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Licorice is one of the most beneficial healing herbs. Advocates claim it has been used safely around the world for thousands of years to treat cough, colds, rashes, arthritis, ulcers, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and infections. Critics concede the herb's effectiveness but insist its "potentially life-threatening side effects" make it too dangerous to use.
The licorice extracts used in candies have, in some cases, caused some harm when used in large amounts. But for otherwise healthy adults who use licorice in moderation, this healer's benefits greatly outweigh its risks.
Licorice appears prominently in the first great Chinese herbal, written more than 5,000 years ago according to legend. Ever since, licorice has been one of China's most popular healing herbs. Chinese physicians prescribe it to soothe the throat and treat cough, malaria, food poisoning, respiratory problems, liver and uterine complaints, and some cancers. Chinese herbalists also use the herb's sweetness to mask the bitter taste of other herbal medicines.
The herb has a long history in the West, as well. During the third century B.C., Hippocrates administered licorice for cough, asthma, and other respiratory complaints. He called it sweet root, in Greek, glukos riza, which evolved into the herb's genus, Glycyrrhiza.
Next to the treasures of King Tut's tomb, archaeologists found a bundle of licorice sticks. More than 1,300 years after Tut's burial, the Greek physician Dioscorides prescribed licorice juice for colds, sore throat, and chest and gastrointestinal complaints.
German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen prescribed licorice for stomach and heart problems. It was mentioned frequently in 14th and 15th-century German and Italian herbals as a cough and respiratory remedy. 17th century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper called licorice "a fine medicine for those that have dry cough or hoarseness, wheezing or shortness of breath, tuberculosis, heat of urine (burning), and griefs of the breast and lungs."
North American colonists found the Indians drinking a tea brewed from American licorice as a cough remedy, laxative, earache treatment, and mask for the bitter flavor of other herbs. Among American folk herbalists, licorice was considered a treatment for menstrual discomforts.
Licorice has also been used to treat a variety of cancers in many cultures. Contemporary herbalists recommend licorice for its soothing effects on the respiratory, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal tracts, especially as a treatment for ulcers. Herbalists continue to recommend licorice to mask the bitter taste of other healing herbs. A few mention the herb's hormone-like action and recommend it in the treatment of Addison's disease, a disease in which the adrenal gland produces abnormally low amounts of certain of its hormones.