Questions & Answers on Betel Nuts

The betel nut is not a controlled substance, but it can be illegal to import, especially wholesale. When they are chewed, the nuts give users a rush of stamina and euphoria. Excessive chewing causes discolored or even loss of teeth and oral cancer. The World Health Organization has labeled it a carcinogen.

Betel leaf has a fresh, peppery taste, but it can also be bitter to varying degrees depending on the variety. Areca nuts are chewed with betel leaf for their effects as a mild stimulant, causing a warming sensation in the body and slightly heightened alertness, although the effects vary from person to person.

Chewing too many betel nuts is toxic, and symptoms include excitement, glazed eyes, shaking, impaired motor skills — such as a stumbling gait — irrational behavior and anger, she said, adding that users suffering from severe betel-poisoning could experience an acute psychotic episode with auditory hallucinations.

Regular chewing of the betel nut has been linked to cancer of the mouth and esophagus, oral submucous fibrosis, and tooth decay. The WHO has classified betel nut as a carcinogen and initiated an action plan to reduce its use.

Betel nut: The nut of the Areca palm tree and an ingredient of betel nut quid, an addictive mix chewed in some Pacific and Asian cultures. Its use is associated with aggressive oral cancers affecting especially the inner lining of the cheeks and lips are the primary tumor sites.

From using it in prayers and religious ceremonies to eating it in the form of a ‘paan’, betel leaves contain many curative and healing health benefits. The leaves are full of vitamins like vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and carotene and are a great source of calcium.

Consuming one betel leaf a day helps to flush out the toxins that further restores the normal pH levels of the stomach and hence, increases appetite.

Ayurveda widely recommends eating betel leaves for relief from constipation. Crush betel leaves and put them in the water overnight. Drink the water in the morning on an empty stomach to ease bowel movements. Improves Digestion: Ever wondered why chew on betel leaf after a good meal?

Several studies have shown betel chewing to be associated with increased risk for various health complications including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The exact mechanism by which betel causes liver damage has not been elucidated.

Due to the high fibre content, urad dal is also recommended to people suffering from piles or colic disorder. This lentil is also believed to be an excellent liver stimulant.

“A chronic protein deficiency can cause hardening and sclerosis of the liver, resulting in permanent damage. For instance, we tend to eat more carbohydrate rich food like idli-dosa for breakfast, accompanied by a sambhar that is devoid of vegetables.

However, administration of a higher dose of betel nut (60 mg/day) had no significant effect on the serum concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and NAG. Histological examination of spleen revealed a dose-dependent extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Lowers High Cholesterol Levels Studies have found that betel leaf helps in lowering high levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol. Furthermore, it also helps to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.

What you then do is the following to eat Betel Nut properly:

1. Break a part of the stem off.
2. Dip the stem into the lime.
3. Stick the stem in your mouth, then.
4. stick the Betel Nut into your gob (Australian Slang for mouth), with the stem and chew it all together.

Send to a friend Betel nut addiction could be treated by the same, simple drugs used to wean people off cigarettes, a study has found. Research on the stimulation caused by the popular custom of chewing betel nuts shows the nut’s psychoactive chemicals affect the same brain regions as nicotine.

Do not chew Betel Nut if you are not aware of the risks. Betel Nut is a drug and can become very addictive. Be careful when spitting betel nut juice (or being spat on) when chewing in public places.

Baking soda and peroxide. Rozenberg says brushing your teeth with baking soda and a few drops of peroxide can help whiten your teeth. She recommends adding a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to baking soda until it creates a paste. Then, use the paste like you would a commercial toothpaste.

It is haraam to deal with it in any way, whether one inhales it, chews it or deals with it in any of its other forms. It is obligatory upon every Muslim to give up these things and to hasten to repent to Allaah, and to regret having committed this sin, and to resolve never to go back to it.

The Prophet  said: “When Allah prohibits something, He prohibits eating its price.” So, Islam forbids not only the drinking of alcohol but the brewing, selling, transport and serving of alcohol. Likewise, once it is considered that tobacco is haram, no Muslim may manufacture, buy, sell, trade or promote tobacco.

Chaliya – چھالیہ Definitions It is commonly referred to as betel nut as it is often chewed wrapped in betel leaves. (noun) : seed of betel palm; chewed with leaves of the betel pepper and lime as a digestive stimulant and narcotic in southeastern Asia.

In multiple linear regression, although no adjustment was made for the use of antihypertensive agents, betel nut chewing was significantly associated with blood pressure, with regression coefficients of 0.958+/-0.163 (SEM) for systolic and 0.441+/-0.108 for diastolic blood pressure in men; and the respective values for …

paan chewers across Canada are in for tough times. A spokesperson for the Canadian Health Department, Marianne Kinder clarifies: “It has never been our intention to ban betel-nut. People can import it for their personal use, but not for distribution or sale.”

Discussion: Given the high use of “pure” betel nut among pregnant women, a significant impact on birth weight reduction and a poor knowledge about the adverse health effects of this substance, prevention programs in pregnant women should include betel nut chewing as a risk factor for poor pregnancy outcome.