Future purchase: Panda licorice bars.

[oddharmonic]

Vogon swears by the curative properties of black licorice. As he's been working through his current box of Panda chews, he occasionally mentions how much he misses the bars and how easy they were to find in Colorado Springs.

I've been keeping an eye out every time we've gone shopping here for them but, as usual, the answer came from Google.

Comments

[lil_sass]

That's an excellent idea for a gift for my mother. She LOVES black licorice and always says its good for your tummy.

[oddharmonic]

I'm glad my find was useful for you! My grandmother always had black licorice around the holidays and we wanted it because she'd only let us have one piece each, sort of like my great-grandmother and her "special" chocolates at Christmas. (One year Dad and all of his cousins gave their chocolates to one of the younger cousins. Little Ronnie had the trots and the rest of the kids got a good tongue-lashing.)

Vogon loves black licorice regardless of the health benefits, but we specifically use it for stomach ulcers. Off the top of my head, it's good for respiratory problems, arthritis pain and applied topically for eczema in addition to being good for the digestive system.

[lil_sass]

Note to self:

Rub some licorice on Chaz's nose.

:)

I had no idea there were SO many benefits. I thought about getting my mom a black licorice candle even. She just loves the stuff so why not the scent throughout her house?!

[vogonpoet]

It also is considered to be a bit like alcohol in that it tends to amplify the effects of other ingredients in herbal mixtures. But, here's a very informative page.

I'll note that a child eating an entire bag (1 pound) of anything containing raw licorice or raw licorice extract (candy, for example) in a relatively short period of time (say a week, or so) can actually require a trip to the emergency room, so caution is certainly prudent.

But, you're right, I do swear by it. After 2 full rounds of Tagamet and my ulcers returning within a month both times, I gave up on the doctors and went with what I trusted (I have been studying herbal healing since I was 12, if I hadn't mentioned that). I now go for years between flare-ups.

Oddly, I'll note that with very few exceptions that I've ever met, people who have ulcers tend to like licorice, so it's good that they can get some real benefit out of something so delightful.

[popcornoblivion]

The grocery store across the street from us sells the bars in their organic aisle. I'll send you a couple if you'd like. :)

[oddharmonic]

If it's not a problem for you, that'd be great. Is there anything you'd like in return?