Papaya - Superfood Level Intense
23rd June 2017Christopher Columbus named it the “fruit of angels”. Originally believed to come from Southern Mexico and Central America, you can now find this sun-kissed, cerise-orange coloured fruit growing in every tropical and subtropical country in the world.
Purported to prevent cancer, the health benefits of papaya are immense – and, if anything, understated. One of the few natural foods deserving of the moniker superfood, papaya is inherently versatile – it may be eaten as a fruit, as an ingredient in a smoothie or milkshake and even as a vegetable in its raw form. Praised throughout the world for its high nutritive and medicinal properties, papaya contains high quantities of vitamins and minerals essential for optimal functioning of the body.
Here we are going to go into a few of the many amazing health benefits papaya has to offer us before turning to ways we can easily incorporate this unassuming fruit into our diets.
Is Your Tummy Trying To Tell You Something?
As an aid to digestive health papayas have it all. They are rich in fibre which not only increases satiety, it also assists in ridding the body of toxins and cholesterol. Not to mention protecting against heart disease and numerous cancers. The high water content of papayas can also keep you hydrated and help prevent constipation.
Papayas are rich in Vitamin C which means they can assist in boosting immunity as well as slow down the aging process. Vitamin A, beta carotene and an antioxidant named Zeaxanthin can also aid in maintaining eye health and preventing macular degeneration.
Papain - Enzyme in Shining Armour
Quite possibly the single most amazing feature of the papaya is a little enzyme known as papain. If, like over half the population, you are suffering digestive issues, then papain might just be your knight in shining armour. Make no mistake – this little enzyme packs a punch. Papain breaks down the proteins in the gut that cause acidity and bacterial and/or fungal growth. These proteins and their effects are the leading cause of bloating, stomach pains, acid reflux and heartburn and papain makes them go away. Pretty amazing, right?!
Just like a late-night infomercial – it doesn’t stop there.
Numerous other health benefits are afforded from the papain and other vitamins and enzymes that papaya contains.
- Heart health - Powerful antioxidant vitamins A, C and E help prevent heart disease
- Anti-inflammatory - Special enzymes reduce the effects of inflammation
- Arthritis - Enzyme Chemopapain in Papaya helps control Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteo-arthritis
- Constipation - Vitamin C, E and Folate helps effectively relieve the symptoms of, and the high water content helps prevent the onset of constipation
- Immunity - Antioxidants to help boost the immune system
- Menstruation – In particular Green Papaya is known to assist in regulating menstruation cycles
But That Taste?
Ok. So what? You’ve tasted papaya and it didn’t really get the juices flowing. And it had that slightly distasteful dirty feet smell. Well that just means that you were unfortunate enough to have eaten the fruit when it wasn’t ripe. When picked and eaten at the perfect moment, papayas have a taste quite unlike most other fruits. The flavour is mild and creamy to the mouth, tasting somewhat like a soft, unsweetened melon. What’s more is that the very best of the papayas goodness is actually found in the skin. Of course, the skin isn’t really the tastiest part of the fruit but keep your eyes peeled because we’ve found an amazing solution to that – which we’ll get to soon enough. You can even eat the seeds as they make quite a novel, and tasty, addition to a fruit salad or as a garnish with their crunchy texture and slightly peppery taste.
5 exciting ways to experience papaya in all its delicious glory
- Papaya popsicles - Freeze spears of papaya on a stick for a summertime treat – happy kids – happy home.
- Dried Papaya – a perfect, healthy and sweet treat for snacking on the go or for adding into school lunches.
- Salad – simply add papaya chunks to a chicken or tuna salad for a sweet alternative
- Appetizer – serve strips of papaya with prosciutto and then drizzle with lemon juice – Magic!
- Scott Mathias, a leading authority on digestive health, has created a range of Green Papaya Health Drink Powders that give you all the benefits listed above and more in a convenient, affordable and tasty drink which you can check out here. Scott includes the skin of the papaya in his ridiculously good Health Drink Powders so you know it’s even better for you.
So, if better digestion, relief from toothache, an improved immune system and the promotion of better heart health seem like good side effects to adding this luscious fruit into your diet – pop some in your cereal today, or better, make a smoothie or health drink. One thing you can be absolutely sure of is that a papaya a day will do much, much more than just keep the doctor away – it may even stave off the ol’ Grim Reaper for a few years yet. Papaya fruit of angels – stick it in your medicine chest today.
