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la.donna.pietra
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Fortunately for me, it's my grandpa who is the licorice fiend in our family. He gets great big bags of licorice buttons and snarfs them down. (He used to sneak them to me when I was a little kid. Fond memories.)

He also just turned 93. Whatcha got to say about that random correlation, science?
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have.at.it
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Pregnant women should be on bedrest, listening only to Mozart and Baby Einstein cassettes, watching only Oprah and National Geographic documentaries (but nothing involving violence), and consuming only doctor-approved, AMA-approved, Doctor Oz-approved IV fluids and nutritional supplements. For the entire 9 months. And they should not gain more than 20 pounds.
Seriously, what's so hard about all that? Jeez, quit your whining, pregnant ladies!
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Flackette Goes Retro
10/06/09

@have.at.it: But if they're on bedrest, how can they do their pre-natal yoga?
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FizzyGood
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
My mother is crazy about licorice and me think real good! FizzyGood brain not poorly!

Not sure if she ate a lot of it during pregnancy though. She drank gallons of raspberry-leaf tea and then had to have an emergency caesarian, that I do know :( Poor mum.
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Zombies make the heart grow fonder
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Somedays I feel like the next study we are going to see on what to eat during pregnancy is going to result in : This just in- eating while pregnant causes birth defects.

I mean at this point is there anything that some study hasn't found causes some sort of harm to a fetus? Water? Or is that bad too?
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Flackette Goes Retro
10/06/09

@Zombies make the heart grow fonder: Water can have lead, mercury, chlorine and contaminants. So yeah, no water.
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ahpooks
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
As long as they don't come out with a story that eating too much Taco Bell Pintos and Cheese causes birth defects, my kids should be ok.
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stacyinbean promoted this comment Edited by ahpooks at 10/06/09 12:18 PM ahpooks was starred ahpooks was unstarred

banana_grabber
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I actually wonder that if high volumes of any sugar is consumed during pregnancy it would have the same risks. Um, yes, I think sugar is pretty unhealthy, so maybe I'm just biased....
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FizzyGood
10/06/09

@banana_grabber: Even fructose?
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wrapped in plastic
10/06/09

@banana_grabber: Although liquorice on its own (even in herbal teas, etc) can do strange things to the body, so it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't just the sugar.
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la.donna.pietra
10/06/09

@banana_grabber: Sugar (specifically, glucose) is essential for brain function. It's your brain's sole source of fuel. Without it, you're toast. Something for Atkins followers to think about, if they can. Your body can produce glucose from fat stores if it isn't getting enough from your diet, but it takes some major effort.

Eating too much sugar has been definitively proven to cause cavities. That's it. Eating too few carbohydrates will eventually result in starvation.
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la.donna.pietra
10/06/09

@wrapped in plastic: Licorice root (which is usually what is in herbal tea) is just one component of licorice candy. It is one hell of an antidiuretic, though, and probably a bad idea in and of itself during pregnancy.
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mesmerelda
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I don't know why they let us pregnant ladies eat anything at all. As far as I can tell nothing is safe, you just have to decide whether you'd rather have a kid who is a juvenile delinquent, has serious allergies to everything, or has a cognitive impairment, and then eat accordingly.
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colormeroutine
10/06/09

@mesmerelda: I would pick delinquent any day. At least life would be interesting!
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boxspelunker
10/06/09

@mesmerelda: Maybe you shouldn't be eating, Miss Preggo. I mean, how can you eat responsibly with all those crazy hormones floating about your head? You will just EAT YOUR EMOTIONS. And those can cause impairments, too. You're safest just doing nothing all 9 months.
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KLondike5
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I think they probably have the correllation backwards (and causation, if there is one).

Black licorice contains iron and magnesium, if those nutrients are in deficit in a pregnant woman, she may crave licorice. A nutrient deficiency is a much more likely cause of the later cognitive problems than the licorice itself. Jesus, pop science sucks...

I craved black licorice, red meat, and molasses at some points in my pregnancies. I upped my iron supplements and voila the cravings went away.

Oh, and my kids are bright, well-behaved, healthy, and normal. No licorice-induced retardation here. Suck it, bad science.
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phantom lady
10/06/09

@KLondike5: now PEEPS on the other hand, totally cause the children to behave peckishly
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KLondike5
10/06/09

@phantom lady: Of course pregnant women should never eat Slo-Pokes if they want their labor to go speedily.

Mike and Ike probably cause homosexuality in utero.

I'm sure Milk Duds are linked to impotency later in life. Whoppers on the other hand...
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Lymed
10/06/09

@KLondike5: Or it could be a potassium deficiency caused by eating so much licorice.
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schweppes
10/06/09

@KLondike5: Eat too many Werthers and you give birth to a little old man, benjamin button style
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KLondike5
10/06/09

@Lymed: Possibly, but that wouldn't explain why the women wanted to eat so much licorice in the first place (assuming they only consumed mass quantities while preg, not all the time).

But either way some sort of nutrient deficiency is much more plausible than the "OMG if you're pregnant you totally can't eat black licorice" tone of this pseudo-science.
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Edited by KLondike5 at 10/06/09 12:31 PM KLondike5 was starred KLondike5 was unstarred

Lymed
10/06/09

@KLondike5: But the article doesn't say the women ate more licorice while pregnant. It says the study was performed in Finland where licorice consumption is common among young women and that scientists believe the results are linked to glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin is a component of licorice that can cause some pretty major side effects, including raising blood pressure.
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KLondike5
10/06/09

@Lymed: Licorice consumption is like a religion in Finland, not just for young women.

You know how in the US, when you go into a supermarket or convenience store, the candy display is mostly chocolate based stuff? In Finland, it's mostly black licorice, with a few chocolates tucked in at the corners. Licorice ice cream at ice cream parlors, licorice gum, etc.

Anyway, it's not clear whether they ate loads of it all the time -- probably, as you say, running a serious potassium deficiency in that case -- or ate more while pregnant, which might indicate anemia. But in either case it's like od'ing on an herbal medicine and messing with your internal chemistry.
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Lymed
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Licorice root is taken as a dietary supplement for a number of conditions. I used to take it to increase my blood pressure. I wonder if this has something to do with blood pressure levels or licorice supplements can also reduce potassium.
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BeckySharper
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
The mere sight of those black licorice wheels made me reach into my desk drawer for a big fat bar of delicious Finnish licorice. Om nom nom.

Fortunately, there's no chance of any babySharpers anytime soon.
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Edited by BeckySharper at 10/06/09 11:44 AM BeckySharper was starred BeckySharper was unstarred

Diziet_Sma
10/06/09

@BeckySharper: Have you ever tried Pontefract Cakes? THE BEST. [en.wikipedia.org]
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BeckySharper
10/06/09

@Diziet_Sma: OMG yes. I get them whenever I'm overseas (I have a hard time finding them in the US) I love the way they adhere to my molars, so I can enjoy them all afternoon.

They are also way more licorice-y than Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts, which are like 95% sugary junk and only 5% licorice.
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Edited by BeckySharper at 10/06/09 12:47 PM BeckySharper was starred BeckySharper was unstarred

Grim Reaper of the Forest
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I LOVE LICORICE. I'm out and I'm proud. However, it does have some medicinal properties. I'm pretty sure it is used as an anti-inflammatory herb or something, so I'm not surprised that it could have some effect on a fetus.
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la.donna.pietra
10/06/09

@Grim Reaper of the Forest: Yup: [nccam.nih.gov]
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♥ dosido☮
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Licorice can also turn your poop BLUE. I am not kidding. There's weird food coloring in there. Or voodoo. Blue voodoo poo.

I am 12.
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boxspelunker
10/06/09

@♥ dosido☮: Well, when you put it in the way of "blue voodoo poo", I am sold.

I shall have an experiment this weekend.
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
Heh...heh heh....

And what of the kids who displayed excellent behavior and scored well on their cognitive tests? Did (heh) did their mothers eat Smarties, or what?

Heh.

I know that was bad, and I'm sorry. I'll show myself out.
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wtfox?!
10/06/09

@Aesop's Foibles. YES.: I'm Snickering.
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applejuice
10/06/09

@Aesop's Foibles. YES.: That was a Bounty of hilarity.
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LaComtesse
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I always hated black licorice: the only person who liked it was my great grandmother. She'd go picking through jelly beans for the black ones. After she died, I forced myself to eat black jelly beans until I acquired a taste for them so that I would always think of her when I tasted them :-( This is how atheists do the afterlife...
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CurtCole promoted this comment Edited by LaComtesse at 10/06/09 11:34 AM LaComtesse was starred LaComtesse was unstarred

MegiEr
10/06/09

@LaComtesse:

My grandmother liked the black ones too! We would always leave the black jelly beans for Nana at Easter. But I have never acquired a taste for them- still yucky to me.
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labeled
10/06/09

@LaComtesse: Awww. But are you sure this doesn't explain the heartworm pill incident your mother had?
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BeckySharper
10/06/09

@LaComtesse: so it worked? do you like them now?
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LaComtesse
10/06/09

@MegiEr: I find you really have to muscle through it the first go around, but now I love 'em.

@labeled: Ha! No, but we blame the heart worm pills for everything else...

@BeckySharper: I do. Crazy, huh?
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BeckySharper
10/06/09

@LaComtesse: Not crazy. They are the best jelly beans ever.
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msAnthrope
10/06/09

@LaComtesse:

that is so sweet that you forced yourself to acquire a taste for them to think of your grandma!

oh, and to carry on the conversation from the other post, licorice is one of those "herbal/naturopathic" treatments that always is monitored closely by naturopaths because it's known to be toxic in large amounts! :D
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LaComtesse
10/06/09

@msAnthrope: :-) check your pm
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willwriteforfood
10/06/09

@LaComtesse: My grandma liked to eat the fish eyeballs from the whole fish served at the dinner table (we're Asian). So much as I admire the sentiment, I have to decline to follow your lead.
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Edited by willwriteforfood at 10/06/09 12:21 PM willwriteforfood was starred willwriteforfood was unstarred

LaComtesse
10/06/09

@willwriteforfood: This is a wise move.
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hydrogen_jukebox
10/06/09

In reply to Candy Land
I believe I'm the only person left on earth that likes licorice. And I don't plan on having kids.

So...you're welcome.
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LisaMc
10/06/09

@hydrogen_jukebox: Nope. My mom and I love black licorice. I love candied ginger too. I like to freak out my taste buds on a regular basis. Makes me feel more alive.
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Diziet_Sma promoted this comment LisaMc was starred LisaMc was unstarred

winner
10/06/09

@hydrogen_jukebox: I love it too. I will cut you for a bag of Katjes Salzige Heringe.
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boxspelunker
10/06/09

@LisaMc: You come sit by me and share that candied ginger, young lady. If I can have anise-flavored liquor, okay, we'll throw in some of that flavor, too.
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hydrogen_jukebox
10/06/09

@LisaMc: I have a GIANT bag of candied ginger in my pantry as we speak. I love it, because that whole bag is mine, and no one else in my house touches it.

Hooray for odd taste in candy!
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LisaMc
10/06/09

@boxspelunker: You're on! But I warn you: I also like gummy sours. And extremely bittersweet chocolate. When it comes to candy, I'm pretty hardcore these days.
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boxspelunker
10/06/09

@LisaMc: GUMMY SOURS ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITES. <3
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LisaMc
10/09/09

@boxspelunker: Therefore, I heart you.
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