The 36-year-old male singer died of cancer because of this!

On September 10, singer Fu Song passed away due to oral cancer at the age of 36.

Fu Song was born in Changde, Hunan, and he loves to chew betel nuts . In 2021, Fu Song went to the hospital for treatment because of a tumor on his face and was diagnosed with oral cancer. After that, Fu Song was admitted to the hospital for treatment. He also posted a Vlog to share his anti-cancer experience. However, after a year of treatment, he still did not get better.

In June this year, Fu Song updated his Vlog for the last time. He revealed that oral cancer had recurred three times. He also showed his wounds to netizens, and his entire right face was ulcerated.

He advised netizens who like to chew betel nuts not to take chances and to stay away from betel nuts .

Image source: Internet

Regarding "betel nut", many people only know that it has a unique taste, but they don't know how terrible the health threat it brings!

01

What is Betel Nut?

Why does it make people addicted?

"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 China, especially those in Hunan.

Betel nut is the dried mature seed of the palm plant Areca catechu, which is usually ovate, spherical or oval. But as a snack, betel nut is definitely not a good choice! Why?

Betel nut is generally made from betel nut, lime water, essence and spices. Some places also add flue-cured tobacco and spices. The substances in it, such as arecoline, arecoline, and tobacco, can make the human body hot and 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!

02

Is betel nut a “Class 1 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; people in Taiwan Province of my country also like to chew betel nut, with 27.4 cases of oral cancer for every 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 included betel nut in its "blacklist" and classified it as a "category 1 carcinogen" along with arsenic. In 2017, the China Food and Drug Administration (now renamed the "State Administration for Market Regulation") translated the WHO's "Complete List of Carcinogens" and classified betel nut as a "category 1 carcinogen" .

Why does chewing betel nut cause cancer?

This is because when betel nut is chewed for a long time, it will repeatedly rub the oral mucosa and gingival mucosa, causing physical damage, causing edema, inflammation and prolonged wound healing, leading to fibrotic lesions of the mucosa. Oral mucosal fibrotic lesions have a high tendency to malignant transformation, leading to the occurrence of oral cancer. Moreover, the arecoline in betel nut is converted into ammonium nitrite through nitrosylation, which will produce mutagenicity in the human body and cause cancer. When "physical damage" and "chemical damage" are repeatedly stimulated and combined, the carcinogenic process will become particularly hidden. Therefore, eating betel nut will increase the risk of oral cancer. The longer the consumption time, the greater the damage to the oral cavity, and the higher the risk of related diseases. In addition to oral cancer, eating betel nut will also increase the risk of pharyngeal cancer, tongue cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer and other cancers . At the same time, there is evidence that people who have the habit of chewing betel nut have a higher risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, gastritis, cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease and other diseases.

03

What are the dangers of eating betel nut?

Long-term chewing of betel nut may also cause the following hazards:

1. A large amount 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 .

04

What else is likely to cause cancer?

The 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 "class 1 carcinogens".

In the "Complete List of Carcinogens" of the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, well-known carcinogens include arsenic, dioxin, aflatoxin, benzopyrene, as well as betel nut, aristolochic acid, salted fish, etc. 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!

Author: Dou Pan, deputy director of the Clinical Nutrition Department, Peking University First Hospital

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