The Important And Useful Benefits Of Papaya

 

The papaya is an amazingly rich source of the proteolytic enzymes. These are the chemicals that enable the digestion of protein. Papain, which is the most important of these enzymes in the papaya, is extracted and dried as a powder for use to aid the digestion, and it is often used as a meat tenderizer, the enzyme partially breaking down the meat fibers - digesting them in fact.

Many experts, such as Dr Lytton-Bernard, have claimed rejuvenating properties for papaya, especially for the control of premature ageing. It may be that it works simply because a poor digestion leaves the body without the correct nutrients. Those who find it almost impossible to digest anything frequently find that papaya used regularly, either in tablet or juice form, marks the turning point in the climb back to vitality and good health.

As a cleanser you can take a quarter pint (150ml) of papaya juice alternated each hour for twelve hours by the same amount of cucumber or green bean juice. Papaya loses some of the enzymes as it ripens, so if you have the choice select them green. They are easy to obtain in most parts of America but are not found in British greengrocers very often. Fortunately there has been a rapid expansion in the numbers of specialist shops providing for the needs of the Indian and West Indian communities where papayas can be bought.

Papaya contains arginine which is known to be essential for male fertility and also carpain, an enzyme thought to be good for the heart. Fibrin also occurs and this substance is not commonly found in the plant kingdom; in man it forms part of the blood clotting process. The papaya is an excellent source of vitamin C, with 82mg per 100g (4oz), and is rich in carotene.

After treatment with antibiotics the use of papaya juice will quickly assist the restoration of the normal bacteria in the gut which will have been destroyed by the treatment. Papaya is good for many digestive disorders and is excellent for improving poor digestion. It has also been recommended as part of the treatment for cancer. Therapeutically it can often be combined with pineapple juice in which there is another important enzyme bromelain.

The skin of the papaya is a first class external treatment for skin wounds and places that do not heal quickly. The pulp from the juicer can be used for this and as a poultice.

Papaya As A Skin Care

Perk up your skin and eliminate the day’s worries with papaya. It’s beneficial for skin care and repair. You can use papaya to treat or eliminate old dead skin cells, dandruff and other skin disorders and even to reduce the signs of premature aging. The following recipes will show you how. 

Acne: Apply a mask using the fleshy side of a green papaya skin on the acne. A papaya diet supports the treatment internally. Apply a mask of pickled grated papaya in vinegar once a week. Dilute papaya vinegar with water in a one to 10 ratio and use it as a skin cleanser. Treat stubborn areas with undiluted papaya vinegar and papaya oil. 

Age spots: Place the fleshy side of the skin from a mature green papaya onto the age spots until the spots fade. 

Dandruff: Shampoo hair with diluted papaya vinegar mixed with lemon juice and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse the hair with diluted papaya vinegar. Papaya hair shampoos are also available in health food stores. 

Skin with enlarged pores: Washings or compresses with diluted papaya vinegar. 

Skin, rough: Native Americans rub rough skin with the fleshy side of the skin from a ripe papaya. 

Skin, unclear: For deep skin cleansing, apply a papaya mask followed by an application of papaya vinegar weekly, diluted with water in a one to 10 ratio. 

Skin, hard: Repeatedly apply squeezed leaves or the fleshy side of the skin from a green fruit. For hard skin on the foot, use papaya vinegar in foot baths. 

Sunspots: Apply the fleshy side of the skin from a green fruit to the spots. Also apply papaya vinegar to the spots. 

Wrinkles: Old skin cells make wrinkles deeper. Use a papaya powder (sold in health food stores as "Paw-Paw Condiment") face mask to reduce old dead skin cells and to make the skin smoother. Apply the fleshy side of the skin from a green papaya. 

In rare cases and with long-term application, highly concentrated papaya could cause sensitivity and skin irritation.
Papaya Vinegar
Cut the fruit (with the skin) into thin slices. Fill two-thirds of a glass jar with the papaya. Pour in apple cider vinegar until the papaya is well covered. Let mature for four weeks. Strain out the papaya and the vinegar is ready to use. 

Papaya Oil
Cut the skin or leaves of a papaya into small pieces and place them into a pot (do not use an aluminum pot). Add enough extra-virgin olive oil to cover all the pieces. Simmer the oil for five minutes, then store the oil and plant parts in a cool place. After two days, extract the oil by squeezing the plant parts in a towel. 

Skin Cleanser
3 Tbsp (45 mL) pure honey 
1/2 tsp (2 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 
1/2 tsp (2 mL) wheat germ oil 
1 tsp (5 mL) papaya juice 

Mix the ingredients together. Wash the skin with warm water. Gently massage the cleanser onto moist skin, then rinse well with water. Apply twice daily. 

Skin Toner
2 tsp (10 mL) papaya vinegar 
1/4 cup (60 mL) rose water 
4 tsp (20 mL) lavender water 

Mix the ingredients together. Use twice daily. 

Moisturizing Oil
2 Tbsp (30 mL) papaya oil 
4 tsp (20 mL) calendula oil 
1 tsp (5 mL) almond oil 
1 tsp (5 mL) rosehip oil 

Mix the ingredients together. Gently massage into the skin twice daily. 

Papaya Fruit Mask
1 tsp (5 mL) pure honey 
1 egg 
1 tsp (5 mL) cream 
1 tsp (5 mL) papaya oil 

Mix the ingredients together and apply to well-cleansed skin. Leave the mask on for 10 to 15 minutes. Thoroughly rinse the skin with warm water, apply papaya skin toner and then papaya moisturizing oil. 

Bathing With Papaya
For these recipes, mix all the ingredients together. Add the oils to the bath water after filling the tub to prevent the essential oils from evaporating. 

Relaxing Bath
1/2 (125 mL) papaya vinegar 
1 tsp (5 mL) papaya oil 
3 drops lavender essential oil 
2 drops cedarwood essential oil 

This is a good anti-stress bath and it nourishes the skin at the same time. 

Pain-Relieving Bath
1/2 cup (125 mL) papaya vinegar 
1 tsp (5 mL) papaya oil 
3 drops lavender essential oil 
2 drops rosemary essential oil 

This bath is also excellent for muscle relaxation. 

Refreshing Bath
1/2 cup (125 mL) papaya vinegar 
1 tsp (5 mL) papaya oil 
3 drops lavender essential oil 
2 drops orange essential oil


Papaya Health Benefits and Papaya in Medicine, cancer 

and other

Just recently I came across an eye opening book by Barry Thomson “Join Our Escape From Death Row-Cancer Jail”, where he in a most genuine and generous ways shares valuable information and his knowledge in effective fight against cancer and ill health. Among other very interesting information I red about simple but wonderful papaya and its healing properties. One chapter in this book awoke in me more desire to learn and research as much as I possibly could as on a professional level I deal with people suffering many different health issues and aliments who look for alternative ways to help them. I would love to share what I know as I believe it can make difference in everyday life of many others. I am also hoping that this will prompt other people to share their knowledge about improving our general well being and health.

Papaya, Paw Paw, Tree Melon (botanical name Carica Papaya), it has oblong shape, normally greenish yellow, yellow or orange color. It is a large tree plant fruit usually reaching 2.5kg. It has bitter sweet taste and comes from tropical places with higher humidity, native to Mexico, countries of Central America, Thailand, Africa and Asia and growing well in Australia.

Papaya Health Benefits

Paw Paw how we call it here in Australia is these days plentiful all year round in most of the countries. The parts that are used medicinally are fruit, seeds, stems and leaves. I did look around and found out you can buy paw paw in all forms, in a form of fermented papaya, herbal teas even tablets and of course plenty of the fresh fruit, which can be eaten as it is or in a form of juice. So you ask what are these awesome healing properties of paw paw? Well where do I start? Papaya fruit is and excellent source of dietary fiber, folate, vitamin A, C and E. It also contains small amount of calcium, iron, riboflavin, thiamine and niacine. It is also very rich in antioxidant nutrients flavonoids and carotenes, very high in vitamin C plus A, and low in calories and sodium.

PawPaw tree. Paw paw is rich in enzymes called papain and chymopapain which helps with the digestion, particularly it breaks down the proteins from the food we eat into amino acids. The latest research shows that amino acids are responsible for all what is happening in our organism, basically for what is happening in every chemical reaction as well as our mental and physical health. As we age we produce less of the digestive enzymes in our stomach and pancreas, which leads to ineffective digestion of proteins. Due to this we end up with excess amount of undigested protein, which leads to overgrowth of the bad bacteria in our gastrointestinal system and not enough of amino acids to perform all important chemical reactions. We can say that good quality protein is absolutely essential for our healthy being. This is where the papaya enzymes can be very beneficial.

The papain enzymes are produced in the skinny peel of paw paw. The combination of these enzymes repels insect during the ripening, without this protection paw paw fruit would not survive. Eating paw paw after a meal makes for better digestion, prevents bloating and chronic indigestion. It can also lower the inflammation in the body, alleviates the pain and edema caused by sport injuries. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties papaya can relieve the severity of Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Because of its high antioxidant content, papaya can prevent cholesterol oxidation and can be use in a preventative treatments against atherosclerosis, strokes, heart attacks and diabetic heart disease.

In a everyday health papaya works magic on strengthening the immune system preventing the recurrent colds and flu. After treatment with antibiotics eating paw paw or drinking its juice replenishes the good intestinal bacteria, which was destroyed by the antibiotic treatment. The latest good news from eating paw paw comes down once again to papain the enzyme which I talked about, it was found to destroy intestinal parasites. Papain is proteolitic enzyme, which means that it digests inert (non-living) proteins. Intestinal parasites are largely protein, the papain attacks it and causes parasite to die. Also, home applications of leaf and bark papaya extract is used to deal with mouth gums and toothaches which is being effectively practised in many cultures around the world.

Papaya Research and Products

Papain is also being studied for relief of cancer therapy side effects, especially relieving side effects such as difficulty swallowing and mouth sores after radiation and chemotherapy as well as boosting up the immune system and helping body to fight the cancer. I am big fan of the products made by Rochway, Australian company (for more information visit rochway.com.au) as they use organically grown papaya, producing among other products, product called Papaya35, fermented papaya enzymes. They also produce Blueberry and PawPaw probiotic Punch, which has very strong antioxidant properties that protects against free radicals. Free radicals contribute largely in many diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Rochway products are 99% sugar free which makes them suitable for people suffering diabetes as well. As you can see there is plenty we can benefit from this simple fruit, more and more research is being done and I can’t wait to hear more about it.

For references and more on the current studies you can look up www.pubmed.gov as for the products there are few available on the market.I am sure if you look around you will be able to find many available or simply stick with the fresh fruit. However if you are looking or hoping for more therapeutic effect of eating papaya, you need to be aware the unripened papaya (still green papaya) contains far more of the proteolytic enzymes papain and chymopapain than ripened papaya which we commonly eat. You can also juice the leaves and stems but be prepared for the vile taste of it …. you can’t naturally like its taste nor does the cancer cells.

Summary of Healing Properties of Papaya

• Increases quality of proteins in whole organism.
• Revitalize the human body and maintain energy and vitality.
• Encourages the renewal of muscle tissue.
• Supports cardiovascular system.
• Boosts up the immune system.
• Helps with the digestive system, by breaking down the proteins and supporting production of digestive enzymes.
• Papaya can be use also externally as a treatment for skin wounds that don’t heal quickly, for this you can use papaya peel or ointments made out of papaya.
• Prevents the cataract formation.
• Due to high vitamin A, it lowers the risk of emphysema in smokers and passive smokers.
• Alleviates inflammation.
• Helps with the nausea and constipation.
• Can benefit people suffering colon cancer and other forms of cancers and aliments of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems.