The 40-year-old Mr. Zhang has fallen in love with eating betel nut since he changed jobs the year before.
Mr. Zhang has more than 20 years of smoking experience. He has been smoking since he was in school, and he is very addicted to smoking. However, smoking is prohibited in the office building where his new job is located. To smoke, you need to take a 20-story elevator downstairs to a special outdoor smoking area, which is very troublesome and a waste of time for Mr. Zhang. Later, at the recommendation of a colleague, Mr. Zhang learned to chew betel nut to relieve his craving. As a result, the more he eats, the more addicted he becomes. Sometimes he can chew two or three packets a day.
Recently, Mr. Zhang always feels that he will be resisted when he opens his mouth, and >Oral ulcers, affecting normal diet, and it is easy to touch the ulcers when chewing betel nut, which is very painful. So he came to the hospital, and the doctor told Mr. Zhang that he had oral cancer and needed surgery!
Is betel nut an addictive drug or a cure?
It is recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica that betel nut can be used as a medicinal material. The active substances contained in betel nut have antioxidant effects, which can relieve fatigue and refresh the mind. Betel nut can also improve the function of the gastrointestinal tract, promote the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract and the secretion of digestive juice, so as to enhance appetite and promote digestion.
Studies have pointed out that arecoline in betel nut can protect the pancreas and islet B cells, thereby promoting the secretion of insulin in the body and lowering blood sugar strong>, has a very good effect on the treatment of diabetes. [1]
Many smokers like to smoke while chewing betel nut. “Betel nut plus smoke, the mana is boundless” I believe many people have heard it. This is because smoking and betel nut together will make people feel twice as happy, but the harm to health will also be doubled.
As early as 2003, the World Health Organization has classified betel nut as a Class I carcinogen, which means that betel nut can definitely cause cancer in humans. Since betel nut can cause cancer, why do so many people love to eat it?
When people eat betel nut for the first time, they will feel a strong stimulation, dizziness, chest tightness, shortness of breath, fever and sweating and other symptoms. This is because areca nut contains a variety of alkaloids, the most important of which are arecoline and hypoarecoline. Arecoline can directly act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the human body and can be easily absorbed. Arecoline can stimulate the pituitary gland, causing the secretion of adrenal cortex hormones and dopamine to increase, making the human body excited in a short time, feeling hot and sweating and flushing.
After chewing betel nut a few times, you will completely adapt to the pleasure brought by chewing. In addition, in order to reduce the irritation of betel nut to the mouth, many betel nut products on the market will add some additives similar to aspartame. This additive can bring sweetness and cooling to the taste buds, making chewing betel nut more and more enjoyable.
Just as the nicotine in tobacco can give people highs, so can betel nut, a legal soft drug. Once you are addicted to the comfort brought by betel nut, it is very difficult to quit, and it is normal for people who are addicted to betel nut to chew several packs a day. Since betel nut poses such a great threat to human health, why does our country not ban this kind of food?
Why is betel nut not banned in my country?
The tradition of consuming betel nut can be traced back 3000 years ago, when some people in tropical regions began to eat betel nut. The country with the largest consumption of betel nut in the world is India, India Some regions have adopted the consumption of betel nut as a traditional practice, and many people have started to consume betel nut since childhood. Edible betel nut in my country has a history of more than 2,000 years. It originated in the Han Dynasty. “Poetry Immortal” Li Bai wrote in his poem “When the golden plate is used, a bunch of betel nut is recommended”. , which means that in ancient times, betel nut has become a noble food for people to receive guests.
Since betel nut was listed as a first-class carcinogen, Singapore, Canada, Australia and other countries have identified betel nut as a drug, and many European and American countries have banned the sale betel nut. In August 2021, Turkey state clearly stipulated that betel nut is listed as a drug, and many Chinese tourists were arrested in Turkey for carrying betel nut. In recent years, the harm of betel nut has gradually been paid attention to in our country.Provinces began banning advertisements promoting betel nut.
In China, betel nut is mainly distributed in Taiwan, Hainan, Hunan and Yunnan. In some areas, a unique “betel nut socialization” has been formed among people. When they meet and greet each other, they hand a piece of betel nut to each other. There are also betel nut specialty shops and betel nut residues everywhere on the street.
Betel nut has brought huge economic benefits to people, and has gradually become a “pillar industry” in Hunan, Hainan and other provinces. According to the data, from 2011 to 2018, the output value of China’s betel nut industry increased by 22.3 billion yuan, and showed a continuous upward trend. Taking Hunan as an example, there are more than 120 betel nut production enterprises in the whole province, driving the employment population of more than 5 million and driving the economy of related industries to exceed 50 billion yuan.
In Hainan, betel nut cultivation has become the main source of farmers’ economic income. 95% of betel nut in my country is produced in Hainan, and the employment population of the whole industry chain of betel nut exceeds 5 million people. Like cigarettes, the betel nut industry has brought huge economic effects, which may be one of the reasons why my country cannot easily ban betel nut.
In addition to the huge economic benefits, betel nut also brings serious health problems and accompanying economic burdens strong>.
Central South University Xiangya Hospital published a set of survey reports on its official website in 2018. The results showed that among 50 inpatients in oral and maxillofacial surgery, 45 had oral cancer, and 44 of them had long-term Eat a lot of betel nut. Since 2016, oral cancer caused by betel nut has brought more than 5 billion economic losses to Hunan.
Oral cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the oral cavity. Long-term consumption of large amounts of betel nut can increase the risk of oral cancer. The incidence of oral cancer in Hunan is 20 times higher than the national average, and is even jokingly called Hunan’s “characteristic tumor” by the media.
Patients suffering from oral cancer often face two outcomes: one is facial deformity caused by surgery, and the other is death due to systemic metastasis of cancer cells.
Death and disfigurement caused by betel nut
Consumption of betel nut for a long time will damage gums and bites first muscle. Betel nut fiber and arecoline continually irritate tooth enamel and periodontal tissue when chewed, resulting in inflammation, redness, and even shrinkage of the gums. The pigment on the betel nut also stains the teeth red and black, causing tooth premature loss. Frequent chewing of betel nut will also make the muscles of mastication more and more developed, and eat the “face with melon seeds” into “face with Chinese characters”.
arecoline has certain toxicity to cells, long-term consumption of betel nut will kill cells, cause inflammation, repeated Oral blisters, ulcers, and stomach ulcers develop. In addition, the rough fibers on betel nut can damage the oral mucosa, which leads to the occurrence of oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF) over time. In patients with OSF, due to the sclerosis of the oral mucosa, the mouth cannot grow, which affects the normal function of the oral cavity.
Once there was an interesting news, a fugitive who ate betel nut for a long time became a “cherry mouth” and avoided the pursuit of the police. This is actually a phenomenon caused by fibrosis of the oral mucosa. People with this disease open their mouths to eat and yawn are problems. In severe cases, they will feel severe pain as long as they open their mouths.
Oral submucosal fibrosis is a precancerous lesion that can develop over time in some patients with OSF. According to medical statistics, more than 90% of oral cancer cases are related to betel nut, and the incidence of oral cancer in India ranks first in the world. After the occurrence of oral cancer, surgery is the main treatment option.
If there is no lymph node metastasis in early oral cancer, surgical removal of lesions, such as tongue, gums, throat, chin, etc., can be performed. This surgical method often brings “disfigured” and “dumb” results to patients. Some patients choose to commit suicide because they cannot accept their own appearance after surgery, while most of them choose to be strong. Live and keep fighting cancer.
“The Face Cut Man in the Kingdom of Betel Nuts” Liu Sangguo, a 43-year-old man, is a man because of betel nut. patients with oral cancer. After undergoing surgery, he was cut off the lower jaw, left gum and lymph of the left face. After most of the left face was cut off, the atrophied facial skin severely deformed his face, forming a deep pit the size of a fist. Combined with post-operative nerve compression, he was completely blind. Later, Liu Sangguo’s cancer recurred, and the cancer cells metastasized to the lungs and brain, and eventually died of pain.
This is not an isolated case. Many oral cancer patients will experience similar things. In addition to the physical torment of the disease, the appearance after surgery will always destroy their psychology and the high cost of treatment. It also puts great pressure on families. Smoking is also a high risk factor for oral cancer. Smoking combined with betel nut will only accelerate the occurrence of cancer.
However, there are still 60 million or more people in the country While chewing betel nut, they enjoy the thrill of betel nut, while taking a fluke and thinking that cancer will not come to the door.
Doctor advice
“Betel nut and cigarettes have boundless magic power; if you are hospitalized, you will ascend to heaven”. The old saying has also been adapted by netizens to remind people of the dangers of betel nut. If you eat betel nut and you are not addicted , don’t eat it in the future. People with mild addiction can choose other snacks instead, such as chewing gum, beef jerky, etc.
If you have been eating betel nut for a long time, pay more attention to the state of your mouth If you have symptoms such as changes in the color of the oral mucosa, repeated oral ulcers and blisters, difficulty swallowing and swollen neck lymph nodes, you should be alert to the occurrence of oral cancer, and you must quit betel nut in time , go to the hospital for examination.
Remember, when you eat betel nut, betel nut is also “eating” you, for the happiness of yourself and your family, quit these harmful substances in time.< /p>
References:
[1]Yang Yajiao, Kong Weijun, Sun Lan, Sun Guibo, Zhou Lidong. Study on chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical application of betel nut Progress[J].World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2019,21(12)