Liquorice and its natural sweetener, glycyrrhizin, can have long-term harmful effects on the development of the fetus.
Liquorice and its natural sweetener, glycyrrhizin, can have long-term harmful effects on the development of the fetus.
A new Finnish study supports food recommendations for families with children in that women should avoid consuming large amounts of liquorice during pregnancy. The limit for safe consumption is not known.
In the study, youths that were exposed to large amounts of liquorice in the womb performed less well than others in cognitive reasoning tests carried out by a psychologist. The difference was equivalent to approximately seven IQ points.
Those exposed to liquorice also performed less well in tasks measuring memory capacity, and according to parental estimates, they had more ADHD-type problems than others. With girls, puberty had started earlier and advanced further.
Read more at University of Helsinki
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