llso Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 The white substance is lime. It reacts to release the alkaloid chemicals in it. It is called Bpoon same as cement in Thai I guess because of the connection with the lime in cement. My wife gets aggravated why I can't understand Mama's Thai. I told her I can't understand because she is always chewing it. I never tried and am a bit afraid because of some heart problems. I'm not sure what it does but Mama sure seems to have a lot of energy. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hi, There was a discussion about betel nut a while back. http://board.nanaplaza.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=4479&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 >>>The white substance is lime. It reacts to release the alkaloid chemicals in it.<<< and it irritates the gums which makes it easier for the tobacco and betel to enter the bloodstream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 9, 2003 Report Share Posted July 9, 2003 >>>and a top-rated paan-wallah with a good reputation will actually sell his top paan concoctions for a pretty expensive price.<<< personally - i do like betel very much, esp. the indian varieties. very nice for the digestion to have a "mitha" paan(sweet variety - lots of sirups and other little sweets) after a heavy meal. once a while i like a "sada paan cum zarda" (the nasty one...). there are lots of different styles, even some with certain drugs... lots of prices, depends on the kind of leave and the quality of the ingredients. i think the most expensive one i had was around 50 rs. (the average sweet pan costs somewhere between 1 and 5 rs), but i have heard there are a lot more expensive ones, some having real gold leaf as a cover. mainly because of paan and tobacco chewing india has the highest rate of mouth cancer in the world, but once a while chewing beetle is very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 betel chewing extends as far as Papua New Guinea, it's a very old custom originating from India. Of course back in the day it was very fashionable in the Royal Court. Made black teeth very desirable too. Also said to make teeth stronger, which is why older women tend to take it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 i was assured that under all those black and red colors are very healthy teeth, if regularly cleaned. highly collectible are old court betel sets, but the good ones are way beyong my price range. i better stay with my wooden village buddhas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 My wife's grandma is addicted to it. And ye, it is a social thing, everytime I go there they're either eating it or preparing a new mixture, and everybody can join in. My wife's mum occaisonally uses it and my wife a bit less occaisionally. Her dad is a betel nut chewer once in a while. Oh yeah, it reminds me a lot of doobies 55555555 I'm not getting even close to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Says racha: no its not the same word, spelled different and also pronounced different, Correct. Just asked my wife and said same thing i dont have Thai script on computer. She has tried it and hates it maak maak :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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