The GAIA Health Blog

[below] photo source and great recipe for vegan papaya salad

I've said several times in this Blog, there are many great superfoods,  but Papaya is in my opinion, the most underrated and underutilized superfood just sitting there in the produce section.

Been meaning to do a Top 10 List on "Papaya Power" for a year, so here we go….

[note] If you can't get fresh papaya in your diet every day, you can do like I do, which is add
quality Papaya Powder as one of the superfoods in my daily smoothies.

14. Papaya Lowers cholesterol

Papayas are rich in fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants that prevent cholesterol build up in your arteries. Too much cholesterol build-up can block the arteries completely, causing a heart attack. Papaya extracts have also found to reduce lipid and triglycerides in diabetic rats.

13. Papaya aids in weight loss

One medium sized papaya contains just 120 calories. So, if you’re planning to lose weight, don’t forget to add this light fruit to your diet. Besides, it also packed with a considerable amount of dietary fibre that aids weight loss by promoting a feeling of fullness and controlling cravings.

12. Papaya boosts your immunity

Your immune system acts as a shield against various infections that can make you really sick. A single papaya can fulfill more than 200% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C, making it great to build a stronger immune system.

11. Papaya is good for diabetics

Despite being sweet in nature, papayas are low in sugar content (8.3 gm in one cup of sliced papaya) as well as glycemic index. This property makes papayas excellent fruits for diabetics. The vitamins and phytonutrients present in them prevents development of heart disease in diabetes. Also, people who don’t have diabetes can eat papaya to prevent it from happening. You may also want to read how to prevent diabetes with a fibre-rich healthy diet.

10. Papaya helps reduce stress

According to a study conducted in University of Alabama, found that 200 mg of Vitamin C can help regulate the flow of stress hormones in rats.

9. Papaya is great for your eyes

Papayas are rich in Vitamin A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, cyptoxanthin and lutein which keep the mucus membranes in the eyes healthy, preventing them from damage. Vitamin A in them also prevents the development of age-related macular degeneration. The best thing about papayas is that the carotenoids present in them are more bio available than those present in other vitamin A rich foods like tomatoes and carrots.

8. Papaya protects against arthritis

Arthritis can be a really debilitating disease and people who have it may find their quality of life reduced significantly. Eating papayas are good for your bones as they have anti-inflammatory properties along with Vitamin C which helps in keeping various forms of arthritis at bay. A study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases showed that people who consumed foods low in Vitamin C were three times more likely to have arthritis than those who didn't.

7. Papaya improves digestion

In today’s times, it is near impossible to avoid eating foods that are bad for your digestive system. Often we find ourselves eating junk food or restaurant food prepared in excessive quantities of oil. Eating a papaya daily can make up for such occasional mistakes, as it has a digestive enzyme known as papain along with fibre which helps improve your digestive health.

Did you know….

Papaya leaves have always historically been used as a natural meat tenderizer, there are also techniques to tenderize meat with the papaya fruit itself, here is one example with instructions.

6. Papaya helps ease menstrual pain

Women who experience menstrual pain should help themselves to several servings of papaya, as an enzyme called papain helps in regulating and easing flow during menstrual periods.

5. Papaya helps prevent signs of aging

All of us would love to stay young forever, but no one in this world has managed to do it. Still, healthy habits like eating a papaya daily will prolong the process and may make you look 5 years younger than you are. Papaya is rich in vitamin C, vitamin E and antioxidants like beta-carotene which helps prevent your skin from free radical damage keeping wrinkles and other signs of aging at bay.

4. Papaya promotes hair growth

Apart from keeping the skin healthy, papayas are very effective for maintaining healthy hair. Vitamin A in them is utilized in production of sebum, a compound that is crucial for keeping the hair smooth, shiny and moisturized. External application of papaya extract to the scalp can help you get rid of dandruff. The nutrients present in them help hair loss. They boost hair growth and strengthening. Although there is no scientific evidence, papayas are also thought to prevent hair thinning.

[2 previous photos] photo source and formula for Papaya, Rosewater, and Yogurt Mask

3. Papaya Enzymes Help Digest Gluten

I don't think this one gets promoted as a papaya benefit as much as it should, especially with all the gluten intolerance issues that somehow popped up in American diet in the past 20 years.

Papain the enzyme from papaya, serve as an effective digestive aid in the breakdown of proteins. It is a complex of various enzymes that have proteolytic, amylolytic, and weak lipolytic activity. The toxic exploitation of gluten is annihilated when it is digested with crude papain. Thus, it can be prescribed for dyspeptic and celiac disease patients, who cannot digest wheat protein gliadin but can tolerate it if it is treated with crude papain. [source article 1]. [source article 2]

[Note] you can get Papaya Enzyme Capsules on Amazon.

2. Papaya is rich in Breast/Prostate Cancer fighting Antioxidant Lycopene

Although Gac Fruit is miles ahead of all other superfoods in Breast and Prostate Cancer fighting Antioxidant Lycopene, several other foods have very good amounts of the Lycopene nutrient, including Rosehip, Guava, Tomato, Papaya, Watermelon and Grapefruit. If you do some Googling, you'll see Lycopene gaining much traction and attention in progressive Natural Health Science as a powerful Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer fighter.

1. Papaya is a Cancer Fighting Fruit (for many types of Cancer)

According to the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition (May 2009) papaya was the only one with significant success at halting breast cancer cells. Out of 14 foods studied by scientists for the ability to stop breast cancer cell growth, papaya outshone them all. The list of foods they examined included avocado, guava, mango, prickly pear cactus, pineapple, grapes, tomato and papaya. They measured beta-carotene, total plant phenolics, gallic acid, and antioxidant capacity. Scientists believe it may be organo-sulfur compounds called isothiocyanates that have cancer fighting properties. Animal experiments show that isothiocyanates protect against cancers of the breast, lung, pancreas, colon, prostate, and leukemia. What's more, they believe this protection may also apply to humans. [source 1] [source 2]

most of the entries on this list (except for #1,#2, and #3), which are my own entries, came from an article on theHealthSite.com

** A couple of final notes on Papaya

* Be careful with Hawaiian Papaya, because a vast about of the Hawaiian papaya is GMO, I think they did that to combat some type of plant diseases that were taking root out there. Most papaya I buy [from Whole Foods] is from Caribbean or Mexico, though it is normally not USDA organic, there is still a chance it was grown without pesticides. Caribbean/Mexican/South American papaya is the safest approach for me  (the Whole Foods I shop at normally lists the country's origin)

* Papaya seeds are supposed to have many benefits like detoxifying the liver, but be careful with diving into consuming a lot of papaya seeds over long periods of time, because I heard papaya seeds can cause miscarriages in women and sterility in men. I can't find the links where I read that, but I do remember seeing it in a couple of places. I also remember that women in the Philippines and/or the South Pacific would consume papaya seeds as a means of abortion, so know what you are doing if consuming papaya seeds

~stay healthy~

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