Re: Could anyone post their experience with Licorice?

I did not start taking Licorice until about 10 months into my recovery program, after regaining substantial adrenal reseve capacity.

I first started taking Licorice root powder in capsules, and I got a great energizing & stamina increasing effect from it. It let me stay active about twice as many hours in the day without fatigue... seemed to brighten colors and mood... and it left me a little wired and hard to sleep at night.

I took a day off of licorice after being on it for two weeks daily, and I crashed very hard due to an unexpected stressor that normally would not have caused such a big crash. I think going off it suddenly lowered my cortisol level or the adrenals became slightly "addicted" to it.

Like Marie64, now I only use licorice "as needed" - when I have a long workday or weekend activity that needs extra energy.

A great tip is to make licorice root tea and sip it slowly throughout the day, as needed. (STASH Licorice tea is awesome, but any kind of natural root in a teabag is fine). The tea seems to be more gentle and smooth for me than raw root... probably weaker... and less likely to cause crashes.

Dr. Lam suggests taking licorice no more than 5 days on, 2 days off... so you don't get addicted. And not taking it until you are stronger and less crash prone.