The death was clearly an extreme case. The man had switched from red, fruit-flavoured twists to the black liquorice version of the candy a few weeks before his death last year. He collapsed while having lunch at a fast-food restaurant. Doctors found he had dangerously low potassium, which led to heart rhythm and other problems. Emergency responders did CPR and he revived but died the next day. 1. What have you learnt from the construction worker’s death and his excessive love of black liquorice? 2. What food do you frequently allow yourself to indulge in? Why?

Man dies after eating a bag and a half of liquorice every day A Massachusetts construction worker’s love of black liquorice wound up costing him his life. Eating a bag and a half every day for a few weeks threw his nutrients out of whack and caused the 54-year-old man’s heart to stop, doctors reported Wednesday. Glycyrrhizic acid can be found in black liquorice and in many other foods and dietary supplements containing liquorice root extract. It can cause dangerously low potassium and imbalances in other minerals called electrolytes. Consuming as little as 2 ounces of black liquorice a day for two weeks could cause a heart rhythm problem, especially for folks over 40, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. The death was clearly an extreme case. The man had switched from red, fruit-flavoured twists to the black liquorice version of the candy a few weeks before his death last year. He collapsed while having lunch at a fast-food restaurant. Doctors found he had dangerously low potassium, which led to heart rhythm and other problems. Emergency responders did CPR and he revived but died the next day. 1. What have you learnt from the construction worker’s death and his excessive love of black liquorice? 2. What food do you frequently allow yourself to indulge in? Why?