AVOID This If You Have High Blood Pressure
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Herbal supplements are generally safe, but are there some dangerous herbs you should be aware of? Discover the natural remedy that can cause high blood pressure in certain people, and what to take instead.
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0:00 Introduction: Natural herb to avoid if you have high blood pressure
0:30 Licorice and blood pressure health
1:40 Sodium, potassium, and hypertension explained
3:43 How much licorice will affect your blood pressure?
4:10 Licorice uses and benefits
4:38 DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice)
6:02 Dangerous herbs
If you consume too much of this herb, it can cause you to retain sodium and flush potassium. You could also experience muscle cramps and heart arrhythmias!
Licorice is commonly consumed in tea and candy, and some people take licorice root for adrenal health. Licorice contains a compound called glycyrrhizin, which blocks an enzyme in your body that protects you from producing too much cortisol. When you don’t have this enzyme, cortisol rises.
Our bodies are designed to retain sodium because sodium hasn’t always been readily available. Today, we get plenty of sodium and not enough potassium. You need 4700 mg of potassium per day, a key electrolyte for heart health. It also helps generate energy in the nerves and muscles, protects against blood sugar issues, and helps store glycogen in your liver.
Licorice supplements should not be taken daily, especially if you’re older, have high blood pressure, or are on certain medications like diuretics or Prednisone. Two cups of licorice tea per day may be enough to start shifting your body's electrolyte balance. Similarly, 100 mg of licorice candy daily for 2 weeks can also be problematic. One dose is not dangerous, but chronic low doses of licorice can build up in the body.
Natural remedies are very powerful but not always completely safe for everyone. Licorice has been used for thousands of years as a remedy for ulcers, coughs, inflammation, infections, and more. DGL is a type of licorice without glycyrrhizin that can provide the benefits of licorice without affecting your blood pressure.
If you’re having negative side effects from taking licorice, simply stop taking it and your symptoms should resolve. Most natural remedies can be very beneficial, and negative side effects are generally rare.
Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.
Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let's talk about the number one herb to avoid if you have high blood pressure. This could be dangerous |
| 0:06.2 | if you don't know about it. Before I write it down, can you guess what it is? If you consume too much |
| 0:10.8 | of it, which a lot of people do, you will start holding sodium like crazy and you will also |
| 0:16.1 | release a lot of potassium. Your blood pressure might go up and you also might get muscle cramps and arrhythmias |
| 0:22.7 | because your electrolytes are not there to be able to counter what you need for the heart. |
| 0:28.6 | All right, let me reveal what I'm talking about. |
| 0:32.6 | Liquorish. You know, it's a common thing that people consume. They consume it in a tea. They consume it as candy. |
| 0:38.9 | But most people take licorice root for their adrenals, especially if they're going through stress. |
| 0:44.2 | So your body has a built-in safety enzyme to protect you from producing too much cortisol. |
| 0:51.6 | That's the stress hormone. |
| 0:52.9 | And it's a safety enzyme, which is right here, |
| 0:55.8 | 11BHSD2. Not that you needed to know the name of it, but this is a safety enzyme to protect you |
| 1:02.1 | from raising too much cortisol because that could be dangerous. Too much cortisol will cause you |
| 1:08.5 | to retain sodium, get rid of your potassium, increase your blood pressure, cause muscle cramps, and create heart arrhythmiaeat issues. |
| 1:15.6 | And it just so happens that licorice blocks this enzyme because the active compound in licorice is this right here, glycer rhizin. |
| 1:25.6 | So when your body no longer has this safety enzyme, |
| 1:30.0 | cortisol starts going up. So to make the simple, if you consume too much licorice, |
| 1:34.7 | it's going to trick your body into doing all these things right here. Now, our bodies were |
| 1:38.8 | designed to retain sodium because way back in the day, there wasn't a lot of sodium around. There was probably |
| 1:45.3 | way more potassium foods than sodium. And so I think one of the reasons why this compound is in |
| 1:52.2 | licorice is just to help us survive in the past by retaining more sodium. But today, we get a lot |
| 1:59.7 | of sodium from junk foods, right? But we rarely get enough |
... |
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