Can You Eat Papaya Skin and Seeds?

Papaya is an exotic, juicy and delicious tropical fruit. It is known as “angelic fruit”, due to its amazing taste and properties. Papaya tree, Carica papaya, grows in tropical regions of Central and South America and it gives beautiful yellowish or dark red fruits.

Its taste resembles pineapple and peaches. The fruit of papaya tree can be consumed both raw and in dried form and it can also be cooked as a vegetable. Papaya is rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, dietary fiber and enzyme called papain. All of these elements make papaya a great natural immune booster and it also promotes digestion.

Avoid eating papaya skin

When you’re purchasing any type of fruit, you should always pay attention to its skin appearance. It could tell a great deal on fruit condition. In case of papaya, skin should be yellow or reddish and smooth.

However, when it comes to eating papaya fruit, the best advice is to remove it. Some people do eat papaya skin with no side effects, but it is generally not recommended.

Technically, you can eat it, but it is somewhat bitter and not considered edible in general. When it comes to papaya fruit skin, it’s the same case as with oranges and bananas. The plant itself produces latex which can be absorbed into fruit skin. If you eat it, it could possibly lead to stomach problems. It is not particularly dangerous, but papaya skin does not taste that good at all, so you should enjoy its juicy flavorful flesh, rather than the skin.

Benefits of papaya seeds

Papaya seeds are beneficial for our health and they are edible, although many people would simply discard it without consideration. Small portions of papaya seeds can actually do miracles for our body in general. They have sharp taste, but there are numerous reasons to include it in a regular diet plan.

Papaya seeds are great natural fighter against various types of parasites. Valuable papain in its greatest concentration is found in papaya seeds and green, unripe fruit. It plays an important role in breaking down the undigested protein in our blood and affects parasites and their eggs the very same way. Eating papaya seeds can help our body get rid of parasites and cleanse the organism.

Seeds of papaya fruit can also cure liver cirrhosis. They are powerful natural antioxidants and they promote liver’s detoxification. Papaya seeds drink, made from grinded or dried seeds is an amazing natural remedy for damaged liver. You don’t need a lot of them to experience their healthy properties. Five seeds should be sufficient at a time.

Papaya seeds can be used to make various natural remedies. They can be used as a preventive and even cure for food poisoning conditions. Papaya seeds have powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties which protect digestive system. Some recent researches proved them to be an excellent cure for Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococci and other various bacterial infections.

Precautions

So, eating papaya skin is not dangerous, but it could cause some stomach irritation. You can eat it, but there is no extra benefit of doing so. The best way to eat papaya is to choose good ripe fruit and peel it off.

When it comes to seeds consumption, you should be careful. Some experiments taken on animals suggest that papaya seeds could affect fertility in man and reduce it to the point that can lead to sterility.

On the other hand, their anti-parasitic properties are generally considered good, but they could be too strong for young children. You should always consult doctor before giving them to infants. Papaya seeds should be also avoided during breastfeeding and pregnancy, although just as a precaution.

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