Do you know licorice?
Very sweet and with ancient flavors, licorice can be tasted in various formats: logs, sticks, candies, infusions and liqueurs.
Typical plant of the Mediterranean, from its roots an extract is obtained with a very pleasant and sweet flavor and above all with precious properties. The root, rich in active ingredients, is dried and thus the famous chewing sticks are obtained.
Instead, extracting pure licorice produces sugared almonds and candies, while reduced into small fragments it gives rise to herbal teas and infusions.
What are the main properties of licorice?
It has a beneficial action for our intestine: after a large meal, licorice reduces the sense of heaviness and turns out to be a precious after meal. It also protects the gastric mucosa when taking medications.
Thanks to mannitol, the sugar naturally present in licorice root, it performs an important laxative function, useful for those who suffer from constipation.
Not everyone knows it but it calms and relieves coughs, thins the secretions of the bronchi and soothes irritated mucous membranes. It also has a calming action against asthma and dry cough.
For those who smoke, it is useful for scenting the breath and not only: for those who want to quit, the stick helps, replacing the cigarette also in gestures.
The sweet root is recommended for those suffering from low blood pressure, even if the latter does not need a real treatment.
Licorice has a purifying action, eliminating the waste that accumulates inside the body and freeing the colon from deposits on the mucosa or toxins of food origin.
It has a satiating effect, ideal for those on a diet.
Precious antioxidant, thanks to the presence of flavonoids that fight free radicals and offer protection from diseases affecting the cardio-circulatory system.
Licorice is also used in cosmetics and thanks to its properties, it helps fight skin spots, acne and slows down the production of sebum.