Ripe papaya is a luscious tropical fruit that certainly kicks any granola bowl up a notch. So why would anyone be compelled to eat the firm, tart, unripened version of this popular fruit? There must be green papaya benefits that convince, otherwise sane, people to gnaw on this fruit before it turns sweet and delicious.
People often think of nutrition beginning and ending with the type of food or supplement that we ingest. But it’s important to remember that if those foods and supplements aren’t being properly absorbed via the digestion process, all of those vitamins and minerals and amino acids and polyphenols are going to waste. Let’s just say that the sewer rat that eats your refuse is going to be suuuuper healthy. But you sure as heck didn’t spend all that gosh-darn money at whole foods to see it get flushed down the drain! That’s why I’m going to discuss the power and importance of enzymes in our eating habits.
Enzymes are utilized by our gut bacteria in order to help them in the process of breaking down complex carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into small absorbable versions of themselves that our body can then infuse into our bloodstream, thereby delivering all of those essential nutrients to the far reaching corners of ourselves. The more efficient that our gut flora can be, the more nutrients we are able to pull from our food and supplements and then disperse to all of our lovely little parts so they can flourish.
Green Papaya is Packed with Enzymes that Help You Process Protein
An effective amount of enzymes are found in papayas, and particularly unripe green papaya. The nutritional benefits of green papaya have been valued by ancient cultures in the south pacific regions of Asia for quite some time. If you’ve ever enjoyed a meal at an authentic Thai restaurant, you would’ve likely seen “green papaya salad” on the menu. A delicious blend of shredded green papaya, spicy peppers, rice vinegar, sugar, and fish sauce, green papaya salad was traditionally eaten with almost any meal, but particularly those that included meat, in order to get the most bang out of the protein source. But for most western palates, eating the tangy, spicy, and fishy green papaya salad on a daily basis is not a realistic option. This is where green papaya powder comes in handy.
You can take advantage of the health benefits of green papaya powder by simply throwing a scoop full into a smoothie, stirring into yogurt, mixing with a glass of water or any other way that’s
Green Papaya Powder is great for easily adding to smoothies.
easiest for you. It is also highly recommended to do so right before eating a high protein meal ( ehem.. Green papaya water with your steak dinner? Yes, Sir-ee) Green Papaya Powder contains two incredibly effective proteolytic enzymes, Papain and Chymopapain. These two enzymes help breakdown proteins with great efficiency and they also support the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats as well. They have even been found to be more effective than Pepsin, the enzyme found in our own stomach fluid. Pepsin is only able to work effectively in an acidic stomach environment, but Papain and Chymopapain can help breakdown proteins into an important amino acids Arginine, in any PH level environment.
Green papaya benefits us as a nutritional food source as well, its is full of body boosting nutrients besides the enzymes papain and chymopapain. Green papaya is an excellent source of potassium, which is essential for maintaining your body’s basic functions, like your heart beat. Plus, it has vitamins A, B, E, and C, along with magnesium. Papaya is what I like to call, ‘a major team player’.
Be advised, if you have a latex allergy, you should not incorporate green papaya powder into your diet because green papaya does naturally include a substance that is a plant based form of latex. Also, if your are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, you should not eat green papaya, because it promotes intestinal and uterine peristalsis, aka contractions. This however is great for everyday digestion and menstrual health.
Understanding how to incorporate green papaya into your diet and take advantage of all of the health benefits it offers is a great way to up the ante on how much nutrient payload you are getting out of your daily diet. Who knew an unripe green fruit could help your grocery budget go so far!
