Denmark
Berit drinks the wrong tea and ends up in the hospital with severe poisoning
Berit Lynette was taken to the hospital with very high blood pressure. Turns out it was because of her consumption of licorice tea.
Published
Danish nurse Berit Lynette was hospitalized after drinking the wrong tea.
Facebook/Berit Linnet
To reduce her coffee consumption, she switched to licorice tea instead.
IMAGO/Panthermedia
The substance glycyrrhizin in it can cause potassium deficiency. The consequences are high blood pressure or muscle paralysis.
IMAGO/Perspective
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In Denmark, a nurse was hospitalized with severe headaches and chest tightness.
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The cause of her symptoms was extremely high blood pressure caused by alcohol poisoning.
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Licorice contains a toxin called glycyrrhizin.
Danish nurse Berit Lynette (55) was taken to hospital with severe headaches and chest tightness. After the first tests, he suffered from severe hypertension. Her potassium levels were so low that she was even at risk of cardiac arrest, “Bild” reported.
The diagnosis was surprising Danish nurse. A few months ago, a doctor told her that she had low blood pressure. For this reason, he sought a second opinion from another doctor.
“The doctor immediately assumed it was alcohol poisoning.”
After a quick look at the Danish nurse’s stats, the second doctor was confident in his diagnosis. “Do you drink a lot of alcohol?” he asked.
Berit Linnett shook her head at first, but then noted that she had switched from coffee to licorice tea. This tip might have saved Lynette’s life: “The doctor immediately guessed alcohol poisoning,” explains the nurse.
Alcohol contains toxins
Although alcohol is said to be a delicious candy, it contains harmful substances. Made from liquorice, licorice contains a substance called glycyrrhizin. It increases the production of cortisol and aldosterone hormones. This can disrupt the signaling chain of hormones and cause potassium deficiency. The consequences are high blood pressure or muscle paralysis.
In the European Union, it is mandatory to label foods with high content of alcohol or glycyrrhizin. If the candies contain at least four grams of glycyrrhizin per kilogram or at least 50 milligrams per liter of non-alcoholic beverages, they must bear the following warning: “Contains alcohol – excessive consumption of this product should be avoided if you have high blood pressure.”
Berit Linnett is doing well now, and the medication brought her potassium levels back to normal. With her experience, the nurse wants to point out the dangers of alcohol and other high-alcohol foods. “I have made it my mission to inform others. A lot of people go around thinking they have heart problems when they drink too much,” Lynette concludes.
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