When it comes to health, certain fruits shouldn’t be left aside such as pawpaws with many unknown health benefits.
Unlike other fruits, papaya's skin-covered flesh encloses a number of seeds that are edible and can be eaten to avail their various health-benefiting properties.
They are bitter but it doesn’t mean they are not supposed to be eaten. Some experts suggest that papaya seeds can be ingested, only if taken in limits.
Though papaya fruit is available virtually across the world, people prefer to eat the fruit and the general practice is to throw the seeds away.
Papaya seeds possess enzyme carpaine which provides many health benefits for better digestion and therefore, improved health of the intestine.
According to Dr Anju Sood, a Bengaluru-based nutritionist, "Not all seeds are poisonous but some seeds are very bitter due to which, they create some kind of gastro-intestinal disturbance."
Papaya is a soft tropical fruit with a yellowish-orange colour. This round and plump fruit belongs to the fruit species of the Caricaceae family and comes in larger and smaller sizes.
The taste depends on whether you’re eating ripe or unripe papaya. When ripe, papaya is sweet and when unripe may have little or no flavour and taste.
Some of the health benefits of consuming pawpaw seeds are as follows,
1. Kill Bacteria and Viral infections.
Papaya seeds can fight bacteria very efficiently even when taken in smaller quantities. Some studies have shown that a few pawpaw seeds kill harmful bacteria like E. coli, Staphylococcus, and Salmonella which can be an advantage when dealing with food poisoning.
They may also help fight viral infections, dengue, and other diseases, and pawpaw seeds mixed with milk provide an excellent complementary treatment for typhoid fever.
2. Relieves Menstruation Pain.
During periods, it is also believed that papaya seeds are helpful to ease muscle cramps and pain. Consuming a handful of seeds on a daily basis has shown a tendency to regulate an irregular menstruation cycle.
Pawpaw seeds may also increase the heat of the body which stimulates the production of estrogen thus normalizing menstrual flow in women.
3. Healthy Liver.
Pawpaw seeds contain enzymes that may impede liver scarring and rejuvenate damaged sections of the liver. They also strengthen liver cells and tissues protecting it against adverse effects of free radicals.
For instance, there have been cases of cirrhosis of the liver getting treated with the consumption of papaya seeds.
4. It helps to get rid of worms and parasites.
Worms and parasites can cause damage to your body and it’s important to keep an eye on them. However, there is a solution to this by eating papaya seeds.
The alkaloid, carpaine which is believed to be present in papaya seeds can break down the eggs of parasites such as amoeba and worms, particularly in malnourished children.
5. Help Protect Against Certain Types of Cancer.
Papaya seeds have the ability to prevent cancer. Free radicals and oxidative stress are closely related to different types of cancer.
The seeds usually contain a substance known as acerogenin that is present in the milky sap which is capable of preventing cancer cells from growing.
One of the examples, cited for the use of papaya seeds is by the Japanese, while they consume tea. They are said to add a few papaya seeds in the tea to help them stay healthy.
How to eat the pawpaw seeds.
Pawpaw seeds may be eaten raw, ground, or crushed in salad dressings, milk, or honey.
When eaten raw, however, the seeds have a strong, pepper-like bitter taste.
You should only eat small quantities at a time and not very frequently and you should avoid them completely if pregnant.
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