Licorice: harm or benefit?

Licorice is a herbaceous plant, perennial, which has a powerful root system and belongs to the family of legumes. The most common licorice is the Urals licorice, and licorice is also naked. The fruit of licorice is elongated and slightly curved in the form of a bare bean, which has a brown color and from two to six seeds. Seeds have a greenish-gray shiny color or slightly brownish. Licorice begins its flowering in June and ends in August, and its fruits reach their maturity in late August and seize September. The licorice multiplies seeds and vegetatively. Large thickets, which it forms, are located along the steppe zones, along the banks of rivers and sands. Many people consider it to be a malicious weed, so there is a lot of controversy around it about what brings licorice - harm or benefit?

Licorice is called licorice, licorice and even yellow root. Licorice root is supplied with vitamin C, sucrose, glucosides, esters, mineral salts and pectin substances. Dried roots and licorice sprouts, respectively processed and prepared, serve as a good expectorant, due to the content in the roots of its glycyrizine, which increases the secret function of the upper respiratory tract, and there is an increase in the activity of ciliated epithelium in the bronchi and trachea. Also, licorice contains and laxatives.

Diuretic teas also include licorice root. Improving the taste of medicines also depends on the presence of licorice root in them, which, by the way, is also used for the preparation of various tablets. Due to its taste qualities, licorice syrup is very popular with children and is an excellent medicinal product. The root serves as an integral part of such a remedy, as liquidoriton, which is prescribed to patients suffering from gastritis, a stomach ulcer. In addition, the licorice root normalizes metabolic processes in diabetics. Licorice is also used for allergic dermatitis, eczema, and pemphigus.

So, from all of the above, it immediately becomes clear that licorice does not bring harm at all, and it is possible to talk a lot about its usefulness. The root of licorice is used in confectionery and culinary products and, strangely enough, even brewing can not do without it.

Licorice contains substances that resemble steroid hormones, produced by the cortical layers of the adrenal glands and possessing very strong anti-inflammatory properties. Licorice has a number of biologically active substances that reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood.

How to take the root of licorice and its use as a medicine, is described in the ancient Chinese "Book of Herbs", written many thousands of years ago. Licorice root, which is part of some medicinal mixtures, can neutralize the effect of poisonous substances that have got into the body from the outside. And in Tibet it was believed that the degree of their longevity depends on licorice. Healing properties of licorice roots were used by the doctors of Ancient Egypt.

Korean folk medicine uses licorice as a medicinal means for increasing blood pressure, suffering from chronic bronchitis, with sore throat and dry cough, and also with pneumonia, with liver diseases.

Licorice, the harm of which has not been proven, finds its application in the food industry. Its roots and rhizomes serve as an integral part of syrups, all kinds of extracts, used as foaming agents in many soft drinks, such as beer, kvass, coca-cola, Pepsi, tonic beverages. Also, the roots of licorice serve as a flavoring additive to green and bay tea.

So, based on the material outlined above, we can conclude: if licorice harms and brings, then only those who consider it a "malignant weed" and who are not familiar with the healing and truly miraculous properties of this plant.