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Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#291

Post by biotech »

hexbinencoded wrote: post #277
eloisius wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reminds me of the time I learned that dates are diuretic while in Morocco. They were so delicious I would eat a bag per day. Even while swearing I must have dysentery.

I seriously doubt it. "Diuretic" means peeing, not pooping. Watermelon is a diuretic. Dates are high in fiber, potassium, sugar, and might cause a bowel obstruction.

Fiber can help form stool if you have chronic diarrhea, but it can also help relieve constipation.

You are correct that diuretic refers to peeing; what the poster was probably trying to say was "laxative." And foods high in fiber and sugar can certainly work as laxatives!

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#292

Post by briandear »

geitir wrote: post #276
vmception wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a similar note, I used to not smoke anything but gladly partake in a hookah pipe while out, I liked the different flavors and assumed the “fog” was benign. I stopped AS SOON AS I heard about how much worse hookah was. I had no clue and am completely appalled at the lack of warnings. I’ve met many other people that say the same thing. I still don't smoke anything, and also cut hookah out.

Modern hookah is soaked in glycerin which produces the majority of the vapor, while the tobacco is ideally vaporized instead of combusted as well (although usually it's a combination of burning and vaporization). So if done properly arguably better than a cig. The real issue with hookah is the chemicals and co2 released from the coals imo.

The CO2? What’s the issue with that? CO2 isn’t a toxin.

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#293

Post by e_y_ »

pengaru wrote: post #272
dylan604 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of like Jaegermeister. I can't believe people drink that by choice.

There are a lot of "digestif" [0] alcoholic drinks experientially very similar to Jaegermeister, it's kind of a thing to be medicinal. The American pracice of drinking Jaegermeister to excess I get the impression is done because it tastes so bad, like it's fun because it's so gross and we're sharing this exceptional though still mild form of suffering while getting wasted. Misery loves company as they say. Social dri…

It's good for a single round of shots, just to add some variety and the shared experience thing. It's definitely not something you'd want to drink all night.

I don't like the taste of alcohol, but clearly some people do, so I'm thinking it's either an acquired taste (or psychological dependency) or some people just have different taste buds or something. I think it's recently become a bit more acceptable to admit that you only drink to be social, though.

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#295

Post by gherkinnn »

rvieira wrote: post #29
mikecoles wrote: post #2

I did some looking into what made black licorice taste so good and to see if enjoying it was genetic. I was surprised to find out it can be toxic. All of these years my grandfather and I have been poisoning each other. Guess we should celebrate we survived it with a pint of sarsaparilla.

I find it incredible that some people enjoy liquorice (the stuff tastes vile to me). Ironically, I know some people that think the same of me when I tell them I love cilantro.

Liking coriander (cilantro to some) is linked to genes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#297

Post by aaronbrethorst »

icedistilled wrote: post #286
Smithalicious wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not many people like salty licorice, given a choice Whenever I read something weird like this I always need to remind myself to mentally add the quantifier "in America". Salty licorice is very popular in a number of European countries including mine (NL).

Yeah I think it's just an acquired taste that American's don't acquire for lack of exposure. I'm American but was so intrigued after finding it so unpalatable the first time I encountered the salmiak lakrids despite people clearly liking them. I was keen on finding out if it was just a matter of getting used to it. Now I actually enjoy it and like it. I just still can't handle letting the stronger ones dissolve all t…

I’m from Minnesota, and my wife is Israeli. We were in Denmark a couple years ago and had occasion to pick up some salty Lakrids licorice. I love it. She thinks it’s vile. To each their own (especially if it means I get more licorice—although clearly in moderation)

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#298

Post by gherkinnn »

Shorel wrote: post #39

And here in South America I think I have never tried liquorice even once. That and root beer. I don't know if I will like the taste, I just want to know it. EDIT: Why the downvotes? If could buy that stuff I would have!

I find liquorice tastes a bit like fennel. Ouzo and Sambuca both share similar notes. It’s delicious.

Scandinavian salty liquorice is like something else entirely. I like it, but I see how its polarising.

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#299

Post by kgwgk »

hexbinencoded wrote: post #277
eloisius wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reminds me of the time I learned that dates are diuretic while in Morocco. They were so delicious I would eat a bag per day. Even while swearing I must have dysentery.

I seriously doubt it. "Diuretic" means peeing, not pooping. Watermelon is a diuretic. Dates are high in fiber, potassium, sugar, and might cause a bowel obstruction.

> Dates are high in fiber, potassium, sugar, and might cause a bowel obstruction

They also contain sorbitol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbitol#Laxative

Re: Man dies from eating more than a bag of liquorice a day

#300

Post by slowwriter »

Wistar wrote: post #70

Strong black licorice, "lakrids," abounds in Denmark. My brother visited me when I was living there and ate a pound or so of little, tobacco-pipe shaped licorice in an afternoon. He got profoundly ill with a racing heartbeat, lightheaded, dizzy and nauseous. I almost took him to the hospital but he refused. It took a couple of days before he felt good enough to get out of the apartment. Sometime after, I mentioned th…

As many other Danes, I have a total weakness for licorice. But I believe it’s common knowledge that you’re not supposed to eat a lot of it at once. Certain types do have warnings printed on them like “For adults, not for kids” but most do not.

The sneaky part that the article also describes is that you don’t really feel any symptoms until it’s too late. So once in a while when I buy a pack I spread it out over several days, preferably with space in between just to be sure.

Also, my mom ate a bunch of one of those ‘not for kids’ types of licorice when she was pregnant with me which is kind of concerning. I don’t know exactly how much though, hopefully not dangerous amounts. At least I don’t know that I have suffered any direct consequences of that habit.

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