A 54-year-old construction worker from Massachusetts, USA, passed away after eating too much “Black Licorice” candy.

He reportedly happened to eat a bag and half of black licorice candy for a couple of weeks, this caused his heart to stop, which led to his death.

Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital, talked about the case in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the case, Dr. Butala said that that a small amount of Licorice is capable of increasing your blood pressure.

However, that’s not the only case.

Glycyrrhizic acid, found in black licorice, is known to cause low potassium and imbalances electrolytes, which help us stay active.

Eating 2 ounces of black licorice per day for 2 straight weeks is capable of causing a heart rhythm problem.

This problem is more observable in people that are over the age of 40, said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and former American Heart Association president said:

It’s more than licorice sticks. It could be jelly beans, licorice teas, a lot of things over the counter. Even some beers, like Belgian beers, have this compound in it

Death was an extreme case and it does not happen often.

It is reported that the man switched from red fruit-flavored twists to black licorice a couple of weeks before he passed away.

He just collapsed while having lunch at a fast-food restaurant, said the study.

Doctors then found out that he had very low potassium, which led to heart rhythm problems and other heart problems.

Emergency responders did perform CPR and he managed to survive that night, however, 1 day after the incident, he passed away.