Papaya’s health benefits are vast!  From digestion to heart disease, this tropical delight is truly remarkable.

My first encounter with papaya is when my mother went on the Beverly Hills Diet, thus we ran all over our midwestern town searching for exotic tropical fruit.  Later, my doctor would recommend I take papaya enzymes to aid in digestion.

Photo credit: jar [o] via Flickr / CC BY

Papayas are tropical fruits with amazing health benefits. Christopher Columbus called it “the fruit of the angels” and may have brought it back for Queen Isabella.((http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=47)). Also in Costa Rica, papaya is called “the tree of good health”.((https://www.herbalpapaya.com/pages/more-about-papaya))

Papaya’s Health Benefits

There are many claimed health benefits of papaya.  From digestion to protection against macular degeneration, we should eat more papaya!  Here is a list of the papaya’s health benefits:

• Immune support
• Protection against macular degeneration
• Anti-inflammatory
• Heart disease protection
• Protection against rheumatoid arthritis
• Combined with green tea to prevent prostate cancer((http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=47))
• Reduce cancer risk((https://authoritynutrition.com/8-proven-papaya-benefits/))
• Eliminating intestinal parasites
• Alleviate nausea and constipation((http://naturalsociety.com/benefits-of-papaya-leaf-extra/))
• Asthma prevention
• Bone health
• Diabetes
• Wound and burn healing((http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275517.php))
• Increased platelet count((http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757281/))

Ionizing radiation may cause damage to living tissue by producing free radicals like reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS can randomly react with lipids, proteins and nucleic acids of cell causing oxidative stress and damage in these macromolecules, leading to pathogenesis of chronic diseases and age related and also cancer. The first line of defense from the damaging effects of ROS is antioxidants, which convert the oxidants to less reactive species. Lycopene (LYC) is an acyclic isomer of beta-carotene. It synthesized by plants or autotrophic bacteria but not by animals. Red fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, watermelons, pink grapefruits, apricots, pink guavas and papaya contain LYC. This carotenoid has very strong antioxidant properties. The many studies confirm that dietary supplementation with LYC reduces risk of cancers of many organs, but also retard the growth of the tumors.((http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25526570))

Fresh C. papaya leaf extract significantly increased the platelet and RBC counts in the test group as compared to controls. Therefore, it is very important to identify those chemicals of C. papaya leaves as it can be recommended to be used as a medication to boost thrombopoiesis and erythropoiesis in humans and in animals in which these cell lineages have been compromised.((http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757281/))

Nutrients in Papaya
1.00 each (304.00 grams)

Nutrient       %Daily Value

vitamin C      313.1%

vitamin A        66.5%

folate              28.8%

potassium      22.3%

fiber                21.8%

vitamin E        11.1%

vitamin K          9.8%

Calories (118)    6%((https://www.herbalpapaya.com/pages/more-about-papaya))

Thankfully, papayas are not so exotic or hard to find as they were in my youth.  There are also many papaya products that offer the same health benefits, like those made by Herbal Papaya.

We were sent two Herbal Papaya products to try:

Organic Papaya Leaf Tea – 24 Tea Bags – Herbal Papaya

Why Papaya Leaf Tea?

• Aids digestion and “Food coma” to combat fatigue following a meal –  with age, your body is not as good at harvesting energy from food.
• A great natural energy drink, containing special protein digesting enzymes papain and chymopapain that aids healthy digestion.
• Contains Antioxidants – vitamins A, C & E, Beta-Carotenes and Folic acid.
• Used for anti-aging and in digestive supplements.

This tea 100% pure, organic pure papaya leaf herb, and it is caffeine free. To prepare, steep for 8 minutes. The flavor alone is not that appealing, but with a little honey you can enjoy all of papaya’s health benefits drinking tea. Unfortunately, each tea bag comes individually wrapped in a plastic sheath. Thus this product is overpackaged.

Papaya Leaf Tea with Rooibos – From Herbal Papaya

Papaya leaf, together with rooibos chai is:

• Delicious and contains antioxidants – Vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotenes which help fight free radicals,
• Totally caffeine-free.
• Especially a great source for the super-antioxidant compound quercetin from rooibos, and the protein digesting enzyme papain from Papaya.
• Additionally great for two comparatively rare antioxidants, aspalathinand nothofagin, from rooibos as well.

Again, these tea bags are individually packaged, which may aid in freshness but contributes to single use waste. It also contains stevia, so if you are sensitive to that flavor like I am, you may not like this blend. Rather, I’d prefer to add my own honey.

Herbal Papaya is:

• We are 100% women owned and operated;
• We give 10% of profits to educate girls in Africa;
• We support our organic farmers and their communities;
• We care deeply about our environment; and
• We are the Papaya People. We are experts in Papaya because that is 100% all we do.((https://www.herbalpapaya.com/collections/our-papaya-leaf-teas))

Papaya leaf tea is a great way to get some of papaya’s health benefits without the need or expense of exotic fresh fruit.