Red licorice is not dangerous to your heart in the way you might fear. The well-known cardiac risks associated with licorice come from a compound found in licorice root, and red licorice doesn’t contain any. That said, red licorice is still candy, and the sugar it delivers can contribute to cardiovascular problems over time if you eat a lot of it regularly.
Red Licorice Contains No Actual Licorice
Despite the name, red licorice is not licorice at all. Products like Twizzlers and Red Vines are “licorice-type candy” made primarily from corn syrup, wheat flour, sugar, cornstarch, and artificial flavoring. Neither brand includes licorice root extract in its red varieties. Only the black versions of these candies contain real licorice extract. A cardiologist quoted by the American Heart Association put it simply: red licorice and artificially flavored black licorice are “identically not dangerous” when it comes to the specific heart risk people worry about.
Why Black Licorice Is the One With Heart Risks
The reason licorice has a reputation for being hard on the heart traces back to a single compound: glycyrrhizin, which makes up roughly 10% of dried licorice root by weight. When your body breaks it down, the resulting substance mimics a hormone that causes your kidneys to hold onto sodium and flush out potassium. This triggers a cascade: blood pressure rises, potassium drops, and the electrical signaling that keeps your heart beating in rhythm can go haywire.
The FDA warns that eating just 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks or more can land someone age 40 or older in the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm. Case reports in medical literature describe patients developing dangerous, even lethal arrhythmias from chronic black licorice consumption. As little as 95 milligrams per day of the active compound can raise blood pressure.
None of this applies to red licorice. No licorice root, no glycyrrhizin, no potassium depletion, no blood pressure spike from that mechanism.
The Sugar in Red Licorice Still Matters
Red licorice won’t cause an acute cardiac event, but it’s far from heart-healthy food. A small serving of 10 bite-sized pieces (about 14 grams) packs nearly 10 grams of sugar, and most people eat far more than that in a sitting. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men. A handful or two of red licorice can eat up a significant chunk of that budget.
The long-term cardiovascular consequences of excess sugar are well documented. A large study of U.S. adults found that people who got 25% or more of their daily calories from added sugar had roughly double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who kept added sugar below 10% of calories. Even moderate overconsumption carried measurable risk: those in the 10% to 25% range had a 30% higher risk of cardiovascular death. High sugar intake also correlated with higher total fat and cholesterol consumption and lower intake of vegetables, grains, and protein, suggesting it displaces more nutritious foods in the diet.
Putting It in Perspective
If your concern is the dramatic, acute heart danger that makes headlines every Halloween, red licorice gets a clear pass. That risk belongs exclusively to candy made with real licorice root extract, primarily black licorice. Red licorice is just flavored sugar candy.
If your concern is broader heart health over years and decades, red licorice deserves the same scrutiny as any other sugary snack. It’s not uniquely harmful, but it’s not harmless either. The sugar adds up, and consistently exceeding recommended limits raises your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and related conditions. Treating it as an occasional snack rather than a daily habit keeps the risk low.