The practice of chewing paan is a part of Indiann culture and tradition. The betel leaf is a tender green leaf of the betel vine, a thin-stemmed plant. It is slight bitter in taste and is often chewed with areca nut, which gives a mild narcotic effect upon consumption.
Chewing paan is believed to be harmful, but it does offer certain, lesser-known health benefits. Here are some of them:
Digestive health
Chewing paan can work wonders for your digestive health. It stimulates the salivary gland to release saliva and break down food for a smooth digestion. Betel leaves are quite effective in relieving constipation. You can also treat gastric ulcers with paan as the betel leaf extract is acknowledged for gastro-protective activity.
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Oral health
Betel leaf has many compounds with bactericidal effects that help in getting rid of bacteria that cause bad breath. Spices such as cloves, fennel and cardamom when combined with paan make a fine mouth-freshener. Chewing paan can also prevent carcinogenesis in the oral cavity and also lowers the risk for oral cancer by maintaining ascorbic acid levels in the saliva.
Warts and boils
Ayurvedic medicines have for long used betel leaves in the treatment of warts as it is known to rupture the boil and drain it. Likewise, chewing paan is believed to have a curing effect on warts and boils in the mouth and elsewhere in the body.
Common ailments and injuries
If you often struggle with cough, combine betel leaf extract with honey to relieve cough besides getting rid of removing phlegm from the chest. Moreover, the leaf is known for having analgesic properties that can relieve debilitating headaches. If you have a wound, chewing paan can accelerate the process of healing.
Aphrodisiac
Betel leaf is known to stimulate sexual desire. You can use the aphrodisiac properties of paan to make love making more enjoyable.
If dubious ingredients are kept aside, chewing paan can turn out to be healthy.
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