What Licorice DGL Is For, and Why the DGL Matters
NaturesPlus Licorice DGL is the deglycyrrhizinated liquorice people take for the burning of heartburn and the soreness of an irritated stomach, one capsule a day. Each capsule carries 500 mg of liquorice root extract standardised to under 2% glycyrrhizin, which works out at under 10 mg, and there are 60 capsules to the bottle.
Liquorice root contains a compound called glycyrrhizin, which is what makes liquorice sweet and also what makes it a problem taken day after day. Deglycyrrhizinated means most of it has been taken out. So this is the form of liquorice you can use steadily, where liquorice tea and whole-root liquorice are a different matter entirely.
The Figure That Explains It
The reference upper limit for regular daily intake of glycyrrhizin is 100 mg a day. Above that, taken regularly, the body can tip into a state that produces swelling, a fall in potassium and a rise in blood pressure.
One capsule of this gives under 10 mg of glycyrrhizin, which is a tenth of that limit. That is the entire argument for choosing DGL over ordinary liquorice, and it is why this capsule and a daily mug of liquorice tea are not the same decision. If you drink liquorice tea as well, the tea is where the glycyrrhizin comes from rather than this capsule, and that is worth mentioning to our pharmacist.
Read This Before a Course: An Ulcer Needs Diagnosing
Most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacterial infection of the stomach, and clearing that infection heals most active ulcers and keeps them from returning. It is confirmed with a breath test or a stool test and cleared with an acid-reducing medicine plus two or three antibiotics over seven to fourteen days, on prescription.
So weeks of a herbal capsule while an untreated infection carries on is the costliest way to handle stomach pain. Come and see our doctor, get the test, and if it is positive have the course prescribed. A capsule like this one alongside the course, or afterwards, is a perfectly sensible thing to take. Our doctor is at the pharmacy and can arrange the test, the prescription and the follow-up test in a single visit.
How to Take It
One capsule daily, swallowed with water. Sixty capsules is therefore two months from a bottle, which makes it one of the better-value products on this shelf.
Many people prefer to take a liquorice product twenty minutes or so before a meal, on the reasoning that is when the lining meets the most acid, and that is a reasonable habit if your discomfort follows eating. Ask our pharmacist to set the timing with you against when your symptoms actually come, because that is the part worth getting right and it costs nothing.
Who Should Still Ask Us First
Under 2% glycyrrhizin is a small amount rather than none, so the caution list is shorter than it would be for whole liquorice without being empty.
Please speak to our pharmacist before starting if you take a blood pressure medicine, a water tablet, a steroid medicine or a heart-rhythm medicine, and mention it at your next clinic visit. The same goes if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, or any condition where your potassium or your fluid balance is watched. In pregnancy and while breastfeeding, please ask our doctor rather than starting on your own, and this is for adults rather than children.
What We Are Permitted to Tell You
No health claim for liquorice is authorised, as with every botanical. Every claim submitted in Europe remains on hold, so nobody may lawfully promise you that liquorice repairs a stomach lining, soothes gastritis or treats an ulcer, and we hold back from saying it.
What we can give you is the strength, the glycyrrhizin figure, the reference limit to measure it against, how the DGL form differs from liquorice tea, the medicines worth checking, and the route to a test. What people take it for is the burning and the soreness, and that is an honest reason to buy a bottle.
What Else Is on This Shelf
For a different approach to the same complaint, Ulcetrol combines zinc-L-carnosine with mastic gum and slippery elm over an eight-week course, and Slippery Elm Bark capsules work by coating rather than by anything liquorice does.
Those three are the shelf, and they are supplements rather than treatments. If your discomfort has lasted weeks, if it wakes you at night, or if anything in the list below applies, the right first step is our doctor rather than any of the three. Tell our pharmacist what you are feeling and when, and we will tell you plainly which it should be.
Is Licorice DGL Right for You?
Please talk to our pharmacist or our doctor before you buy if any of these apply to you.
- Vomiting blood, or black tarry stools. Go to a hospital now rather than reading further.
- Weight you did not mean to lose, difficulty swallowing, persistent vomiting, or anaemia. Please see our doctor the same day. Those are investigated rather than treated from a shelf.
- Stomach pain that has gone on for weeks, or a known ulcer. Come and get tested for Helicobacter pylori. Clearing it is what heals most ulcers.
- High blood pressure, kidney disease, or medicines for blood pressure, fluid, steroids or heart rhythm. Please speak to our pharmacist first, and mention it at your clinic.
- Pregnancy, or any chance of it, or breastfeeding. Ask our doctor before starting.
- Liquorice tea or whole-root liquorice as well. Bring them in. The glycyrrhizin adds up from those rather than from this capsule, and the total is what matters.
Where to Buy NaturesPlus Licorice DGL in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. At one capsule a day a pack runs for a known length of time, so tell us the pack size you want and we will work out how many months that covers before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. A stomach supplement like this one taken steadily month after month does far more than a single pack, so tell us who it is for and how many months you want covered and we will set up the repeat.
Why Buy Your NaturesPlus Licorice DGL from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will set the timing against when your symptoms actually come, check it against your blood pressure or heart medicines, and say plainly when a test for Helicobacter pylori and our doctor come first. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
NaturesPlus Licorice DGL: Your Questions Answered
What does DGL mean?
Deglycyrrhizinated. Liquorice root contains glycyrrhizin, the compound that makes it sweet and that causes trouble taken day after day. DGL has most of it removed, which is what makes this form suitable for steady use.
How much glycyrrhizin is in a capsule?
The extract is standardised to under 2% glycyrrhizin, so under 10 mg in a 500 mg capsule. The reference upper limit for regular daily intake of glycyrrhizin is 100 mg a day, so one capsule is a tenth of that.
How many capsules a day?
One capsule daily, swallowed with water. Sixty capsules is two months.
When should I take it?
Many people prefer twenty minutes or so before a meal, if their discomfort follows eating. Ask our pharmacist to set the timing against when your symptoms actually come.
Is it the same as liquorice tea?
No, and it is the distinction worth understanding. Liquorice tea contains the glycyrrhizin that DGL has had removed. If you drink the tea as well, the tea is where the glycyrrhizin comes from, and that total is what matters.
Will it heal my ulcer?
We are not permitted to tell you that. What we can tell you is that most peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, and clearing that infection with prescription antibiotics is what heals most active ulcers. Come and see our doctor for the test first.
Can I take it with my blood pressure tablets?
Please speak to our pharmacist first. Under 2% glycyrrhizin is a small amount rather than none, and blood pressure medicines, water tablets, steroids and heart-rhythm medicines are all worth checking against it.
Can I take it in pregnancy or while breastfeeding?
Please ask our doctor before starting rather than afterwards.
Can children take it?
This is for adults. A child with stomach pain should see our doctor rather than take a share of an adult capsule.
How long can I take it for?
DGL is the form of liquorice intended for steady use, and the glycyrrhizin figure is why. If your symptoms have needed something daily for weeks, that is the signal to come and see our doctor about the cause rather than to buy a second bottle.
Does it interact with anything else?
Bring us everything you take and our pharmacist will check it in two minutes. The list to flag is blood pressure medicines, diuretics, steroids, heart-rhythm medicines, and any other liquorice-containing product or tea.
Is it vegan?
It is a non-GMO vegan capsule. Ask us if you need the full ingredient declaration and we will read it off the bottle with you.
When should I see a doctor rather than buy a supplement?
Vomiting blood or black tarry stools means going to hospital now. Unintended weight loss, difficulty swallowing, persistent vomiting or anaemia means seeing our doctor the same day. Stomach pain lasting weeks means getting tested.
Where can I buy NaturesPlus Licorice DGL 500 mg 60s in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown above. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. At one capsule a day a bottle of sixty is two months, so tell us how long you want covered.
