Cancer-causing! Stop eating this little green fruit with "infinite powers"!

Author of this article: Dou Pan, deputy director and nutritionist of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking University First Hospital. Recently, a piece of news about betel nut has become a hot topic. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has decided to stop using radio, television and online audio-visual programs to promote and sell betel nut and its products from now on.

All radio, television and online audio-visual organizations are required to attach great importance to this, organize verification and cleanup as soon as possible, ensure that the above requirements are implemented, safeguard the interests of the people and create a good communication environment.

Previously, the news that "Türkiye has designated betel nut as a drug and several Chinese citizens have been arrested" also became a hot topic.

So, why should we stop promoting betel nut? Is it really harmful? Let’s answer them one by one.

What is betel nut? Is it medicine or poison?

"Betel nut plus cigarettes, boundless power; betel nut with wine, immortality" is the catchphrase of many betel nut lovers. According to statistics, about 700 million people in the world chew betel nut in different forms, accounting for 10% of the world's total population. Betel nut has become the fourth most popular addiction after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine. Chewing betel nut is a hobby of residents in southern my country, especially those in Hunan.

Betel nut is the dried mature seed of the palm plant Areca catechu, which is usually ovate, spherical or elliptical. It is also one of the four famous southern medicines in my country (Betel nut, Alpinia oxyphylla, Amomum villosum, Morinda officinalis), and has a history of medicinal use of more than 1,800 years. However, as a snack, betel nut is definitely not a good choice! Why?

Edible betel nut is generally made from betel nut, lime water, essences and spices. In some places, flue-cured tobacco and spices are also added. The substances such as arecoline, arecoline, and tobacco can make the human body hot, produce euphoria, relieve emotions, and refresh the mind, so it is easy to become addicted.

Most importantly, long-term consumption of betel nut can cause cancer!

Is betel nut a “first-class carcinogen”?

Relevant studies have shown that the incidence of oral cancer is very high in countries and regions where betel nut chewing is popular. For example, India, which consumes the most betel nut in the world, has the highest incidence of oral cancer in the world; Taiwanese people also like to chew betel nut, with 27.4 cases of oral cancer per 100,000 male residents.

After obtaining sufficient epidemiological evidence, the International Cancer Research Center under the World Health Organization determined that chewing betel nut is clearly associated with pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer.

As early as 2003, the International Agency for Research on Cancer listed betel nut on the "blacklist" and classified it as a Class I carcinogen along with arsenic.

In 2017, China's Food and Drug Administration (now renamed the "State Administration for Market Regulation" after an institutional reform) translated the World Health Organization's "Complete List of Carcinogens" and classified betel nut as a "Group 1 carcinogen."

Why does chewing betel nut cause cancer? This is because long-term chewing of betel nut will repeatedly rub the oral mucosa and gingival mucosa, causing physical damage, edema, inflammation, and prolonged wound healing, leading to fibrotic lesions of the mucosa. Oral mucosal fibrotic lesions have a high tendency to become malignant, leading to the occurrence of oral cancer. In addition, the arecoline in betel nut is converted into ammonium nitrite through nitrosylation, which is mutagenic to the human body and causes cancer.

What are the dangers of eating betel nut?

In addition to easily causing oral mucosal lesions and oral cancer, long-term chewing of betel nut can

1. It will also cause a lot of damage to the enamel on the surface of the teeth, making the teeth particularly "sensitive" to cold and hot stimuli;

2. It is very easy to cause dental plaque, produce odor, make "bad breath", and affect daily life;

3. The temporomandibular joint is in a "weight-bearing" state for a long time, causing pain in the temporomandibular joint;

4. Stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, cause gastritis, and affect digestive function.

Why is betel nut harmless when used as medicine but causes cancer when eaten?

This is closely related to the method, dosage and time of use of betel nut.

Usage: Eating betel nut means chewing it directly in the mouth, which will repeatedly rub and irritate the oral mucosa, causing inflammation, and chronic inflammation will develop into precancerous lesions, eventually causing oral cancer. Medicinal betel nut needs to be combined with other medicinal materials as a decoction and taken after boiling.

Dosage: Studies have shown that almost all people who like to eat betel nuts consume more than one betel nut per day, and 34.5% of people consume more than 10 betel nut per day. The average daily betel nut consumption is 23.2 g, far exceeding the recommended daily intake of 3-10 g of medicinal betel nut stipulated in the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Duration of use: The use of medicinal betel nut is shorter, while more than 50% of betel nut users consume it for more than 20 years.

Studies have shown that the cancer risk of betel nut is mainly related to the time it is chewed in the mouth. Medicinal betel nut has been processed and reduced in toxicity, and the dosage is limited. Patients will not take large amounts of it for a long time, and there is no chewing process. Therefore, medicinal betel nut greatly reduces the probability of oral cancer.

What else is likely to cause cancer?

Researchers also found that if you chew betel nut while smoking or drinking, your risk of oral cancer is even greater, because alcohol and tobacco are also carcinogens!

Moreover, in the list of "Class I carcinogens" of the State Food and Drug Administration, in addition to the well-known carcinogens arsenic, dioxin, aflatoxin, benzopyrene, there are also betel nut, aristolochic acid, Chinese salted fish, etc., which is surprising. These substances may be around you and in your daily life!
Therefore, please do not believe the saying that "betel nut plus cigarettes have infinite power"! The word "cancer" has three meanings. Let's manage our diet and stay away from cancer!