By Melissa Meehan
PREGNANT women are warned against eating liquorice, as they might be more likely to have children with cognitive or behavioural problems than mothers who don’t consume it.
A new study from Finland has found that too much black liquorice during pregnant might affect a baby’s brain.
It found children whose mothers ate liquorice while they were pregnant had lower IQs than the children whose mother’s consumed little to none during their pregnancy.
It also found that girls reached puberty earlier if their mothers ate liquorice during pregnancy.
“The present findings suggest that pregnant women should be informed that consumption of liquorice and other food products containing [a chemical found in liquorice called] glycyrrhizin may be associated with harm for their developing offspring,” the researchers wrote in the study, which was led by Katri Räikkönen, a professor of psychology at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The liquorice compound glycyrrhizin may explain the effects on the children, the study found..
In the body, glycyrrhizin blocks the activity of an enzyme that helps protect the fetus from high levels of cortisol, which is sometimes referred to as the stress hormone.
High levels of cortisol may affect the neurological development of a fetus.
Researchers were unable to determine what amount of liquorice was safe to consume during pregnancy or if there was a specific time women should avoid the treat.
