Betel Juice (standard:non fiction, 490 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Jul 08 2012	Views/Reads: 2868/1778	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Chewing Betel leaf after meals is good for digestion, better than taking antacids.

Betel Juice 

Subba Rao 

“Apple a day keeps doctor away,” Dan took a big bite of Fuji 

apple. 

“Or chew a leaf to keep antacids away,” Juggernaut started 

chewing a heart shaped shiny leaf. 

“That smells strong, what kind of leaf was that?” 

“This is Betel leaf from Betel Pepper plant, a distant 

relative of black pepper plant;  hundreds of millions of people in Asia 

chew these leaves on a regular basis,” Juggernaut continued to chew 

with his eyes half closed as if he was  experiencing euphoria. 

“Eating Apple or any fruit for that matter is healthy but 

never heard chewing a leaf is good for you.” 

“This is not any leaf, Betel leaf was in use over 5000 years 

ago in South Asia; people chew a leaf or two after meals to aid 

digestion particularly spicy Indian food, chewing a Betel leaf  is 

cheaper and better than using Tums or Prilosec for acid stomach.” 

“I just read on the internet that chewing Betel nuts causes 

all kinds of cancers,” Dan was still on the internet. 

“Betel nuts are from Areca Palm trees and no relation to Betel 

plant; since crushed Areca nuts were chewed with Betel leaf, the nuts 

were wrongly labeled as Betel nuts, it is misnomer to call Areca Palm 

nuts as Betel nuts.” 

“Is it necessary to eat Betel leaf with Areca nuts?” 

“Not necessarily, during thousands of years of Betel leaf use, 

to get a kick, people improvised Betel leaf with crushed Areca Palm 

nuts, liquid lime, and tobacco powder.” 

“Was it not cumbersome to get all the ingredients together to 

chew?” 

“I am sure it was but ingenious humans made it easy by putting 

all the ingredients together and wrapped with Betel leaves in a shape 

of small cone and called Paan; it is handy and small to carry several 

of them in a pocket and easy to pop into mouth like a large corn candy.”


“It is the most fascinating thing I heard but what it makes 

Paan chewing carcinogenic?” 

“Certainly not the Betel leaves used as wrap to make the Paan; 

the contents such as crushed Areca Palm nuts, powder tobacco along with 



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