By adding papaya to your diet, you can enjoy all of these amazing health benefits and more. Whether you eat it fresh or incorporate it into your favorite recipes, papaya is an excellent choice for those looking for a nutritious and delicious snack.
Papaya Nutrition Facts and Calories Chart
Papayas are a nutritional powerhouse and are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are an excellent source of vitamin C, providing nearly 100 percent of the daily value per serving. Papayas also provide a good amount of vitamin A, vitamin E, and B vitamins. They also contain minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Papayas are also a good source of dietary fiber, with about 3 grams per cup. Papayas are also rich in antioxidants, including carotenoids and flavonoids, which may help protect the body from disease. Nutritional value per 100 g papaya:
- Biotin: 0.4 mcg
- Calcium: 33 mg
- Carbohydrates (Carbs): 11.8 g
- Chloride: 60 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Choline: 5.7 mg
- Chromium: 0.1 mcg
- Copper: 0.1 mg
- Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
- Energy (Calories): 39 kcal
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Iodine: 2.7 mcg
- Iron: 0.3 mg
- Magnesium: 22 mg
- Manganese: 0.2 mg
- Molybdenum: 1.4 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid: 0.4 mg
- Phosphorus: 20 mg
- Potassium: 257 mg
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Saturated fat: 0.1 g
- Selenium: 0.3 mcg
- Sodium: 2 mg
- Sugars: 8.9 g
- Vitamin A: 533 IU
- Vitamin B1 (Thiamin): 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 0.5 mg
- Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 0.4 mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B9 (Folate / Folic Acid): 22 mcg
- Vitamin B12: 0 mcg
- Vitamin C: 60.9 mg
- Vitamin D: 0 IU
- Vitamin E: 0.1 mg
- Vitamin K: 2.6 mcg
- Water: 88.3 g
- Zinc: 0.1 mg
Health Benefits
When it comes to our health, few fruits come close to the nutritional benefits of papaya. This sweet and fragrant fruit is packed with essential vitamins and minerals, making it one of the most nutritious fruits around. Not only does papaya provide a great source of nutrition, but it can also help boost your overall health and well-being. Here are a few of the top health advantages of adding papaya to your diet.
- Rich in Vitamins and Minerals: Papaya is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium. Vitamin C helps to boost the immune system and protect against disease, while vitamin A helps to keep eyes and skin healthy. The magnesium and potassium in papaya are essential for healthy heart and muscle function.
- Helps Digestion: Papaya contains a compound called papain, which helps to break down proteins and aids in digestion. This makes it a great food for those suffering from digestive issues, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Papain also helps to reduce inflammation in the digestive tract, making it even more beneficial.
- Antioxidants: Papaya is packed with antioxidants, which help to fight off free radicals and protect the body from damage. These antioxidants can help reduce the risk of certain diseases and slow down the aging process.
- Skin Care: Papaya is great for the skin, as it contains enzymes that help to remove dead skin cells and leave the skin feeling soft and smooth. Papaya also has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help to reduce redness and irritation.
Papaya In India
A sweet-tasting fruit and native to tropical America, papaya while unripe contains digestive enzymes that complement the body’s own digestive juices. The ripe fruit is nutritious, cleansing, and mildly laxative. Papaya seeds can be used to treat worms.
- Scientific Binomial: Carica papaya
- Common English: Melon tree/ Pawpaw / Papaya / Tree melon / Paw Paw
- Ayurvedic: Erand-karkati / Papitaa
- Unani: Papitaa Desi
- Sanskrit: Erand karkati
- Hindi / Urdu: Papita
- Bengali: Pempe / Papeya
- Marathi: Pappayi / Popay
- Telugu: Boppayi kayi
- Tamil: Pappali kai / Pappaali / Pappayi
- Gujarati
- Kannada: Parangi
- Malayalam: Omakaya
- Oriya
- Punjabi / Sindhi
- Assamese
- Kashmiri
- Konkani
- Manipuri
- Dogri
- Bhojpuri
Home Remedies
Papaya can be used in the treatment of acne, arthritis, backache, blackheads, colitis, constipation, canker sores, corns, ear problems, diarrhea, indigestion, influenza, liver ailments, insect bites, obesity, lactation, nausea, piles, ring worms, wounds and warts.
- Digestive Aid: When the unripe fruit is cut, a thick white juice or latex containing papain seeps out. Papain breaks down protein, especially in an alkaline environment, making it a useful supplement that promotes effective digestion within the small intestine, in particular when normal digestive secretions are deficient.
- Papain is also used as a food tenderizer, especially in the fast food industry. Papaya contain natural digestive enzymes and make an excellent way to end a meal.
- Upset Stomach: Fruit seeds have anti-parasitic properties and can be consumed in doses of 1 teaspoonful (3 g) daily. To treat gas, buy papain tablets, or juice half a papaya, add an equal amount of water, and drink.
- Reduce Cholesterol Level: Papaya is rich source of pectin. Pectin is form of fiber is highly beneficial in reducing serum cholesterol levels.
- Roundworm Treatment: The gummy, milk sap in the unripe papaya as well as the little black seeds destroy such parasites by digesting them. The digestive enzyme papain in the milk juice of the unripe papaya is a powerful anthelmintic for destroying roundworms. A tablespoon of fresh juice and equal quantity of honey should be mixed with three to four tablespoons of hot water and taken as a dose by an adult.
- Intestinal Worms: To treat intestinal worms, fruit seeds are very useful. They are rich in a substance called caricin which is a very effective medicine for expelling roundworms. The alkaloid carpaine found in the leaves has also the power to destroy or expel intestinal worms. They are given with honey.
- Papaya is aid to digestion and effective in relieving allergies by its ability to denature proteins. Papaya contains an enzyme that digests dead tissue.
- Make shallow cuts on the surface of an unripe papaya, collect the sap that runs out, and let it coagulate. Mix the thickened sap with water, then apply morning and night.
- Hyper Acidity: For hyper acidity and indigestion, try drinking 1 cup papaya juice with 1 teaspoon organic sugar and 2 pinches cardamom.
- Younger Looking Skin: Papayas are chock-full of enzymes that can clean away the top layer of skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Wash and peel a papaya, then thoroughly mix two tablespoons of it with a tablespoon of dry oatmeal to help exfoliate your skin. Apply it to your skin and leave it on for 10 minutes. Scrub off the mixture with a washcloth.
- Insect Bite: Papaya contains enzymes that neutralize insect venom. If you happen to have this fruit in your lunch basket, simply lay a slice on the sting for an hour.
- Piles: For hemorrhoids, rub the skin of a papaya directly over inflamed area daily.
- Warts: To treat warts, the milky latex of the green fruit is slowly dripped onto warts several times each day for a week or less. This gummy residue shrivels them up and they soon fall off of their own accord.
Side Effects and Precautions
Caution required during pregnancy when using concentrated forms of the papaya enzyme, papain. Also pregnant women should not eat papayas, as it contain natural estrogen and may create the danger of miscarriage. Papaya enzymes may influence blood sugar levels so do not use if you have diabetes. Like mangoes, papayas also secrete a fluid that usually causes an allergic skin reaction in some people, thereby necessitating the wearing of rubber gloves while peeling the fruit.