Health Benefits of Papaya - Fruit of the Angels
A spherical fruit with sun-colored meat of delicately sweet taste, papaya is a nutritious crop grown widely in the tropics and prized worldwide for its health benefits.
Tagged as the “Fruit of the Angels” by Christopher Columbus, papaya or carica papaya is heaven-sent for its nutritional punch.
Papaya and Its Nutrients
Basically, it has papain, an enzyme that smashes down or hydrolyses hardy protein fibers and acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal agent, antioxidant, antiseptic, digestion helper, immune system booster, as well as wounded and damaged skin enhancer.
Also, papaya is a great natural source of vitamins and minerals.
It is loaded with vitamins A, C, E, K, dietary fibers, folate, and calcium, among other essential nutrients.
Below is a more detailed description of how papaya nourishes our body and primes our health.
Papaya for Smooth, Young-looking, and Healthy Skin
Perhaps the most popular use of papaya is for the skin.
It has been used for ages in traditional medicine to combat acne, dry skin, rough skin, skin with uneven tones, sun spots, age spots, pigmentation, wrinkles, and even skin injuries.
In fact, many modern-day makers of creams, body lotions, body wash, face mask, facial moisturizers, face and body scrubs, and even face serums have embraced age-old wisdom by using papaya as their main product ingredient.
Papaya can address a host of skin problems because it is a powerhouse in antioxidants, which include skin-pampering vitamins A, C, and E.
Papaya for a Healthy Heart
Papaya is excellent for our ticker for it keeps our cholesterol from oxidizing.
By stopping cholesterol from oxidizing, papaya prevents deadly plaques from building up in our artery walls, allowing our tickers to pump like a trusted workhorse as well as thwarting heart attack and stroke dead on their tracks.
Papaya does this through its trio of vitamins A, C, and E.
Also, papaya has fiber and folic acid, which help drive down the level of bad cholesterol naturally or without the use of medication.
Papaya for Sharp Vision
Apparently, eating whole fruits like the bright-colored papaya would actually help us from getting blind in old age or developing a condition that our doctors call age-related macular degeneration.
In fact, fruit intake can guard us from the gravest kinds of blindness-inducing disease.
Research suggests that we eat three servings of fruits like papaya each day.
To take this suggestion, we can add in papaya chunks to our breakfast of Greek yogurt, eat rice and a viand with papaya for lunch, and add papaya to our salad for a light dinner.
Oh, slurping papaya smoothie anytime throughout the day is also a quick and easy way to fold in this fruit to our daily diet.
Papaya for Cancer-Free Lungs
Research has it that vitamin A tends to drop in the presence of a carcinogen in cigarette smoke called benzo(a)pyrene.
Good thing, the same research suggests that by simply increasing our vitamin A intake, we can actually help counter the harmful effects of this carcinogen.
Papaya has loads of vitamin A.
Making this fruit a daily part of our diet can truly build up of our defense mechanism against the toxic effects of cigarette smoke.
Papaya for Improved Digestion
Papaya also does wonders for our digestive system.
It acts like a broom by sweeping toxins in the intestines, aiding digestion, easing constipation, and treating intestinal worms naturally.
It can do these tough jobs because of its papain, which is largely responsible for its digestive benefits.
Also, its beta-carotene, folate, and vitamin C all help in preventing colon cancer, which can develop when there is way too much toxin in our digestive system.
Papaya for Anti-Inflammation
Two enzymes in papaya – papain and chymopapain – have been found to help relieve inflammation, a major problem for people suffering from diseases like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Of course, these two enzymes get plenty of help from papaya’s antioxidants – beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E – that also work hard in easing inflammation and even in addressing skin problems like burns.
Papaya for Strong Immunity
Overall, papaya is great for boosting our immunity.
It is a natural source of essential vitamins and minerals that all help in fighting free radicals in our bodies.
Free radicals, as many of us know by now, wreak havoc in our bodies and trigger many kinds of disease.
Certainly, papaya is one of nature’s healthy gifts to us humans.
Copyright © 2012 Kerlyn Bautista
All Rights Reserved
