Why it’s Best to Avoid Licorice Root during Pregnancy?

Being pregnant, means living a life with diet restrictions. Even foods that are considered to be healthy may not be as healthy when they are eaten during a pregnancy. There are a lot of different foods that you will have to avoid while pregnant, including your morning cup of joe, alcohol, and refined sugars. One of the foods that you have to absolutely avoid while pregnant is licorice root.

What is Licorice?

Licorice is a naturally occurring root that is known as Glycyrrhiza Glabra. If you have ever tasted licorice, you will be aware that it has a rather unique flavor (it is not for everybody). When you consume licorice normally, it can act as an anti-depressant and mood regulator, by regulating your stress hormones. When consumed in moderate amounts it actually functions as natural remedy for asthma, heartburn and viral and fungal infections.

Pregnant Women and Licorice

While licorice definitely has medicinal properties, it is actually not something that pregnant women should be consuming. Expecting mothers should be avoiding licorice as much as possible because licorice root contains a compound referred to as ‘Glycyrrhizin’. Consuming glycyrrhizin in significant amounts can lead to some pretty significant health problems in pregnant women. Some of the problems include, high blood pressure, headaches, fatigue, water retention, and cardiac arrest.

Eating too much licorice root while pregnant can even lead to a miscarriage or premature delivery (there are specific drawbacks associated with premature delivery). Licorice can also impair the placenta and increase the chance of stress hormones interfering with the developing child inside the uterus.

If you insist on eating licorice while pregnant it can even result in your child’s cognitive skills failing to properly develop. This can even lead to the development of some learning and concentration issues like ADHD.