Let’s Take A Look At Licorice…

Licorice, as a confectionary, is mostly sugar and is useless for medicinal purposes.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza sp., most often Glycyrrhiza glabra), in the form of either the root extract (which can be taken as a supplement, or used topically) or the whole root (which can be taken as a powder/capsule, or used to make tea), is a medicinal plant with a long history of use.

How well-evidenced is it for its popular uses?

Licorice for digestion

In this case, it is more accurate to say that it combats indigestion, including acid reflux and ulcerative colitis:

Systematic Review on Herbal Preparations for Controlling Visceral Hypersensitivity in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders ← licorice was a top-tier performer in this review

Network pharmacology mechanisms and experimental verification of licorice in the treatment of ulcerative colitis ← looking at the mechanism of action; ultimately they concluded that “licorice improves ulcerative colitis, which may be related to the activation of the Nrf2/PINK1 signaling pathway that regulates autophagy.“

Licorice vs menopause symptoms

This one, while a popular use, isn’t so clear. Here’s a study that examines the compounds in licorice (in this case, Glycyrrhiza uralensis) that interact with estrogen receptors, notes that the bioavailability is poor, and proposes, tests, and recommends a way to make it more bioavailable:

Development of an Improved Menopausal Symptom-Alleviating Licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) by Biotransformation Using Monascus albidulus

On the other hand, it is established that it will lower serum testosterone levels, which may make it beneficial for menopause and/or PCOS:

Polycystic ovaries and herbal remedies: A systematic review

Licorice for men

You may be wondering: what about for men? Well, the jury is out on whether it meaningfully reduces free testosterone levels:

Licorice consumption and serum testosterone in healthy men

See also:

Liquorice in moderate doses does not affect sex steroid hormones of biological importance although the effect differs between the genders

And finally, it may (notwithstanding its disputed effect on testosterone itself) be useful as a safer alternative to finasteride (an antiandrogen mostly commonly used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, also used to as a hair loss remedy), since it (like finasteride) modulates 5α-reductase activity (this enzyme converts testosterone to the more potent dihydrogen testosterone, DHT), without lowering sperm count:

Therapeutic role of Glycyrrhiza Uralensis fisher on benign prostatic hyperplasia through 5 alpha reductase regulation and apoptosis

Licorice for the skin

As well as its potentially estrogenic activity, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers make it comparable to hydrocortisone cream for treating eczema, psoriasis, and other such skin conditions:

New Herbal Biomedicines for the Topical Treatment of Dermatological Disorders

Is it safe?

It is “generally recognized as safe”, as the classification goes.

However, consumed in excess it can cause/worsen hypertension, and other contraindications include if you’re on blood thinners, or have kidney problems.

As ever, this is a non-exhaustive list, so do speak with your doctor/pharmacist to be sure.

Want to try some?

We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon

Enjoy!

Ginger’s benefits go deep!

You are doubtlessly already familiar with what ginger is, so let’s skip right into the science.

The most relevant active compound in the ginger root is called gingerol, and people enjoy it not just for its taste, but also a stack of health reasons, such as:

• For weight loss
• Against nausea
• Against inflammation
• For cardiovascular health
• Against neurodegeneration

Quite a collection! So, what does the science say?

For weight loss

This one’s quite straightforward. It not only helps overall weight loss, but also specifically improves waist-hip ratio, which is a much more important indicator of health than BMI.

Read: The effects of ginger intake on weight loss and metabolic profiles among overweight and obese subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Against nausea & pain

Ginger has proven its effectiveness in many high quality clinical trials, against general nausea, post-surgery nausea, chemotherapy-induced nausea, and pregnancy-related nausea.

Source: Ginger on Human Health: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of 109 Randomized Controlled Trials

However! While it very clearly has been shown to be beneficial in the majority of cases, there are some small studies that suggest it may not be safe to take close to the time of giving birth, or in people with a history of pregnancy loss, or unusual vaginal bleeding, or clotting disorders.

See specifically: Ginger for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

As a side note on the topic of “trouble down there”, ginger has also been found to be as effective as Novafen (a combination drug of acetaminophen (Tylenol), caffeine, and ibuprofen), in the task of relieving menstrual pain:

See: Effect of Ginger and Novafen on menstrual pain: A cross-over trial

Against inflammation & pain

Ginger has well-established anti-inflammatory (and, incidentally, which affects many of the same systems, antioxidant) effects. Let’s take a look at that first:

Read: Effect of Ginger on Inflammatory Diseases

Attentive readers will note that this means that ginger is not merely some nebulous anti-inflammatory agent. Rather, it also specifically helps alleviate delineable inflammatory diseases, ranging from colitis to Crohn’s, arthritis to lupus.

We’ll be honest (we always are!), the benefits in this case are not necessarily life-changing, but they are a statistically significant improvement, and if you are living with one of those conditions, chances are you’ll be glad of even things described in scientific literature as “modestly efficacious”.

What does “modestly efficacious” look like? Here are the numbers from a review of 593 patients’ results in clinical trials (against placebo):

❝Following ginger intake, a statistically significant pain reduction SMD = −0.30 ([95% CI: [(−0.50, −0.09)], P = 0.005]) with a low degree of inconsistency among trials (I2 = 27%), and a statistically significant reduction in disability SMD = −0.22 ([95% CI: ([−0.39, −0.04)]; P = 0.01; I2 = 0%]) were seen, both in favor of ginger.❞

~ Bartels et al.

To de-mathify that:

• Ginger reduced pain by 30%
• Ginger reduced disability by 22%

Read the source: Efficacy and safety of ginger in osteoarthritis patients: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials

Because (in part) of the same signalling pathways, it also has benefits against cancer (and you’ll remember, it also reduces the symptoms of chemotherapy).

See for example: Ginger’s Role in Prevention and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancer

For cardiovascular health

In this case, its benefits are mostly twofold:

• It significantly reduces triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, while increasing HDL cholesterol
• It significantly reduces fasting blood sugar levels and HbA1c levels (both risk factors for CVD)

Against neurodegeneration

This is in large part because it reduces inflammation, which we discussed earlier.

But, not everything passes the blood-brain barrier, so it’s worth noting when something (like gingerol) does also have an effect on brain health as well as the rest of the body.

You do not want inflammation in your brain; that is Bad™ and strongly associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

As well as reducing neuroinflammation, ginger has other relevant mechanisms too:

❝Its bioactive compounds may improve neurological symptoms and pathological conditions by modulating cell death or cell survival signaling molecules.

The cognitive enhancing effects of ginger might be partly explained via alteration of both the monoamine and the cholinergic systems in various brain areas.

Moreover, ginger decreases the production of inflammatory related factors❞

~ Arcusa et al.

Check it out in full, as this is quite interesting:

Role of Ginger in the Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases

How much to take?

In most studies, doses of 1–3 grams/day were used.

Where to get it?

Your local supermarket, as a first port-of-call. Especially given the dose you want, it may be nicer for you to have a touch of sliced ginger root in your cooking, rather than taking 2–6 capsules per day to get the same dose.

Obviously, this depends on your culinary preferences, and ginger certainly doesn’t go with everything!

If you do want it as a supplement, here is an example product on Amazon, for your convenience.

Enjoy!