Papaya or Carica papaya is a tropical succulent fruit of the Caricaceae family. Papaya fruit is edible raw when ripe, and its young fruit, leaves, and shoots are eatable as cooked vegetables.
Papaya has green-colored skin when immature but turns into shades of orange while ripping. The flash of papaya is yellow, orange, or red. This long pear-shaped fruit has numerous black bitter seeds. You have to take precautions while eating raw papaya during pregnancy, as it contains a high amount of latex, which induces contractions.
Papaya contains papain enzyme, which is helpful in meat tenderizers, chewing gums, toothpaste, shampoos, facial creams, and treating beers.
Papaya is beneficial in preventing and treating various gastrointestinal tract diseases, diuretics, neuralgia, and intestinal-parasitic infections.
Health benefits
Papaya is rich in many nutrients and antioxidants, which have numerous health advantages, including:
- Papain enzyme and the high content of fibers present in papaya help in the digestion of protein. Consuming papaya improves constipation, blotting, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The seeds, roots, and leaves of papaya are beneficial in stomach ulcers.
- This sweet fruit contains a moderate amount of carbohydrates and calories, which give instant energy after consumption.
- Papaya contains many potent antioxidants, including carotenoids, which counteract free radicals and prevent many chronic diseases.
Antioxidants in fermented papaya reduce oxidative stress due to mild hypothyroidism, liver disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- The lycopene antioxidant in papaya reduces cancer risk and slows cancer progression.
- Papaya contains a rich amount of vitamin C and lycopene, which improves HDL or good cholesterol, thus improving heart health and reducing the risk of heart diseases.
- Papaya has a high content of carotenoids, another antioxidant, which reduces inflammatory markers. So consuming papaya frequently reduces many chronic inflammatory diseases.
- Papaya is rich in vitamin A, C, and lycopene, which fight skin-damaging free radicals reduce aging signs and help skin recover from sun damage.
Well-ripen papaya has a unique sweet flavor with numerous antioxidants and nutrients, which improves our health.