Health Benefits of Papaya :
Read about the health benefits of papaya. Papaya is excellent for the human body. Find out how eating papaya can help you and keep you healthy and strong.
Papayas are a power fruit .Papaya is not only a delicious fruit to eat, it also contains abundant health benefits and medicinal value. Papaya can be eaten as a fruit, a smoothie or even a milkshake.
Papaya contains natural fiber, carotene, vitamin C and essential minerals. Papayas also contain enzymes like arginine and carpain.
Arginine is essential for male fertility and carpain is considered to be good for the heart.
Papaya for the Skin :
A papaya face pack can also be made using the fruit. Papaya is a product from nature which is used in many skin lightening creams. Many of the lotions or creams which are used to make the face lighter or fairer contain papaya as an ingredient. Papaya also helps in getting rid of acne because when papaya is applied as a face pack it helps to open the pores. Papaya makes the skin glow. Papaya contains the enzyme papain which helps to dissolve dead skin , thus imparting a fresh and clean glow to the face.
Anti-oxidants in Papaya :
Papaya is a fruit high in fiber which lowers cholesterol levels. Papaya contains antioxidants which prevents the cholesterol from oxidizing. When cholesterol in the body gets oxidized, it can lead to heart-attacks. The anti-oxidants in papaya also help in controlling premature ageing, which helps to give a young look.
Some more health benefits of Papaya :
Papaya contains a high amount of potassium and the flesh of papaya is very high in Vitamin A.
Papaya seeds and leaves are useful in treating intestinal worms found in the body.
Papaya helps prevent constipation and also aid in digestion. Papaya contains the protein called papain which is a digestive enzyme that helps in natural digestion process.
Papaya juice helps in alleviating infections of the colon by clearing away the infection, pus and mucus. Regular consumption will help in improving the problem.
The skin of papaya is excellent for treating skin wounds and places that do not heal quickly.
Papaya is low in calories and high in nutritive value hence it is an excellent food for those on a diet.
Regularly consuming papaya helps to relieve morning sickness and nausea.
Papaya has anti-inflammatory properties and anti-cancerous properties. The anti-inflammatory properties in papaya will help reduce pain for those suffering from arthritis, edema and osteoporosis.
Papaya is very good for those who frequently suffer from cold, cough or flu because intake of papaya boosts the immune system. The high concentration of Vitamin C and Vitamin A contained in papaya is very beneficial to strengthen the immune system.
Papaya is also very good for the hair and helps in controlling dandruff. Papaya shampoos are good for the hair and are available in many health stores.
Raw papaya also helps in reducing menstrual irregularities for women. Papaya helps to ease the condition by promoting natural flow of menstruation.
Papaya cleans the stomach and studies have shown that papaya alone eaten for 3 to 4 days has a highly beneficial tonic effect upon the stomach and intestines.
All the parts of the papaya fruit are useful and beneficial. Right from the seeds to the papaya leaves and the flesh of the fruit, all of it has some value. Both the inside and the outside of the fruit can be utilized .Thus no part of the fruit is useless or goes as a waste
Thus, if love to eat to papaya, it is great because along with savouring the taste you are also ingesting all the benefits associated with eating the fruit, which will result in good health for you !
So, go ahead and eat plenty of those papayas!!
Papaya was the only studied food found to halt breast cancer.
Scientists studied 14 plant foods commonly consumed in Mexico to determine their ability to halt breast cancer cell growth. These included avocado, black sapote, fuava, mango, prickly pear cactus (nopal), pineapple, grapes, tomato, and papaya. They also evaluated beta-carotene, total plant phenolics, and gallic acid contents and antioxidant capacity. They found that only papaya had a significant effect on stopping breast cancer cell growth.
(International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, May)
Papaya is a store-house of cancer fighting lycopene
The intense orangey-pink color of papaya means
it is chock full of cancer fighting carotenoids.
Not only beta carotene, but lycopene is found in abundance.
The construction of lycopene makes it highly reactive toward oxygen and free radicals.
Scientists at the University of Illinois think this anti-oxidant activity contributes to its effectiveness as a cancer fighting agent.
Epidemiological studies have indicated an inverse relationship between lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk.
They showed that oral lycopene is highly bioavailable, accumulates in prostate tissue, and is localized in the nucleus of prostate epithelial cells.
In addition to antioxidant activity, other experiments
have indicated that lycopene induces cancer cell death,
anti-metastatic activity, and the up-regulation of protective enzymes.
Phase I and II studies have established the safety of lycopene supplementation. (Cancer Letter, October 8, 2008)
Prostate cancer was the subject of a study in Australia that
looked at 130 prostate cancer patients and 274 hospitalized controls.
The scientists found that men who consumed the most lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables such as papaya were 82% less likely to have prostate cancer.
In this study, green tea also exerted a powerful anti-cancer effect.
When lycopene-rich foods were consumed with green tea, the combination was even more effective, an outcome the researchers credited to their synergy.
( Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007)
Isothiocyanates found in papaya restore the cell cycle to eliminate cancer.
Organo-sulfur compounds called isothiocyanates are found in papaya.
In animal experiments, isothiocyanates protected against cancers of the breast, lung, colon pancreas, and prostate, as well as leukemia, and they have the potential to prevent cancer in humans.
Isothiocyanates have shown themselves capable of inhibiting both the formation and development of cancer cells through multiple pathways and mechanisms.
(International Journal of Oncology), October, 2008)
Researchers in Japan clarified the mechanisms of action in a type of isothiocyanate found in papaya known as BITC, that underlies the relationship between cell cycle regulation and appropriate cell death.
When cancerous cells die on schedule, they are no longer a problem.
The researchers established that BITC exerted cancer cell killing effects that were greater in the proliferating cells than in the quiescent cells.
Cancer cells that are proliferating are much more dangerous than cancer cells that are in a state of dormancy. (Forum of Nutrition, 2009) Enzymes from papaya digest proteins including those that protect tumors.
The fruit and other parts of the papaya tree, also known
as the paw paw tree, contain papain and chymopapain,
powerful proteolytic enzymes that facilitate chemical reactions in the body.
They promote digestion by helping to break down proteins from food into amino acids that can be recombined to produce protein useable by humans.
Proteolytic enzymes protect the body from inflammation and help heal burns.
They do a good job of digesting unwanted scar tissue both on the skin and under its surface.
Research has shown that the physical and mental health of people is highly dependent on their ability to produce proteins they can use effectively. However, as people age,
they produce less of the enzymes needed to effectively digest proteins from food and free needed amino acids. They are left with excessive amounts of undigested protein
which can lead to overgrowth of unwanted bacteria in the intestinal tract, and a lack of available amino acids.
Eating papaya after a meal promotes digestion, and helps prevent bloating, gas production, and indigestion.
It is quite helpful after antibiotic use to replenish friendly intestinal bacteria that were the casualties in the war against the unwanted bacteria.
When the intestinal tract is well populated with friendly bacteria, the immune system is strengthened, and can better protect against flu and cancer.
Being a proteolytic enzyme, papain is able to destroy intestinal parasites, which are composed mostly of protein.
To rid the body of intestinal parasites, half a cup of papaya juice can be alternated each hour for twelve consecutive
hours with the same amount of cucumber or green bean juice.
Papaya contains fibrin, another useful compound not readily found in the plant kingdom.
Fibrin reduces the risk of blood clots and improves the quality of blood cells, optimizing the ability of blood to flow through the circulatory system.
Fibrin is also important in preventing strokes.
Proteolytic enzymes containing fibrin are a good idea for long plane rides to minimize the potential of blood clots in the legs.
People who sit at a desk all day might want to use proteolytic enzymes too.
Proteolytic enzymes are able to digest and destroy
the defense shields of viruses, tumors, allergens, yeasts, and various forms of fungus.
Once the shield is destroyed, tumors and invading organisms
are extremely vulnerable and easily taken care of by the immune system.
Undigested proteins can penetrate the gut and wind up in the bloodstream where they are treated by the immune system as invaders.
If too many undigested proteins are floating around,
the immune system becomes overburdened and
unable to attend to the other tasks it was meant to do.
Proteolytic enzymes can digest these rogue proteins,
freeing up the immune system .
Let's ensure a slice of papaya every day in our diet. Papaya juice will be great too!
Little Johnny
The kids filed back into class Monday morning. They were very excited. Their weekend assignment was to sell something, then give a talk on productive salesmanship.
Little Sally led off: "I sold girl scout cookies and I made RM30," she said proudly, "My sales approach was to appeal to the customer's civil spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious success." "Very good," said Cikgu
Little Mary was next: "I sold magazines," she said, "I made RM45 and I explained to everyone that magazines would keep them up on current events. " "Very good, Mary" said the teacher
Eventually, it was Little Johnny's turn. The teacher held her breath ... Little Johnny walked to the front of the classroom and dumped a box full of cash on the teacher's desk. "RM 2,467," he said. "RM 2,467!" cried the teacher, "What in the world were you selling?"
"Toothbrushes," said Little Johnny.
"Toothbrushes!" echoed the teacher, "How could you possibly sell enough tooth brushes to make that much money?"
"I found the busiest corner in P J," said Little Johnny. "I set up a Lollipop stand and gave everybody who walked by a free sample." They all said the same thing, "Hey, this tastes like dog crap!" Then I would say,"It is dog crap. Wanna' buy a toothbrush?"
