← Return to (MAC/MAI) Mycobacterium Avium Complex Pulmonary Disease: Join us

Discussion
Comment receiving replies
@windwalker

@nick52, I looked up each individual ingredient in Clear Lungs, seems that the one ingredient, licorice, can be dangerous to many people with other underlying health issues. If more than three grams a day is used, it can lower potassium levels and cause high blood pressure. People with heart, liver, or kidney disease should not take suppliments with licorice. Also, people with diabetes should avoid it also, along with people who use corticosteroids; which is most patients with COPD. One needs to discuss this licorice ingredient with their doctor before use. Gosh, licorice! Who knew??

Jump to this post


Replies to "@nick52, I looked up each individual ingredient in Clear Lungs, seems that the one ingredient, licorice,..."

Windwalker...I think too much black licorice affects the heart rate. Tdrell

@tdrell, it does. I now wonder if that isn't what was giving me SVT events? Chinese licorice root was the first ingredient in my tea at 300 mg. I was living on that tea for years. It did help open the airways though. There is a warning about people taking corticosteroids should not take licorice. Who knew that our benign little candy could be dangerous?

@windwalker
Licorice can be deglicerized it's the glicerine that's the problem. It's Also called "dgc licorice" for deglicerized. It wont cause with blood pressure problem if that part is removed.
No need to worry it's not in candy licorice.. I don't believe there is any in it anymore except for the real old fashion kind.
I have heard a lot about herbal licorice also for lungs. Im considering the clear lungs also if it doesn't cause the side effects you mentioned.
I bought a book called Herbal Antibiotcs by Stephen Bruhner. He had a part in the book about treating Mycobacteriums and all the bacteria's us people with brochiectasis have trouble with. I also have been using some of the herbs he recommends with no side effects. I told my Dr I was going to try them also ...I figured at this point I haven't much to lose. I started slow with just a few drops and have been working up. I can't say if it's working or not either because Im not taking near the amount he has recommended. But many lymes patients have used these herbs with success. Very interesting!
He also explains how antibiotics are really losing ground and are becoming more ineffective because bacteria are becoming more resistant. Im not recommending you stop you antibiotics... but it's good to know.
Anyway I think licorice sounds like something to add on to my arsonal. The Dr in the book wrote whole a whole chapter on licorice.
I will find our more and share later.
Shari

I didn't know what the equivalent of licorice in Chinese was. So I looked it up in Google Translate. I immediately recognized the name. I'll bet everybody of Chinese origin who is my age or even younger would recognize the name of this herb in Chinese because we all grew up taking tablets of it to stop coughing. They are still being prescribed by Chinese traditional medicine/herbal doctors today.

According to the article below:
"Chinese Licorice should not be confused with licorice from other locations, such as Europe and America. “Glycyrrhiza Uralensis” is the Chinese licorice. Other types of licorice like “Glycyrrhiza glabra” do NOT have the same healing properties discussed here. They do have their own set of healing properties though that you might want to research further."

http://www.herbslist.net/chinese-licorice-root.html

Since the ingredients listed is clearly specified as Chinese Licorice Roots, maybe we won't have to worry too much about its negative effects to our health?

@ling123
Interesting...
I just read up some on herbal licorice in my book "Herbal Antibiotics" by Stephen Buhner.
He did mention the different varieties also. But he also did state that licorice can be overused. He recommends not to use more than 10 days at a time.
So maybe we still need to be careful about the length of use.
But I will give a try for sure.
Shari
@pfists

@pfists Good point. Being careful and mindful of side effects can never go wrong. Drugs, herbal or non-herbal, could all have some kind of side effects when overused, except there is no regulation by FDA on the herbal medicines thus no warning labels on them. So we need to be our own advocates for drug safety and do due diligent to protect our own health.

@ling123, Ling, my tea (that I swear by and love) has Chinese licorice root as does the Clear Lungs. The label with the ingredient list doesn't specify which of the two kinds of Chinese licorice root they are using in it. I am not even positive which ingredient that mandate was siting. It may not have been the licorice. Even if it were, you would have to use it a lot for it to produce adverse effects. I was drinking the tea 2-3 times a day and very little other fluid intake; I think it had something to do with my heart arrhythmia.

@ling123 and @windwalker I was drinking lemon ginger licorice tea for a few years ,4 cups a day, when I started on the big 3 and feeling queasy. It was a miricle worker for me.

@heathert, I hear you Heather. My tea was the only thing that worked for me. We just have to be careful about what we promote because many people on this site have co-morbid diseases, along with the MAC/bronchiecstasis; and licorice can be harmful to them. anybody wanting to try herbal or alternative supplements MUST RUN IT PAST THEIR DOCTORS FIRST.

@pfists, what kind of drops are you taking? Also, want to note that the licorice in Clear Lungs and the Breathe Easy tea is not the only active ingredient in these products. There are many other things in there that also have beneficial qualities.