Papaya is a rare exotic fruit with numerous health benefits. This amazing plant usually grows in three sexes, i.e. male, hermaphrodite, and female. The male plant produces the pollen grains, however they never has fruit. The female plant produces inedible fruits if not pollinated. The hermaphrodite plant could self-pollinate since it has flowers with the reproductive parts like androecium having the male parts.
The presence of essential vitamins such as vitamin B, A, C & E, and minerals such as magnesium, folate, copper, lutein, potassium, pantothenic acid and antioxidants such as lycopene make the papaya the great food choice for a number of health benefits.
Though there are many foods which boast of being great for diabetes, papaya is an excellent food that helps manage the symptoms of diabetes. Loaded with a several essential nutrients, papaya effectively lowers the blood glucose levels and thus helps keep diabetes in control. Consuming papaya on a regular basis is also good for overall health and also keeps you away from many health conditions. This sweet fruit carries an amazing taste.
Read on this article to know how papaya is good for diabetes, besides having several other health benefits. Keep on reading to unfold the amazing benefits of papaya.
Can it be eaten by diabetic patients?
Diabetes also known as diabetes mellitus is a condition in which beta-pancreatic cell in body produces little or no insulin, and when body doesn’t respond to insulin production. In healthy people, the pancreas usually produces insulin to help our body store as well as use the excessive sugar and the fat absorbed from food we eat. In the diabetics, malfunctioning of these pancreatic cells also leads to very high blood sugar level which needs to be managed by regular exercises and well-balanced nutritious diet.
Usually, diabetic patients need to follow very strict restrictions in terms of sweet and sugary food items and so have a very specific diet to strictly follow. Also, the nutritional contents of papaya reveal that though sweet in the taste, it is very high in fiber and low in sugar, which in turn makes it a very healthy snacking choice for most of the people suffering from diabetes. Moreover, research shows that regular consumption of the papaya could effectively reduce the progression of the type II diabetes.
While one could eat papayas due to sweetness from natural sugars present in this, they should be very careful to consume it as a mid-day snack in limited amount and should not overconsume it so that blood sugar level remains under control.
The fruit is rich in fibers. Consuming papaya checks your craving to often snack on junk in between meals. Consuming papaya makes one feel fuller until it’s time for the next meal.
If you do like the fruit, mix it and drink as juice with cereal every morning. To get the maximum benefits of the fruit, refrain from canned and bottled forms of the fruit. The fruit is cheap and also easily available. So, eat it in the raw form. Studies have also established that its juice might have hidden sugars. Also, these sugars reduce the blood sugar levels in diabetics, thereby controlling diabetes to great extent.
Other benefits of papaya
Papaya is also referred to as “fruit of angels” by voyager Christopher Columbus. The miraculous fruit is highly beneficial for indigestion, diabetes, dengue, heart problems, arthritis, bone problems, and cancer, and is also beneficial for skin and also boosts the immunity.
So, you can add this vibrantly colored fruit in your diet. This fruit is brimming with healthy nutrients and has several health benefits, which can be added as one of fruity indulgences in order to meet the sweet craving of diabetics while maintaining the blood sugar level under control.