Papaya is the most famous fruit of the tropics. It’s also a highly beneficial fruit. Juice made from the papaya is loaded with disease-fighting enzymes and nutrients that have people buzzing. It’s believed that papaya juice offers many health benefits, from aiding heart health to offering a rare enzyme that prevents and fights cancer.

In its most simple terms, juice made from papaya is packed with proteolytic enzymes. These helpful chemicals aid the stomach in digesting protein. A small glass of papaya juice before eating a burger or a bucket of chicken will help the stomach process that dinner. The enzyme papain, which is extracted from papaya, is used in meat tenderizers.

A Fountain of Youth

Papaya juice also restores normal bacteria in the stomach which helps digestion. It prevents bloating and indigestion.

Food researchers believe that papaya juice has rejuvenation properties. Call it Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth in a glass.

The belief is that papaya juice helps the body with digestion. Proper digestion helps release all the good vitamins and nutrients that the body needs. When the body has use of all these vitamins, enzymes and nutrients, people feel and look better. That in itself is a strong reason to add papaya juice to a daily diet regimen.

Papaya Lycopene Fights Cancer

This juice is loaded with antioxidants that get rid of free radicals and prevent cancer. The fiber in a glass of papaya juice will bind toxins that cause cancer. Papaya juice has the rare antioxidant lycopene which has a quality to fight and prevent cancer.

Good For Heart Health

Inside, the papaya is colored yellow or orange. This deep and rich color is an indication of high amounts of beta carotene. A four ounce glass of papaya juice is packed with 82 mg of vitamin C.

Papaya juice is packed with fiber, magnesium, potassium and pantothenic acid, which help improve cardiovascular health.

The oxidation of cholesterol is stopped by these elements, preventing cholesterol from sticking to artery walls and causing high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. The enzyme carpain is found in papaya, and that’s good for the heart.

Papaya Enzymes Relieve Inflammation

The enzymes chymopapain and papain act as anti-inflammatory agents and lessen inflammation in the body. Both internal and external inflammation are reduced by drinking papaya juice. This is good news for people who suffer from inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Papaya juice can ease inflamed joints and provide relief from pain.

Improves the Immune System

These same enzymes weaken invading viruses and bacteria in the body, making them more susceptible to attack and elimination by the body’s defensive systems.

Vitamins A and C are found in great amounts in papaya juice and act as aids to the body’s immune system. This helps to prevent flu and colds.

Helps Vision

These vitamins A and C, along with vitamin E, create an antioxidant that may prevent vision loss. As people age, macular degeneration sets in as a degenerative disease. Three servings of papaya juice daily can help maintain good vision.

Other health benefits of papaya juice include relief from edema and urinary tract problems. The nutrients in papaya improve milk flow for lactating mothers. Skin problems, such as corns, warts, acne and pimples, are helped. Male fertility is enhanced with the aginine found in papaya juice.

Here’s a great way to drink a glass of healthy papaya juice. Take one cup of chopped papaya, one-half cup of cold water and four ice cubes, and throw it all in a blender. Mix the blend until it’s thick and smooth. Pour it into a glass, and add a teaspoon of honey. Add a pinch of cinnamon for good effect. Mix well and drink.