What Are the Benefits of Papaya for Weight Loss?

The benefits of eating papaya for weight loss include allowing an individual to feel full on fewer calories, protection against high cholesterol and heart disease, and a boost to energy levels. These three goals are identical to those promised by many diet shakes and protein energy bars, consumed by dieters in the hopes of decreasing their calories while maintaining their busy lives. In addition to helping individuals lose weight naturally, papayas also provide high sources of many different types of vitamins and nutrients essential to maintaining cardiovascular, ocular, and muscular health. This tropical fruit, often grown in equatorial climates and exported to countries around the world, may be found in the produce section of most local grocery stores during the warmest months of the summer.

Like most fruits, papaya is both high in fiber content and low in calories. This fruit, which can weigh typically between one and three pounds and consists of a soft, light orange flesh, only consumes 118 calories of an individual's daily intake. It can provide up to 25% of their recommended daily fiber intake as well. In this way, a person may use papaya for weight loss as a snack food, which, when consumed, is both extremely low in calories and very filling. When eaten with a meal, papain, a naturally occurring enzyme found in papayas, actively aids in the digestion of protein, which works to both decrease appetite and maintain energy levels.

Papayas are high in three primary dietary antioxidants: vitamins C, A, and E. These vitamins, when consumed, actively discourage the oxidation of two types of cholesterol in blood vessels and arteries. When cholesterol is allowed to oxidize, it begins to form plaque which then sticks to the walls of blood vessels and causes clots. Those who suffer from heart disease, or who are at a high risk for a heart attack, may use papaya for weight loss and heart health to improve their cholesterol levels and reduce their weight.

Over 300% of a persons' daily recommended intake of vitamin C is contained within a single papaya. This enzyme, in addition to promoting heart health, is also essential to maintaining high energy levels. An individual who is working to actively reduce their calories will typically experience a significant drop in energy as their digestive system must work harder to use all available nutrients and calories to power the body through the day. By consuming high quantities of vitamin C, a dieter may use papaya for weight loss to help him overcome the urge to use sugar, caffeine, and energy stimulants, which are very high in calories, to overcome this expected energy drop.

Papayas have also been shown to help regenerate eyes, protect the body against colon cancer, and reduce inflammation in the joints. This fruit's significant source of vitamin's C, E, and K make it vital in the prevention of eye degeneration and many common eye diseases that afflict individuals later in life. The enzyme papain, which aids in the digestion of protein, bonds with those molecules in such a way as to protect the cells in the lining of the colon from becoming diseased and cancerous. Those who suffer from arthritis and other types of internal joint swelling can experience a major reduction in their symptoms while consuming these same basic nutritional ingredients.