The taste of a sweet, ripe papaya can make you long for sun-filled days on a tropical island. Until your escape to paradise materializes, consider the health benefits that papaya and papaya leaf extract can provide. This fruit, along with the extract that is produced from its leaves, is rich in nutrients that can calm your stomach and protect you from serious illness. Papaya extract goes by several different names: paw paw and Carica papaya are terms you may notice on the labels. As with any dietary supplement, speak to your doctor before you begin to take papaya extract or enzymes. Women who are pregnant should not use papaya extract, according to Drugs.com.
Aids Digestion
One of the more common uses for papaya extract is to calm stomach problems such as indigestion and heartburn. Papaya contains proteolytic enzymes, including papain, that help your body break down proteins into amino acids, which can aid your digestion, suggests NaturalNews.com. This benefit is mostly anecdotal; in fact, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reports cases of gastrointestinal distress as possible side effects to taking proteolytic acids similar to the acids found in papaya.
Protects From Cancer
The enzymes found in papaya extract may protect your body from some types of cancers and may be a natural element to use in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments, according to NaturalNews.com and Sloan-Kettering. Papaya extract increases immunity by digesting proteins, which in turn can act as a shield against some types of cancers and viruses. The American Cancer Society notes that those who take lycopene, an antioxidant that gives papaya, tomatoes and carrots their orange-red colors, have a lower-than-normal risk of developing cancer.
Reduces Post-Surgical Inflammation
The active ingredient papain found in papaya extract may play a role in reducing inflammation that has occurred in response to an injury or surgery, according to Drugs.com. Sloan-Kettering concurs with this finding, adding that studies show initial benefits but that not enough data is available to claim scientific proof. The proteolytic enzymes in papaya fruit and leaves can both protect the body from inflammation as well as heal cases of swelling and burn wounds.
About this Author
Erica Roth has been a freelance writer since 2007. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and was a college reference librarian for eight years. Roth earned a Bachelor of Arts in French literature from Brandeis University and Master of Library Science from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
