Christopher Colombus said that papaya is “fruit of the angels” because of its soft and tender texture. Previously it was thought as an exotic fruit. However, nowadays it can be easily found in markets throughout the year because its trees produce fruit yearly.
Papaya with its reddish-orange and soft skin is suggested to purchase because we can eat it in a day. It has patches of yellow color takes several days to ripen. A few black spots on its surface will not affect the taste. Somehow we should avoid papaya with its bruise and overly soft meat.
Papaya does not only offers its delicious taste and sunlit color but also rich of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamin C, flavonoids, the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid; and the minerals, potassium, copper, and magnesium; and fiber. Besides, papaya also contains the digestive enzyme that is helpful for treating sports injuries, other causes of trauma, and allergies.
In every size of papaya, the content of vitamins are vitamin A (retinol), vitamin B complex, vitamin C, niacin, calcium, riboflavin, calorie, iron, phosphor, calium, carbohydrate, fat and protein. Papaya helps us both in improving our health and our beauty. It is also useful for medication. The benefits of papaya for our health are:
No 1-9 Health Benefits of Papaya for Your Health
- Prevents Us from a Heart Disease
Cholesterol oxidation has its viscid power in our blood vessel walls. It forms hazardous plaques which eventually initiate heart attacks and stroke. Since it is an excellent source of antioxidants (vitamin A and vitamin C), papaya is beneficial to prevent us from atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease.
Vitamin E and vitamin C help us to counter the effect from those two diseases through their connection with a compound called paraoxonase, an enzyme that inhibits LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol oxidation.
Papaya also has a good source of fiber that is able to lower high cholesterol levels. Folic acid is one of the most important substances in papaya. Its function is to recondition a substance called homocysteine into benign amino acids such as cysteine or methionine. homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls. The worst part will come when the levels get too high since it is considered as a significant risk factor for a heart attack or stroke. Therefore it should be reconditioned.
- Fosters Digestive Health
One of the magnificent functions of papaya is its potential to prevent us from colon cancer. Papaya contains fiber that is powerful to trim cancer-causing toxins in our colon. In that way, our healthy colons won’t be infected by those toxins. Besides, the vitamin contents in papaya, such as folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E are medically known to reduce risk of colon cancer by providing concerted protection for colon sells. As a result, our colon cells are eventually free from radical damage to our DNA.
- Anti-Inflammatory
Several unique proteins-digesting enzymes exist in papaya, including papain and chymopapain. These enzymes work effectively to lower inflammation and to improve healing from burns. Furthermore, the antioxidant nutrient substance in papaya, including vitamin C and beta-carotene, are also very good at decreasing inflammation. Therefore, people who are suffer from asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, find that their severe condition is reduced after taking papaya.
- Immune Support
Ears infection, colds and flu might be experienced by people because of their lack of Vitamin C and vitamin A. Since papaya has its potential to prevent such illnesses because of its beta-carotene, it is a good choice for fruit purchasing. The content of its papain arranges amini acid regulation and helps to secrete toxin in our body. In this way, our immune system increases naturally.
- Rich of Vitamin A and C
Papaya contains various enzyme, vitamin and mineral. Its vitamin A content is higher than carrots, and its vitamin C is higher than oranges. Besides it is also rich of vitamin B complex and vitamin E. Its vitamin A content will help you in increasing the ability of our vision. Consuming 3 or more portion of papaya everyday will keep your vision good. It also decreases the risk of losing vision for adult. The vitamin C content of papaya is more less 62 mg in its every 100 gr. It is effective to increase our immunity system and prevents us from flu, cold, and even cancer.
- Facilitates Digesting Process.
Papaya consists of papain enzyme. This enzyme is effective and potential to accelerate protein digest process because it has several functions, such as divides protein becomes arginin and divides food becomes various kind of proteins or amino acid so that they are absorbable by our body. We will experience protein digesting problem in our daily diet because our body has its ability to digest protein that is caused by the lack of hidroclorate acid dischargein our gastric. Since the level of its protein is only 4-6 gr of its weight, almost all of them can be easily digested and absorbed by our body. This is because papain enzyme in papaya is able to digest 35 times more than its weight. The digestive power reminds us to be aware of in choosing food. High protein food is not always useful for our body. The most important thing is whether the protein is easy or hard to absorb.
- Improving muscles, lessening fat stack, digestive system.
Papain protease enzyme exists in papaya sap. Papain is potential to divide protein becomes arginin compound. Arginin compound is one of the essential amino acid that cannot be produced by our body in a normal condition. It can be obtained from food source like egg and yeast. However, if papain enzyme involves in protein digestion, it is naturally can be changed into arginin. The process of arginin formation influences the production of human growth hormones (HSG) because arginin is one of the important requirements in HGH formation. Eventually, HGH facilitates the improvement of our muscles and lessening fat stack in our body.
Papain also potentials to divide food with its protein contain until it forms various substance of autointoxicating amino acid. High blood pressure, defacation problem, arthritis, epilepsy, and diabetes are digestion-related diseases. It is indeed papapin cannot prevent those diseases. However, it is able to minimalize their negative impacts.
- Accelerating carbohydrate and fat digestion.
Papaya has its ability to accelerate carbohydrate and fat digestion. Its papain enzyme is able to divide meat fibers so that it is easy to digest. Therefore, it is usually used as meat tenderizer, especially for soup or satay.
- Antiseptic Trait
Papaya has an antiseptic trait and helps the development of harmful bacteria in our colon. Papaya helps to normalize pH colon so that its flora becomes normal.
No 10 – 13 are Benefits of Papaya for Our Beauty:
- Skin Moisturizing
Papaya is potential for moisturizing our skin as well as freshen our dull skin. Its vitamin A, C, and E play such an important part for it.
- Papaya makes our body slimmer.
Young papaya enzyme is twice more than the ripe one. That enzyme plays its important role to divide fats and protein in our body. Regularly consuming papaya in the morning will help us a lot in dropping our weight. As a result, we will be slimmer than we were. Consuming papaya for the whole week, we will be able to reduce our weight:
- Eat papaya in the morning as a salad for breakfast.
- For lunch time, drink a glass of papaya juice with no sugar after lunch.
- Practice this for the whole week without break.
- Tighten Our Breast
Drinking papaya juice and milk daily is proven effective in enhancing our breast. Its enzyme is believed to help our breasts development. Meanwhile, papaya is rich of tightening hormone and vitamin A that stimulate the excretion of female hormone and stimulate the ovaries to excrete female hormone. Both hormones will facilitate our breast glands and make them come up in their ideal shape. If we do not have appetite to drink that smoothie, eating papaya a day will give us akin result.
- Makes Us Stay Young
The content of its vitamin C is higher than apples. Besides, it also participates actively in detoxification so that our skin will grow fresher from inside. It also fosters the metabolism process for our skin. Therefore, it is effective to melt skin layer and another substance that exists in our skin pores. Consequently, our skin becomes brighter and tighter. Applying papaya mask regularly will give marvelous effect on our skin face because it has four benefits:
- As a cleaner
- As a whitening
- Good for sensitive skin
- Lessening black spots
Below are the steps of how to make papaya mask as well as how to apply it to our skin:
1. How to make papaya mask
- Prepare a papaya and another ingredient that we want to mix with mask (for example: honey)
- Peel and clean it. Put it in a blender.
- Mix it with honey.
- Honey is good for covering black spots on our face.
- Papaya mask is ready to apply.
2. How to Apply Papaya Mask:
- Clean our face with water and soap.
- Apply that mask evenly. It is suggested to lay down while applying it so that it will not drop down because papaya is also rich of water.
- Massage our face slowly to get relaxation sense and elevate our blood circulation.
- Wait for 15-20 minutes until it dries.
- First wash with warm water then with cold water to close our face pores.
- Dry it without rubbing it to avoid our skin from irritation.
No 14 is The Benefits of Papaya for Your Hair
Papaya is indeed beneficial for our face. However, it also gives marvelous function for our hair. The benefits of papaya for our hair are:
- Prevents our hair from baldness because it rich of vitamins that strengthen the hair and support its development.
- Controls the existence of dandruff.
- Its mineral, vitamins, and enzyme clean the dirt in the form of oil and other chemical substance safely.
- Its extract can be used as a conditioner. Consequently, our hair will grow shiningly and easy to arrange.
How to make and apply a hair mask from papaya (It is suggested to add a banana to have various variations):
- Prepare a slice of ripen papaya and a banana. Put them together in a blender.
- After it forms a pasta, apply it to our hair.
- Wet our hair with water, apply the mask to hair shaft. Let it cool for 10-20 minutes until it goes dry.
- As soon as it dries, rinse our hair like the usual way we apply.
No 15-30 are The Benefits of Papaya for Our Medication:
- For venomous snake bites.
After we experience the bite of venomous snake, such a quick medical treatment needs to be done. Prepare 5 pieces of papaya roots. Clean it with water, mash it until it forms a pasta. Apply this medication on the bitten spot, cover it with a bandage. Apply this twice a day.
- For blister skin.
Blister skin comes in various causes: burnt or exposed to hot exhaust. Take the papaya skin, squeez it , and take its sap. Apply it in that blister skin in and let it cold all day. If the blister spot is larger, use the papaya mashed papaya meat to cure it.
Take its leaves, mashed until it reaches a 1/2 of glass. Pour ¾ a glass of water, add a little bit of salt. Squeeze it and drink it 3 times a day. This medication is applicable minimum for 5 days in a row for one week.
- For Appetizer.
Take a piece of papaya leave, wash it, and squeeze it with hands. Put a little bit of salt and ¼ a glass of water, and drink that potion.
- For Flu.
Take 2 pieces of young papaya leaves, mash it, pour water, and squeeze it. Add a little bit of sugar and drink this potion twice a day (for children) and 4 times a day (for adult).
- For Tooth Ache.
Simply drop young papaya sap on the toothache using a cotton. Keep applying it until all the pain goes away.
- For Gray Hair.
Roast 30 of papaya seeds, smash it. Mix it with a spoon of coconut oil. Rinse our hair before applying it. Rub it on the gray-head spot. Use this mixture before sleeping.
- For Roundworms in Our Stomach.
Prepare two spoons of papaya seeds, smash them until they are soft. Put them into a glass. Add ½ cup of hot water, a spoon of honey. Drink it while it is hot once a day.
- For Facilitating Urination and Release Kidney Stones.
Prepare sufficient papaya roots. Cut them into pieces. Boil them in 4 glasses of water until the water becomes a half glass. Let it cold. Strain it. Drink ¾ glass 3 times a day. Add honey if you please.
- For Hypertension.
Grate young papaya then squeeze it. Drink 2 times a day for 3 days.
- For Diarrhea.
Dry a handful of papaya seeds, mash them. Put it in a glass, add water (similar steps for making a glass of tea). Drink it 3 times a day.
- For Freeing Our face from Acnes.
Dry 2-3 pieces of the old papaya leaves. Then mix and mash it with water, squeeze. Apply the result of the strain on the acnes.
- For Facilitating Breast Milk.
Take several pieces of papaya leaves, wash, burn for a while. While they are still warm, put them around your breast.
- For Venomous Insect.
Take 5 pieces of papaya roots, wash, mash them. Apply them on a bitten spot then cover with bandage.
- For burnt skin.
A yang papaya, scratch it until its sap comes out. Apply the sap on the burnt skin.
- Taking out the broken glass from our skin.
Take several pieces of papaya leaves, mash them. Put a little bit of sugar. Apply it on skin that has got a broken glass in it. Cover with a bandage. The broken glass will come out and the wound will dry by itself.
- For wart.
Apply papaya’s sap to our wart it three times a day.
- For broken heels.
The sap of young papaya is applied to the broken heels. Let them 15 minutes, wash. Apply it once a day.
31- 33 are Another Function of Papaya
31. Contraception.
Half ripen papaya has higher nutrient content than the ripen one. However, pregnant women are prohibited to consume it because its substance has a strong potential for pregnant women to lose their baby. Because of this effect, in Papua New Guinea and Peru, papaya is used for contraception. Pregnant women are strongly suggested to consume the ripen papaya. In the contrary, the half ripen one or even the raw one is prohibited since it can cause miscarriage.
32. Boost Males’ Sexual Organ.
Arginine enzyme in papaya fruit is potential to foster the blood flow in Mr. P area. That enzyme enhances the production of nitrate acid in our body so that the muscles in our blood vessel become relax. As a result, at the same time Mr. P will grow bigger along with the intake of enzyme to our body.
33. Controls Menstrual Flow.
Papaya is the absolute solution for women who often have problems with their menstrual flow since it makes the menstrual flow back to its normal stage. Besides, it is a pain reliever for menstrual cramp.