Saturday, February 25, 2012

Papaya


Go to any of the popular grocery stores at Tagbilaran City and notice how they rarely carry a good selection of papayas; worse, there’s hardly any selection at all.  I found this puzzling at first until I realized that most Boholanos have papaya trees in their yard.  A local I once spoke to claims the two trees at his backyard bear fruit so abundantly his family got tired of eating papayas, and nowadays just leave the fruits for the birds to feast on.

I love papayas!  There was a time I would go on a three-day cleansing diet by just eating papayas and nothing else.  According to recent studies, papaya has protein­-digesting enzyme, papain, in the milky juice or latex, which is carried in a network of vessels throughout the plant. The enzyme is similar to pepsin in its digestive action and is reputed to be so powerful that it can digest 200 times its own weight in protein. Its effect is to assist the body's own enzymes in assimilating the maximum nutritional value from food to provide energy and body building materials.  

Moreover, if eaten regularly, papaya can correct habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhea. The juice of the papaya seeds is also useful in dyspepsia and bleeding hemmorrhoids.

Regarded as a wholesome fruit, it can fulfill our body’s daily requirements for essential nutrients like proteins, mineral and vitamins. The vitamin C in the papaya increases as the fruit’s maturity progresses. Also, its carbohydrate content is mainly of invert sugar which is a form of predigested food. 



Papaya is cultivated for its edible ripe fruit; its juice is a popular beverage, and its young leaves, shoots, and fruits are cooked as a vegetable. It is also used as flavoring in candies, jellies, preserves, and ice cream. Shallow cuts on the surface of fully grown but unripe fruits cause the exudation of a milky sap or latex that is collected, dried, and termed crude papain. 

Papain, the enzyme in papayas, has a wealth of industrial uses.  It has milk-clotting (rennet) and protein-digesting properties. Nearly 80% of American beer is treated with papain so as to remain clear upon cooling.  Papain is most commonly used commercially in meat tenderizers and chewing gums.  Cosmetically, papain is used in some dentifrices, shampoos, facial creams and soaps.

Papaya has been used widely in folk medicine for many ailments: the juice for warts, corns, cancers, tumors, and indurations of the skin; the roots or their extracts for tumors of the uterus, syphilis, yaws, hemorrhoids, and to remove urine concretions; the unripe fruit as a mild laxative or diuretic, and to stimulate lactation, labor, or abortion; the ripe fruit for rheumatism and alkalinizing the urine; the seeds as an anthelmintic or to stimulate menstruation or abortion; the leaves as a poultice on nervous pains and elephantoid growths, or smoked for asthma relief; and the latex for psoriasis, ringworm, dyspepsia, or applied externally as an antiseptic or to heal burns or scalds, or smeared on the cervix as an ecbolic.



Waverley Root, an American journalist wrote, "The papaya leads a disorderly life. Normally some plants bear female flowers and others male flowers, putting it in the category of 'harem trees' -- male trees are thinned out as soon as their sex can be determined, to leave one male for each eight to fifteen females."   

"The papaya is not normal. Hermaphroditic trees appear, bearing both male and female flowers, while others change their minds in midcareer and shift from male to female or vice versa. Miscegenation is rampant, too," Root further claims.


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Yummy Sunday


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22 comments:

  1. I used to pay little attention to the papaya being male or female. That none of the papaya trees I ever planted bore fruit, I attribute to my purple thumb. That they can also be gay is new to me. Thanks for the education.

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    1. I also attempted to grow papaya trees but unsuccessful like you, Crossbeak.

      Isn't that something? Gay Papayas!

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  2. Replies
    1. That's right! I can eat this every morning!

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    2. me too! one of my faves aside from apple & pineapples.

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  3. that looks very sweet Tito Eric :-) miss eating the papaya fruit too :-) Visiting from Yummy Sunday, hope that you can return the visit too.

    http://www.homecookingwithjessy.com/brown-chocolate-chip-cookies/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ang sarap naman ng mga cookies mo, Jessy! Can I have some?

      Delete
  4. Huh? A gay papaya? ^_^ Just like a gay crab? Hehehehe!! I think papaya can lessen sex drive too, lol!! Is this the Sulu papaya? I missed the unripe papaya with native chicken yung galing pa sa neighbor hahahaha!! Happy Sunday!

    Kim,USA

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yung papaya o yung manok ang galing sa neighbor? :)

      These are Bohol papayas, Kim!

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  5. uy, mahilig din ako sa hinog na papaya :D sarap papakin nito!

    pero you know what, in reference to kim's comment above, i heard the same thing about papaya causing some decrease in libido, but i don't know if that's scientifically proven or what. hehe!

    nga pala, your question about Nuwave. it costs $100-170 depending on the model. they sell online and in stores, but i'm not sure if they ship internationally though.

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    1. I'Ve heard that, too, KM, but I wonder if there's any truth behind it 'cause Pinoys seem too hot blooded to be affected, or may be because of the abundance of bananas ... I don't know!

      That kitchen appliance is really cool! Thanks for the info.

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  6. Uy, I've heard about papaya causing decrease in libido. Pero sabi sa lalaki lang daw yun. Don't know if it's true. But I like papaya :-)

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    Replies
    1. Yun nga daw, Iska. Pero masyado kong gusto ang papaya lalo na pag chilled ... sarap sa breakfast. Kain na lang ng banana at avocado sa hapon, hehe!

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  7. Wow, ang daming bunga. Miss ko na talaga ang papaya.

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    1. Ganyan kadami magbunga mga puno ng papaya dito sa Bohol, Nita.

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  8. hmmm.. interesting... sabi nila kaya yan daw yung kinakain ng mga pari parati..to decrease libido..lol... tsismis lang siguro haha :) thanks for the visit :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And perhaps that's why God created bananas:

      http://turningboholano.blogspot.com/2012/02/banana-sex-drive-booster.html

      Cheers!

      Delete
  9. This is good for constipation visiting from YS.
    Sahm’s Dining Diary

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  10. it is said that papaya is staple diet of priests and monks. Could it be due to its attribute of suppressing sexual desires ? :) YOu could never see priests eat avocado they say coz it is some kind of aphrodisiac. Therefore, always order your date an avocado shake and never papaya shake :)

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  11. I miss papaya!

    thanks for dropping by...inde po yon dinggit..danggit po...ehehhee!

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  12. thanks for sharing. I love papayas they help me with my digestion problems.

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