6 HEALTH BENEFITS OF PAPAYA

Medically reviewed by Barbie Cervoni, RD

• Papaya is high in antioxidants, which can help protect against disease.
• You can eat papaya to support your immune health due to its high vitamin C content.
• Papaya promotes gut health with its high fiber and water content.

If you’re looking for a flavorful way to get a boost of vitamins, tropical fruits like papaya are key. Papaya is rich in vitamins A and C, supporting immune health, digestion, and more. The fruit has a soft texture and subtle sweetness, making it easy to add to sweet and savory recipes alike.

1. Supports Immune Health

Your body can’t make vitamin C on its own, so it’s important to get enough through your diet. Papaya is a great source of vitamin C, with one cup covering nearly your entire daily needs.

Vitamin C supports immune health, helping fight off illnesses and infections. It also promotes wound healing.

Vitamin C can also:  

• Help decrease the length and severity of cold symptoms
• Help prevent or delay certain cancers and heart disease
• Promote healthy aging

2. Improves Gut Health

Papayas are high in fiber, which promotes healthy digestion and increases satiety (the feeling of fullness).

Fiber also adds bulk to stool (poop) and helps prevent hemorrhoids (swollen veins around or within the anus and rectum) and diverticular diseases.

Papayas are also 88% water. The combination of water and fiber may keep things moving in your digestive tract.

Plus, eating a high-fiber diet has been linked to healthy blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol levels. High-fiber diets contain 25-38 grams of fiber daily, or 14 grams per 1,000 calories.

3. May Protect Vision and Eye Health

You may think of carrots when it comes to protecting eye health. This is because they’re high in beta-carotene and vitamin A, both of which support eye health.

However, papayas are an even better source. They have three times more bioavailable beta-carotene than both carrots and tomatoes.

Beta-carotene may help slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (the most common form of vision loss in older adults).

4. May Lower Inflammation

The vitamins in papaya have antioxidant properties. In your body, antioxidants work against free radicals, unstable molecules that form in response to sun exposure, pollution, and other stressors.

Having higher levels of free radicals than antioxidants leads to oxidative stress. This can lead to inflammation and cell damage, increasing the risk of chronic disease.

Papaya extracts may protect against inflammation, aging, and chronic diseases. They protect the body against oxidative stress.

5. May Protect Against Some Types of Cancer

Papaya is rich in lycopene, a pigment called a carotenoid (related to beta-carotene). It gives fruits and vegetables a red color.

Lycopene is an antioxidant with several anti-cancer properties. Research suggests it may decrease the risk of cancers and slow tumor growth.

Papaya is also rich in vitamin C. Some research shows people with a family history of breast cancer who consume more vitamin C from food have a lower risk of breast cancer.

Antioxidants like lycopene in papaya may also lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. The fiber in the fruit may also help lower cholesterol.

6. May Slow the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to oxidative stress, which occurs when free radicals outnumber antioxidants in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells, including brain cells.

Fermented papaya powder may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

That said, papaya extract is much more concentrated than whole papaya. The effects of whole papaya have not been studied in people with Alzheimer’s disease. More research is needed.

Nutrition of Papaya

Papaya is packed with vitamins A and C, potassium, beta-carotene, and lycopene. The nutritional profile of 1 cup of papaya includes:

• Calories: 62
• Fat: 0.4 grams (g)
• Sodium: 11.6 milligrams (mg)
• Carbohydrates: 16 g
• Fiber: 2.5 g
• Sugars: 11 g
• Protein: 0.7 g
• Vitamin A: 68.2 micrograms (mcg)
• Vitamin C: 88.3 mg
• Potassium: 263.9 mg
• Folate: 53.7 mcg
• Beta carotene: 397.3 mcg
• Lycopene: 2650.6 mcg

Risks To Know

For the most part, eating ripe papaya does not cause too many side effects—unless you are allergic. Those who are allergic to latex may experience a reaction to eating papaya.

Unripe papaya is unsafe for pregnant people. Some studies have found that the enzyme papain—which is more prevalent in unripe papaya—might poison a fetus or cause birth defects.

The papain in unripe papaya can also damage your esophagus, whether or not you’re pregnant.

Tips for Adding Papaya to Your Diet

To select a ripe papaya, look for one that’s mostly yellow or orange with just a few green spots.

Papayas that are mostly green are not ripe, while those with many soft spots or darker, shriveled skin are overripe or spoiled.

You can also press the papaya’s skin to check for ripeness. If it gives slightly, like a ripe avocado, it’s ready to eat.

Here are some ideas for adding papaya to your diet:

• Add it to fruit salad
• Blend it into a smoothie
• Create a papaya salsa
• Snack on the seeds
• Grill it
• Use it to make ice cream, sorbet, or milkshakes

Read the original article on Health

2026-08-02T18:19:37Z