While most people throw them away, papaya seeds are not only edible, small amounts of them in your diet can be surprisingly good for you.
Keep in mind though that chewing half a teaspoon of the seeds is not like eating papaya fruit. They have a strong flavor, more like a cross between mustard and black peppercorns.
If you can handle that, ahead are 7 powerful papaya seed benefits, potential precautions you need to know and recommended ways to add them to your diet for disease prevention and better health.
1. Papaya Seeds for Worms and Other Parasitic Infections
Like green papaya, the seeds of papaya fruit contain high levels of
the proteolytic enzyme papain, which can help rid your body of parasites
such as intestinal worms.
In the same way that papain breaks down undigested protein waste from
your food, it can also dissolve the protective biofilm and fibrin that
covers parasites, and particularly their eggs, on the walls of your
lower intestine.
Good levels of digestive enzymes in your diet also help to improve
and normalize your intestinal ecology, making it much less hospitable to
worms and other parasites and much harder for them to breed. Enzyme rich green papaya powder or capsules
are a simple alternative if you don’t have the fresh green fruit or
seeds available. They also give you a consistent and measurable dose.
Make sure you use green papaya powder though, not ripe papaya powder, if you want the digestive enzyme benefits of papain.
Alongside proteolytic enzymes, the seeds from papaya also contain a
unique anthelmintic alkaloid called carpaine that has been shown to be
very effective at killing parasitic worms and amoebas.
There is much more detail on the human parasite problem and a great tasting smoothie treatment to get rid of them in using papaya seeds for parasites and intestinal worms.
2. Papaya Seed Treatment for Liver Cirrhosis
Liver cirrhosis is a disease, usually caused by excessive alcohol
consumption over many years, wherein the liver shrinks and becomes
hardened. In this state it is ineffective at removing toxins from the
body, leading to a variety of serious health problems.
Papaya seeds are often reported as an effective natural treatment for liver cirrhosis and overall detoxification of the liver.
The recommended method is to grind up around ten dried seeds in a
pepper grinder, or crush up fresh ones in a mortar and pestle, and mix
them with a tablespoon of squeezed lemon or lime juice in a glass of
water.
A 1/4 of a teaspoon of these powdered organic papaya seeds can also be used as an effective replacement option if you don’t have fresh papayas available.
Drink this papaya seed liver treatment down twice a day for a month.
Many cirrhosis sufferers have had dramatic improvements with this
powerful natural remedy but it does need to be used regularly.
Obviously consult your doctor first if you are being treated for
cirrhosis of the liver, especially with regards to the papain enzyme
that may interfere with medications.
Even for people without such obvious liver damage, a small amount of
papaw seeds taken regularly can help support your liver and improve its
ability to eliminate toxins within your body.
3. Fighting Bacterial Infections and Treating Food Poisoning
Another potential use of papaya seeds is to combat bacterial
infections and possibly even treat food poisoning caused by bad
bacteria.
The seeds of papaya have a strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect on your digestive system. Studies have shown an extract made from papaya seeds is effective at killing E coli, Salmonella, Staph and other dangerous bacteria.
As a natural remedy for food poisoning, papaya seeds should be taken
at the first sign of sickness and continued 3 times a day with each main
meal until symptoms subside.
While people suffering from food poisoning often don’t feel like
eating, it’s best to take the freshly crushed up seeds with a small
amount of food. Something simple to digest like papaya fruit would be
ideal.
For general protection against gastrointestinal infections from bad
bacteria, papaya seeds can be used daily in the small dosage.
4. Combating Candida Yeast Overgrowth
The potent digestive enzymes in papaya seeds help change your
intestinal ecology to one that is more favorable to the ‘good’ bacteria
and less so to the bad ones that can cause so many digestive problems.
In this way papaw seeds can also be a helpful aid in the treatment of
candida yeast overgrowth, a common yet often undiagnosed health issue
with serious consequences.
Candida thrives when your digestive system is out of balance and left untreated
it can cause chronic fatigue, lowered immunity, intestinal inflammation
and a myriad of disorders throughout your body.
By creating a supportive environment for healthy intestinal bacteria,
both pathogenic yeasts and debilitating bad bacteria are much less
likely to take hold within your intestinal tract.
Concentrated papaya seed liquid gut clease can be used to fight both candida yeast and bacterial infections such
as food poisoning. Unlike the fresh seeds it’s best taken with just a
big glass of water and used on an empty stomach 2 to 3 times a day.
5. Treating Viral Infections
There are even reports of using papaya seeds to successfully treating
viral infections such as dengue fever in parts of Central America and
Asia. Obviously this is a serious disease so consult a doctor if you
contract dengue to monitor your condition.
Papaya leaf juice is actually an even better natural treatment for dengue fever including my personal experience with using it, how to make it and dosage instructions.
6. Protecting Your Kidneys
Oxidative stress is common culprit in chronic kidney disease,
particularly in patients with diabetes, and can lead to renal failure
wherein your kidneys can no longer properly filter metabolic waste from
your blood.
Studies have found an extract of Carica papaya seeds had nephroprotective (kidney
protecting) effects against oxidative stress, though being an animal
study there isn’t as much evidence here as for the other papaya seeds
health benefits.
Parsley juice would be an even better natural treatment for detoxifying your kidneys and it’s highly beneficial for your liver as well.
7. Better Digestion with Papaya Seeds
Many people eat large amounts of difficult to digest meat and other
high protein foods. Poorly broken down protein can putrefy in your
colon, creating toxic compounds, encouraging bad bacteria overgrowth and
really smelly gas.
Proteolytic enzymes, like papain found in papaya seeds, are some of
the most powerful natural substances for breaking down undigested
protein in your digestive tract.
Eating a small amount of papaya seeds with a meal containing a lot of
meat is a simple way to improve protein digestion and prevent problems
like constipation and bad gas later on.
And, as mentioned in the sections on papaya seed benefits for
bacterial infections, candida overgrowth and killing parasites, both
papain and the alkaloid carpaine have a positive effect on your overall
intestinal ecology — a vital component of good health and disease
prevention.
Precautions and Warnings
Despite all of their beneficial properties, papaya seeds do have some
side effects to be aware of and certain people shouldn’t take them.
Please check if any of these apply to you before eating papaya seeds.
- As a precaution, pregnant women should not use papaya seeds or the enzyme rich green papaya powder. This warning on their use would also extend to mothers who are breastfeeding.
- Additionally, while papaya seeds do have strong anti-parasitic properties, they may be too powerful for young children’s gastrointestinal tracts, so a doctor should be consulted before giving them to infants.
- There is also some animal research suggesting that eating papaya seeds may temporarily but greatly reduce a man’s fertility to the point that would make pregnancy unlikely. I’ll leave it up to male readers whether they currently consider that a good or bad thing.
- Patients using blood thinning medications like warfarin or aspirin should consult their doctor before they eat papaya seeds regularly as papain may increase the actions of these drugs.
Using Papaya Seeds for Better Health
The benefits of papaya seeds, with their high levels of digestive
enzymes, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic and liver regenerating
properties are powerful. You don’t need to eat too many at a time,
certainly not a whole fruit’s worth.
For detailed instructions on how to take the seeds regularly see this page on eating papaya seed for better digestive health including recommended dosage and timing, and some unusual ways to add them into your diet.
To use fresh papaya seeds at home first you’ll need to get a papaya
fruit. Hawaiian and Mexican papayas are most commonly sold in the USA.
I prefer Mexican yellow and red papayas as these are generally larger
and contain more seeds. They also avoid the GMO issues of the smaller
Hawaiian papayas.
After you scrape the seeds out of a fresh fruit, it’s best to store
them in a sealed container in the fridge if you’re using them regularly,
or in the freezer if only occasionally.
At the recommended dose of half to a full teaspoon, a large papaya
fruit could easily supply enough seeds for several weeks of
gastrointestinal health and detoxification treatment.
Also remember, you need to crush, pound or grind the seeds up in some
way before using them for best results. A mortar and pestle is great
for this, but the flat bottom of a clean jar on a chopping board will
also work.
Papaya Seed Extract and Powder
While I do believe fresh papaya seeds are best, in some parts of the
USA and Europe buying papaya fruit can be very expensive, or they simply
aren’t in season for much of the year.
Definitely don’t get commercial papaya seeds for planting as they may
be treated with chemicals. Only use proper food grade powdered organic
papaya seeds like this.
Using papaya seed powder instead of the fresh seeds you only need to
use around a quarter of a teaspoon as they are finely ground and
therefore more concentrated.
Another good option are papaya seed extracts, like the ones generally
used in the studies on the specific effects of papaw seeds.
Unlike fresh papaya seeds or the powder you can take papaya seeds
extract on an empty stomach with a big glass of water. This may make it
more effective at treating candida and bacterial infections than the
powder in a meal and it’s certainly easier to take.
Once again, before using fresh papaya seeds or any of the papaya seed products recommended, make sure you are aware of the potential side effects,
particularly if you are a pregnant woman, taking blood thinning
medications or have a stomach ulcer or other serious digestive problem.
Getting Started
I hope within all of these papaya seed and papain health benefits
you’ve found some good reasons to give this powerful natural remedy a
try.
Remember to start off slow at first with just a small amount. Perhaps
just a few seeds to begin with the first time. You really don’t need
much of them to feel their positive effects.
Please help spread the word that papaya seeds are not only edible but
actually highly beneficial to take regularly in small doses or as
specific treatment for parasites, liver problems, bacterial infections
and to improve your digestion.
