Eat Black Licorice to Ease Chronic Low Blood Pressure Symptoms

Much like my grandmother before me, I've had chronic low blood pressure all of my life. It runs a consistent 90/60, and while people with high blood pressure might envy that set of numbers, the symptoms that go along with them aren't much fun. Extreme fatigue and bouts of dizziness are common, and I also tend to have a big problem standing in one place for long periods of time (like at rock concerts or in DMV lines, for example). My body simply doesn't circulate blood forcefully enough, and because of that, sooner or later I find myself needing to sit or lie down to get back on a feel-good even keel.

Now certainly, there are some medications available to treat low blood pressure (also known as hypotension in the medical books). And to my doctor's credit, he did try giving me a few different kinds to see if things would improve. But for better or worse, I inhabit one of those bodies that doesn't like to be disturbed by pills of any kind, and thus these measures only created new problems. So with those options exhausted, I figured low blood pressure was just something I had to live with.

A few months later, however, I came across an article talking about licorice's ability to elevate blood pressure. Specifically, it's the glycyrrhizinic and glycyrrhetinic acids contained within the licorice root that cause this effect on the body. And while consuming too much licorice can raise blood pressure dangerously high, consuming small amounts could theoretically be beneficial for people with exactly my problem: hypotension. After reading that and talking again with my doctor, I decided to test it out.

Now I should say from the outset that raw licorice root (even in powdered form) is way too concentrated for this particular medical purpose. The same goes for the licorice extract pills, capsules, and teas you find at health food stores. Although I realize it's tempting to go to extremes when you don't feel well, overdosing won't help anything, and in fact can be extremely unsafe. So you need to use care with licorice because, as the expression goes, less really is more.