Gods?



## onlyhuman (16 Sep 2009)

I love licorice and I was thinking yesterday that it might be a good thing to eat on long rides. I'd like somebody who knows about exercise and nutrition to say "my goodness, I think you might be right!"

That soft Australian licorice.


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## Bill Gates (16 Sep 2009)

I've recently discovered the benefits of jaffa cakes on a ride. High GI carbs and just 1 gm of fat, plus they are tasty and easy to digest. Perfect


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## zimzum42 (16 Sep 2009)

Hate licorice, but Jelly Babies are good. Go down very easily they do...

Read something once that the carbohydrates are just the right kind, I think it was cricketers who were using them


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## andrew-the-tortoise (16 Sep 2009)

Keeps you regular. Pontifract cakes are the best.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (16 Sep 2009)

Bill Gates said:


> I've recently discovered the benefits of jaffa cakes on a ride. High GI carbs and just 1 gm of fat, plus they are tasty and easy to digest. Perfect


Oh, you bast*rd.... that'll be me buying a triple pack for my next ride then! Never even crossed my mind until now... git!!!


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## palinurus (16 Sep 2009)

Where can you get Pontefract cakes from these days?


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## palinurus (16 Sep 2009)

And don't reply "Pontefract" either


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## andrew-the-tortoise (16 Sep 2009)

I am sure Haribo do a version [but not as good as they used to be].


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## Fab Foodie (16 Sep 2009)

My riding buddy goes for Liquorice on long rides (the real soft stuff), it's nice, but too much will give you the shoots!


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## Velorum (16 Sep 2009)

It tastes like shite


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## Fab Foodie (16 Sep 2009)

Velorum said:


> It tastes like shite



Exactly how do you know this?


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## Velorum (16 Sep 2009)

I claim the 5th amendment


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## iLB (16 Sep 2009)

Fab Foodie said:


> Exactly how do you know this?


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## lukesdad (16 Sep 2009)

And looks like it.


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## Corvette chic (17 Sep 2009)

little shop near me does pontefract cakes but you may want to check these out

http://www.stockleyssweets.co.uk/

coltsfoot rock is brilliant for chesty coughs (i suffer from bronchitis and it does alleviate the tightness...)


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## Watt-O (17 Sep 2009)

Corvette chic said:


> little shop near me does pontefract cakes but you may want to check these out
> 
> http://www.stockleyssweets.co.uk/
> 
> coltsfoot rock is brilliant for chesty coughs (i suffer from bronchitis and it does alleviate the tightness...)



Eee, lad that's a grand web site that!


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## Corvette chic (17 Sep 2009)

er i'm a lass ...


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## Watt-O (17 Sep 2009)

Corvette chic said:


> er i'm a lass ...


Eee, sorry lass. I didn't check your gender before I posted the reply.


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## Rhythm Thief (17 Sep 2009)

For all your liquorice needs. I love liquorice, even my rollies are made with liquorice papers.


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## cheadle hulme (17 Sep 2009)

It was always called spanish when I were a lad.


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## Twenty Inch (17 Sep 2009)

Have you tried that salty Swedish liquorice yet?


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## Happiness Stan (17 Sep 2009)

I thought the salty kind was Dutch. And do you know why liquorice was eaten by adults - it acts as a good phlem shifter if you smoke. If you are feeling a bit chesty this autumn, get some quality liquorice down you -the Dutch (inveterate smokers the lot of them) salty type is excellent. Good source of B12 as well.

Just to let you know, regular liquorice eating has been shown to lower testosterone levels. http://medherb.com/Materia_Medica/Glycyrrhiza_-_Licorice_root_and_testosterone.htm
As we are all elite athletes on here I thought it would be something to consider.


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## onlyhuman (17 Sep 2009)

Twenty Inch said:


> Have you tried that salty Swedish liquorice yet?



I used to live in Holland, where I developed a taste for their salty and sometimes ammonia-flavoured licorice, which they call "drop". It comes in 100s 
of different shapes and flavours, and is highly addictive.

I recently ordered a lot of weird Scandinavian licorice and other sweets off a website, including this stuff (text from wikipedia):

Tyrkisk Peber (Danish for "Turkish Pepper", often referred to as "Turkinpippuri" in Finland, "Tyrkisk pepper" in Norway and "Turkisk peppar" in Sweden) is a strong liquorice candy flavored with ammonium chloride (salmiakki) and pepper, made by the Finnish company Fazer and popular in the country. Tyrkisk Peber was originally invented by Per Fjelsten in 1976 [1] [2] and made by the Danish company Perelly, which was taken over by Fazer.
The basic variant is a large, hollow round shell both coated and filled with salmiakki powder. It is sold in dark blue bags. The Tyrkisk Peber product family has recently expanded to include the “Hot & Sour” (a milder variant of the traditional design, produced in four different flavours) and “Bonfire” (soft, much milder candies) bagged variants, as well as lollipops and filled licorice. There has also been a chili flavored version and a strongly licorice-flavored version with less of the ammonium chloride and peppercorn flavoring, but these have since been discontinued. The licorice-flavored variant can still be found as one of the flavors in the “Hot & Sour” bags, though. Tyrkisk Peber ice cream is sold by Hjem-IS/Kotijäätelö in Norway and Finland.[3]
It no doubt adds to their popularity that Tyrkisk Peber is sometimes used to make the Finnish cocktail salmiakkikoskenkorva and similar Danish, Norwegian and Swedish cocktails. When Perelly manufactured Tyrkish Peber, it was also available as powder. The powder was often used to make the cocktail, which in Denmark is known as sorte svin, små grå, or hot shot, in Sweden as lakritsshot, and in Norway as tyrker, små grå, or lakrisshot.

.......................................................

But really I don't think this stuff is terribly good for you, and I am only planning to use the soft, unsalted-and-peppered Australian lic as cycling nutrition.


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## Rhythm Thief (17 Sep 2009)

Twenty Inch said:


> Have you tried that salty Swedish liquorice yet?



Yes, and I think it's delicious. But - and whether or not this is related I don't know - when I ate a lot of it I found I was suffering from pretty regular nosebleeds. I don't know whether the salty liquorice actually raised my blood pressure, but it's worth bearing in mind. When I stopped eating it (ie when I ran out), my nosebleeds stopped.


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## onlyhuman (17 Sep 2009)

Rhythm Thief said:


> Yes, and I think it's delicious. But - and whether or not this is related I don't know - when I ate a lot of it I found I was suffering from pretty regular nosebleeds. I don't know whether the salty liquorice actually raised my blood pressure, but it's worth bearing in mind. When I stopped eating it (ie when I ran out), my nosebleeds stopped.



I have heard that the Dutch version is bad for your blood pressure.


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## Rhythm Thief (17 Sep 2009)

I haven't eaten it since. And I'm not one to let things being bad for me stop me doing them ... as witness my rollie consumption and my fondness for a tipple.


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## ASC1951 (17 Sep 2009)

Rhythm Thief said:


> I don't know whether the salty liquorice actually raised my blood pressure, but it's worth bearing in mind. When I stopped eating it (ie when I ran out), my nosebleeds stopped.


That's very likely. Certainly chewing liquorice root has that effect - best to avoid prolonged use.


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## Candy (17 Sep 2009)

Red liquorice is the way forward - especially if kept in the fridge!


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## palinurus (17 Sep 2009)

Well I'll have to wait for my Pontefract cakes but I did find some liquorice in Sainsbury's.

Haven't eaten any in ages and then this thread comes along.


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## Fiona N (17 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> I used to live in Holland, where I developed a taste for their salty and sometimes ammonia-flavoured licorice, which they call "drop". It comes in 100s
> of different shapes and flavours, and is highly addictive.
> 
> I recently ordered a lot of weird Scandinavian licorice and other sweets off a website, including this stuff (text from wikipedia):
> ...


That is possibly the most esoteric post I've read on this forum - well done!

BTW if you're ever cycling through Gargrave (near Skipton), there's an excellent small cafe on the northern side of town on the A65 which also has a superb collection of old fashioned sweeties for sale (as well as old fashioned puddings like treacle tart in the cafe). Not sure about coltsfoot rock (hated the stuff as a kid) but definitely pontefract cakes. Did you know they were made there as Pontefract was a centre of the liquorice root growing area? Thank goodness nobody even thought to combine it with that other nearby regional produce - rhubarb  (the mixture that is - rhubarb itself is lovely stuff)


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## Browser (23 Sep 2009)

Dunno about it's calorific value, but malt loaf is supposed to be good if your looking to keep weight off but have a sweet tooth, as it is low in fat. Trouble is, you'd get the butter all over your clothes..............


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## onlyhuman (23 Sep 2009)

Browser said:


> Dunno about it's calorific value, but malt loaf is supposed to be good if your looking to keep weight off but have a sweet tooth, as it is low in fat. Trouble is, you'd get the butter all over your clothes..............



Licorice is low in fat. The Australian soft licorice I have is anyway, it says on the packet. The main ingredient is wheat flour. 

Malt loaf was my other candidate for Food of the Gods. Sticking a lot of butter on it would tend to up the fat content though. And you don't have to put butter on licorice.


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## jimboalee (23 Sep 2009)

A chap in the office brought in a bag of Devon cream fudge this afternoon.

I had three pieces ( about 150 kCals ).

I rode home like I was on Nitrous


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## alp1950 (23 Sep 2009)

Careful.

Liquorice eaten in large quantities can cause high blood pressure, alkalosis, sodium & water retention and low potassium levels. 

On the other hand, it does promote healing of gastric ulcers.


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## onlyhuman (24 Sep 2009)

alp1950 said:


> Careful.
> 
> Liquorice eaten in large quantities can cause high blood pressure, alkalosis, sodium & water retention and low potassium levels.
> 
> On the other hand, it does promote healing of gastric ulcers.



And what are "large quantities"? Without that information, this warning is as worthless as the endless food scares in the Daily Mail. 

The Australian soft licorice I took on my ride on Sunday contained 0.5% licorice extract.


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## Browser (24 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> Malt loaf was my other candidate for Food of the Gods. Sticking a lot of butter on it would tend to up the fat content though. And you don't have to put butter on licorice.



Listen, just because _you_ haven't discovered the gastronomic delight that is buttered liquorice, don't assume we're all similarly un-enlightened!


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## jimboalee (24 Sep 2009)

Quote from Wikipedia

"Consuming liquorice is recommended for reducing high sex drive in men."

Is this God's plan?

I never touch the stuff.


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## ASC1951 (24 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> And what are "large quantities"? Without that information, this warning is as worthless as the endless food scares in the Daily Mail.


I found that a two inch stick of liquorice root a day put my blood pressure through the roof within a month.

Liquorice in confection form? Dunno - how about three or four ounces a day?


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## onlyhuman (24 Sep 2009)

ASC1951 said:


> I found that a two inch stick of liquorice root a day put my blood pressure through the roof within a month.
> 
> Liquorice in confection form? Dunno - how about three or four ounces a day?



Is that three or four ounces of soft licorice containing 0.5% licorice extract?


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## ASC1951 (24 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> Is that three or four ounces of soft licorice containing 0.5% licorice extract?


That's what I meant, yes, but only because that is about as much as I would ever want to eat daily: I really have no idea.

It isn't a scare story about liquorice root or extract, though. There are certainly significant health risks. Wikipedia (so it may even be true) - 



> Large doses of glycyrrhizinic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid in liquorice extract can lead to hypokalemia and serious increases in blood pressure, a syndrome known as apparent mineralocorticoid excess. These side effects stem from the inhibition of the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (type 2) and subsequent increase in activity of cortisol on the kidney.
> 
> *Toxicity*
> Excessive consumption of liquorice or liquorice candy is known to be toxic to the liver[20] and cardiovascular system, and may produce hypertension [21] and oedema.[22] There have been occasional cases where blood pressure has increased with excessive consumption of liquorice tea, but such occasions are rare and reversible when the herb is withdrawn.[23] Most cases of hypertension from liquorice were caused by eating too much concentrated liquorice candy.[24] Doses as low as 50 grams (2 oz) of liquorice daily for two weeks can cause a significant rise in blood pressure.[25]



..and since we're in the UK, it's *liquorice*, not licorice.


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## onlyhuman (25 Sep 2009)

ASC1951 said:


> That's what I meant, yes, but only because that is about as much as I would ever want to eat daily: I really have no idea.
> 
> It isn't a scare story about liquorice root or extract, though. There are certainly significant health risks. Wikipedia (so it may even be true) -
> 
> ...



Since we're in the UK, there is no authority with the power to determine official spellings. 

The wikipedia article you reference says that large doses of glycyrrhizinic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid in liquorice extract can lead to hypokalemia and serious increases in blood pressure. The article doesn't say how much is a large dose, and it doesn't say how much is contained in typical licorice products. So it's a scare story.

There's a BBC article about a woman who ate 200g of Pontefract Cakes a day, and was treated in hospital for a few days:

 "Her potassium levels were dangerously low and her muscles were very weak. She also had high blood pressure, which is dangerous because it can lead to stroke." 



How do we know how much of that was due to licorice? 



It's a scare story.


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## ASC1951 (25 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> The wikipedia article you reference says that large doses of glycyrrhizinic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid in liquorice extract can lead to hypokalemia and serious increases in blood pressure. The article doesn't say how much is a large dose, and it doesn't say how much is contained in typical licorice products. So it's a scare story.


No, you silly man, it's an article giving an overview. If the Department of Transport say that excessive speeds on motorways causes additional deaths, would you say "Pah - no figures. It's a scare story!"?

Look, I don't give a toss how much or how little of the stuff people eat or in what form. Bath in liquorice extract if you want. But if your view is that the active ingredients are perfectly safe at every level of consumption, you are quite simply _wrong_. There is plenty of reliable research evidence to the contrary, as ten minutes with Uncle Google will show you.


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## jimboalee (25 Sep 2009)

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with *milk and honey*: unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
-- Exodus 3: 8 (KJV)​​​​NOT liquorice.​​​​


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## jimboalee (25 Sep 2009)

*Recommended breakfast options for cyclists *

Top Article 
_1_ of 1 
Write now Article Tools 
*by Terra L. Fletcher*

http://help.helium.com/stars-and-badges
Breakfast. The most important meal of the day. Why don't we just eat it already? I know every excuse in the book. (I've used them, too.) You haven't eaten for twelve hours, maybe longer; shouldn't you start your day right? Break the fast.
Breakfast is essential to a cyclist with a fast metabolism and for those who want to speed up their metabolism. People that eat breakfast are more likely to stick to a healthy diet. Eating breakfast increases concentration, reduces the chance of an accident, optimizes energy, and makes it more likely that you will get the nutrients you need each day.
So what is the formula for all these benefits? Protein, fiber, fruit or vegetable, and calcium are the makings of a healthy breakfast. I know you are as busy, no, busier than everyone else, but I promise you can do this. Even if you only have five minutes you'll find a cyclist's breakfast tailored to your morning routine.
Start slow and your more likely to stick to your goal. The same is true with eating breakfast. Add one healthy item to your usual cup of Joe. Start by drinking a cup of juice or *milk*. Build from there. Grab a piece of fruit or a granola bar. Pouring that bowl of cereal doesn't really seem difficult does it? If you are concerned about the refined sugar in today's popular cereals, take heart. Many companies are replacing sugar and high fructose corn syrup with more natural alternatives, such as *honey*.


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## onlyhuman (25 Sep 2009)

ASC1951 said:


> No, you silly man, it's an article giving an overview.



Thanks for that ASC. You've admitted you have no idea how much of the dangerous ingredient is in the licorice we eat, and no idea how relatively dangerous that ingredient is, nevertheless you're prepared to say there are "certainly significant health risks". 

So you are spreading a scare story. To stop it being a scare story, you would need to add some quantification.


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## alp1950 (26 Sep 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> Thanks for that ASC. You've admitted you have no idea how much of the dangerous ingredient is in the licorice we eat, and no idea how relatively dangerous that ingredient is, nevertheless you're prepared to say there are "certainly significant health risks".
> 
> So you are spreading a scare story. To stop it being a scare story, you would need to add some quantification.




The adverse effects of liquorice have long been recognised being documented in pharmacology textbooks published thirty years ago. 

Quantification? I've no idea whether anyone will have undertaken a dose-response study in the past- frankly I doubt it- but there will be plenty of papers in the medical literature on the adverse effects of liquorice if you care to research this.


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## jimboalee (1 Oct 2009)

I take back all I said about Milk and Honey.

While this blessed site was 'off air', I had a sudden thought about a passage in Genisis 4.

[And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.]


Which says to me God prefered the meat of the animal rather than the veg of the ground.

So it's meat.


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## tyred (1 Oct 2009)

jimboalee said:


> So it's meat.



But think of the carbon footprint...


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## Rhythm Thief (1 Oct 2009)

onlyhuman said:


> Licorice is low in fat. The Australian soft licorice I have is anyway, it says on the packet. The main ingredient is wheat flour.
> 
> Malt loaf was my other candidate for Food of the Gods. Sticking a lot of butter on it would tend to up the fat content though. And you don't have to put butter on licorice.



You don't have to put butter on malt loaf. When I was cycling a lot I used to eat a whole malt loaf like a chocolate bar before a ride. They don't half keep the pedals turning.


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## jimboalee (1 Oct 2009)

tyred said:


> But think of the carbon footprint...



Even earlier in Genisis 3.

[And they heard the voice of the LORD God *walking* in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.]

Yes, God had a footprint.


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## Tollers (1 Oct 2009)

Soft liqorice is ok......but i love Basetts basetti. The hard studd that tears out your teeth trying to gnaw through it.

http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/bassetti-p-460.html

Tollers


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## jimboalee (1 Oct 2009)

Tollers said:


> Soft liqorice is ok......but i love Basetts basetti. The hard studd that tears out your teeth trying to gnaw through it.
> 
> http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/bassetti-p-460.html
> 
> Tollers



"I shall go against my doctrine now by saying "There are worse 'Babbling fools' on here than I"."
Jimboalee 2009.

Here's one of those.

EVERY motion of your body ( including chewing a brick of hard liquorice ) spends energy that could otherwise be propelling the bike in a forward direction.


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