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Health Benefits of Papaya: Why You Should Be Eating This Superfood

Fruit is good for you. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. We've all heard these before, but when it comes to health benefits, not much can compete with the papaya. This tropical fruit is popular all over the world and for good reason. The list of vitamins and nutrients in Papaya is impressive all on its own, but this super food has even more going for it than that. Papaya has been used for health purposes (and its sweet taste) for centuries. Enjoyed and utilized all around the world it stands as one of the most beneficial fruits for overall health.

First let's look at what's in it. Papaya contains a huge amount of Vitamin C. A large Papaya contains about 476 mg of Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid.) To put this number in perspective, one serving of orange juice (which is a great source of vitamin C) contains 97 mg. Vitamin C is a great immunity booster and essential antioxidant. The same fruit also contains 7420 International Units of Vitamin A. Vitamin A is beneficial to the maintenance of healthy teeth, bones, skin, muscular-skeletal tissue, and also promotes eye health. Vitamin E, an antioxidant thought to have potential health benefits ranging from cardiovascular health to possible reduction in risk of certain cancers is present with approximately 2.43 mg in one large papaya.

The fruit also provides 20.3 mcg of the 90-120 mcg DV of Vitamin K, (essential for blood clotting and bone density), nearly 2.8 mg of niacin (Heart and circulation), 164 mg of Magnesium (heart health and blood sugar regulation), 1421 mg of potassium (Muscle health and blood pressure) and 3.67 grams of protein. With this collection of nutrients, Papaya is a great health food, but it also has some surprising alternate uses. For example, Papaya has a long history of being used medicinally in some parts of the world. The pediatric unit in Royal Victoria hospital uses Papaya in the treatment of burns and wounds. Smashed papaya fruit is applied to the affected area as part of a wound dressing. This treatment has been indicated to have a positive effect on the healing process as well as helping to prevent infection.

Overall, Papaya is an incredible fruit. Having more health benefits than some multi-vitamins and holding the ability to act as a natural medical treatment for the injured, this super food is a great example of the healing power of nature.

Sources:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002400.htm

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-e/

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminE-HealthProfessional/

The treatment of pediatric burns using topical papaya

Starly, Et al

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