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posted by martyb on Tuesday October 31 2017, @11:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the Be-still-my-beating-heart!-Oh?-Wait... dept.

Trick or Treat: Don't Eat Too Much Black Licorice on Halloween, Warns FDA

It's that time of year again when ghoulish children turn up at your door, demanding payment in candy or threatening a sinister trick instead. But if you're keeping a bowl of sweets on stand-by, you might want to leave out the black licorice.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning ahead of Halloween—which it describes as the "biggest candy eating holiday of the year"—urging people not to overdo it on the medicinal-tasting candy or potentially face heart problems.

The problem is caused by glycyrrhizin—a sweetening compound derived from the root of licorice, a low-growing shrub that is found most in Greece, Turkey and Asia. When consumed in large amounts, glycyrrhizin can prompt potassium levels in the body to fall. Low potassium can lead to a variety of health issues, particularly abnormal heart rhythms, but also high blood pressure, swelling, lethargy, and even congestive heart failure.

The FDA warned that, for people 40 years old or over, eating two ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks can result in arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm. Potassium levels usually return to normal with no permanent health problems when a person stops eating it, according to the FDA's Linda Katz.

🎃💊 → 💀

Also at Business Insider.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:17AM (11 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:17AM (#590310)

    I find it funny people who use decent units have to stop and think about converting to our units, yet I can mentally convert metric to brain dead instantly. 2.2 kg = 1 lb, 39 inches = 1 meter, 28 grams/ounce, a liter is a quart, kilometer is 2/3 of a mile, etc. Not perfect but close enough unless your in a chemistry/physics lab.

    How did I learn this? Oddly enough by dealing drugs in high school (70s). I'd buy a kg of weed and sell it by the oz. I'd buy an ounce of hash and sell it by the gram. etc etc etc. The km I learned as my car speedometer has both miles and klicks, learning a meter was 39 inches was easy to remember.

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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:20AM (3 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:20AM (#590314)

    Errr, 2.2 lb = 1 kg. My bad.

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    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:37AM (1 child)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:37AM (#590320) Journal

      That's the kind of thing people get shot over on the streets. God dayum!

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      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:22AM

        by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:22AM (#590336)

        That's why I only sold pot and hash, after a couple good tokes nobody is getting shot :)

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        Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by jelizondo on Wednesday November 01 2017, @03:34AM

      by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 01 2017, @03:34AM (#590359) Journal

      unless your in a chemistry/physics lab

      Yep, your bad. Maybe you're bad? Hey, this is what happens to your brain when you use the stuff you sell!

      😎

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:18AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:18AM (#590335)

    2/3 is OK

    3/5 is better (what I used for years)

    5/8 is excellent

    It turns out that the bigger numbers aren't bad at all, since you can get rid of the 3. Both 1/8 and 1/5 have nice decimal representations.

    • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:27AM (5 children)

      by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:27AM (#590339)

      Klicks to miles using 2/3. Halve klicks, add to original number. Bingo. Klicks to miles using 3/5. Umm, math. Klicks to miles using 5/8: Umm, math.

      I don't need sub 10 meter accuracy. I need a frame of reference. Can I look at 2 points and say "Yepper, those are 3.2 miles apart"?. Nope, I say "those look like 3 miles, give or take a half mile".

      --
      Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
      • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:52AM (4 children)

        by hemocyanin (186) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:52AM (#590343) Journal

        I live near the Canadian border. It must be YOU who comes down and sets your cruise at 67 mph -- 3 under the limit.

        • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 01 2017, @03:29AM (3 children)

          by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @03:29AM (#590357)

          I live near the Canadian border. It must be YOU who comes down and sets your cruise at 67 mph -- 3 under the limit.

          Nope, I set my cruise at 80 MPH, keep a sharp lookout for cops, and pay the penalty every 4-5 years on average.

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          • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Wednesday November 01 2017, @04:47PM (2 children)

            by fyngyrz (6567) on Wednesday November 01 2017, @04:47PM (#590644) Journal

            I set my cruise at 80 MPH, keep a sharp lookout for cops, and pay the penalty every 4-5 years on average.

            I set my cruise at 80 MPH and don't worry about it. Because that's the speed limit on the highway [flickr.com] here in Montana. :)

            • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday November 02 2017, @12:09AM (1 child)

              by Snotnose (1623) on Thursday November 02 2017, @12:09AM (#590809)

              Yeah, but you're sub-zero a third of the year. I'd rather wear shorts and hawaiian shirts year long and deal with Sacramento trying to screw me out of more money than usual.

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              Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.