Prelude

Do we ever wonder about the benefits of papaya to health when we take a refreshing juice at midday? Despite being an immediate energy refresher, either raw or ripened papaya is indeed a health food. Papaya or scientifically known as Carica papaya fruits grow in a single stemmed sparingly branched tree. Amazingly, with proper soil fertility, fruiting reaches to a height of 5 to 10 meters. Fruiting starts from the 6 to 11 months of planting. A look at the nutrients in a small papaya of 152 gram helping will show you the real benefits of papaya. Due to the rising consciousness of higher food and medicinal value of Papaya, the production of papaya globally had gone up to 13.05 million tons in 2016 (Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations).

Figure 1: The Fruiting Papaya tree and the ripe fruit– the benefits of Papaya revealed in the color.

The nutrient benefits of Papaya

Papaya also contains a substantial amounts of  zeaxanthin, lycopene, carotene, which are valuable antioxidants. Here is what a helping of papaya has as its nutritional value. Imagine the supply of nutrients in a glass of papaya juice or a bowl of cut pieces.  Papaya also contains trace amounts of magnesium, calcium, and vitamins B1, B3, B5, E and K.

Figure 2: Benefits of Papaya are due to its rich in nutrients

What makes it work for health?

The health benefits of Papaya fruit papain, carpain, work due to the presence of proteolytic enzyme known as papain. Papain is an active ingredient that breaks down the hard protein chain’s present in the muscle’s of meat. Additionally, papaya contains a chemical known as carpain. Papain breaks down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. That’s why it works as a meat tenderizer. However, papain is changed by digestive juices by its enzymes.  So with its sweet taste, it is also an effective medicine when taken by mouth. Carpain are able to kill some parasites, that might affect the central nervous system. A more inquisitive biochemist may be reminded that the chemical composition of papain in C9H14N4O3.

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Figure 1: The Fruiting Papaya tree and the ripe fruit– the benefits of Papaya revealed in the color

The nutrient benefits of Papaya

Papaya also contains a significant amount of  zeaxanthin, lycopene  and carotene, which are valuable antioxidants. Here is what a helping of papaya has as its nutritional value. Imagine the supply of nutrients in a glass of papaya juice or a bowl of cut pieces.  Papaya also contains trace amounts of magnesium, calcium, and vitamins B1, B3, B5, E and K.

Figure 2: Benefits of Papaya are due to its richness in nutrients

The 16 medical benefits of Papaya

The medical benefits of ripe papaya are innumerable. For a fast reader, I would like to mention 16 of the major benefits.

Have a glass of fresh Papaya juice to keep yourself healthy!