The "licorice" candy ends the life of a construction worker in America

Licorice candy ended the life of a 54-year-old construction worker in Massachusetts.

Doctors said the man, whose name was not mentioned, for black licorice cost him his life, as he ate about a bag and a half of black licorice every day.

He had no symptoms before suddenly going into cardiac arrest at a fast food restaurant.

Dr Neil Potala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who described the condition in the New England Journal of Medicine, said the glycyrrhizic acid in licorice was the cause.

He added that even eating a small amount of licorice can increase blood pressure a little.

The problem is glycyrrhizic acid, which is found in black licorice, and in many other foods and supplements that contain licorice root extract.

It can cause a dangerous decrease in potassium and an imbalance of other minerals called electrolytes.

According to the British newspaper "The Independent", it is clear that the death was an extreme case.

And the man recently changed the type of dessert he was eating, a few weeks before his death, as he switched from a red fruit flavor to another type made from black licorice.

The man collapsed while eating lunch at a fast food restaurant, and doctors found he was seriously short of potassium, leading to a fatal arrhythmia and kidney failure.

Emergency responders performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and despite their success in rescuing him at the time, he died the next day.