Skip to main content

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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sex Offender Treatment and Recidivism

"Sexual assault is a multi-factored behavioral phenomenon that has been identified as a leading social and criminal justice problem" ( drc.state.oh.us ) Sexual assault has affected the lives of millions of people and is a serious criminal justice and a social problem. According to a study from the department of justice surveying trends of sex crimes between 1983 and 1995, persons age 12 or older reported experiencing an estimated 260,300 attempted or completed rapes and nearly 95,000 threatened or completed sexual assaults other than rape in 1995 (usdoj). In 2004, there were 209,880 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assaults ( rain.org ). According to the 1997 Sex Offense and Offenders Study from the Department of Justice and 1999 National Crime Victimization Study (as cited on  www.rainn.org ), the following statistics illustrate the problems present for society in regard to sex crimes. Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assault...

College Paper: Critical Analysis of Antigone

Below is a copy of an English Comp II paper on Antigone. For use as an example only. Critical Analysis of Antigone Themes of Life, Death, Sin, and Virtue Analysis of Sophocles' play Antigone and its major themes Antigone is a play similar to Oedipus Rex in its dark tone, mythical themes, and tragic story. However, Sophocles' writing seems clearer in this play, and Antigone is much more character-driven with complex, well developed characters. Through Sophocles' brilliant characterization of people at war with themselves, Inner conflict emerges as the central theme of the play. The play is all about conflict including the obvious themes like man's rules versus divine law, and pride versus honor; as well as the deeper subtext of each character's internal conflicts.   Kreon for example, is caught between his duty to the gods and his pride. His character has changed dramatically from the time of Oedipus to the events of Antigone. He is still aware of...

A Brief Look at the Eventful Life of Samuel Tilden

Samuel Jones Tilden was born in New Lebanon, New York in 1814. He was educated at Yale University and the University of the city of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1841. [1]  Tilden became an outstanding corporation lawyer, who mastered the complexities of reorganizing and refinancing railroads. He amassed a fortune in fees, which he augmented by shrewd  investments  in railroads, iron mines, and real estate. [2] Tilden had shown leadership ability early in his political career. An ardent Jacksonian in the 1830's, Tilden became a leader in the 1840's of the Barnburners. [3]  "The Barnburners were a radical element of the Democratic party in New York State from 1842 to 1848. The name derives from the fabled Dutchman who burned his barn to rid it of rats; by implication, the Barnburners would destroy corporations and public works to do away with the abuses they foster". [4]  This alliance illustrated Tilden's commitment to the abolition of corruption. ...