Papaya an aphrodisiac

The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), is the fruit of the tree Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures. Nowadays, the papaya is also known as fruta bomba (Cuba), lechosa (Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic), mamão, papaw (Sri Lankan English), Papol \ Guslabu (Tree melon - in Sinhalese ), pawpaw or tree melon, as well as tree melon (??) in Chinese and ?u ?? in Vietnamese.

It is a small tree, the single stem growing from 5 to 10 m tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk; the lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, 50-70 cm diameter, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The tree is usually unbranched if unlopped. The flowers are similar in shape to the flowers of the Plumeria but are much smaller and wax like. They appear on the axils of the leaves maturing into the large 15-45 cm long and10-30 cm diameter fruit. The fruit is ripe when it feels soft (like a ripe avocado or a bit softer) and its skin has attained amber to orange hue. The fruit's taste is vaguely similar to pineapple and peach, although much milder without the tartness, creamier, and more fragrant, with a texture of slightly over-ripened cantaloupe.

Papaya has many medicinal uses. The papain in Papaya fruit has been made into a tablet form to treat digestive problems, it is also very effective as a topical application and used for the treatment of cuts, stings, burns rashes and other such skin complaints. In India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan Papaya fruit was believed to be a contraceptive and an abortion inducing substance in women for centuries. Medical research has proven that Papaya does in fact contain contraceptive capability. Ripe Papaya fruit is used to treat ringworms, and the green fruit is used to treat high blood pressure. The skin of the Papaya fruit is used to treat skin sores and can be applied directly to the wound as it also acts as a natural antiseptic. The seeds are used as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, they are used to treat stomach upsets and fungal infections. The leaves of the Papaya tree are used as a heart tonic, analgesic and are also used to treat stomach upsets. The roots have also been found to be useful as an analgesic.

Papaya fruit is an excellent source of vitamins C, A, K and are rich in folate and Potassium. They also contain small amounts of niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, calcium and iron. It is low in calories and sodium and high in potassium. Because Papaya fruit are so effective as a digestive aid, they are very beneficial to people who are dieting to lose weight. The papain in Papaya fruit breaks down protein and cleanses the digestive tract, meaning less food settles in the metabolism and becomes fat. The Papaya fruit is an excellent source of fibre and also rich in antioxidants.

The green unripe fruit is believed to be an aphrodisiac. But ironically, the seeds were thought to act as contraceptive to men. Here in the Philippines, the ripe papaya fruit serves as a cure for constipated bowel movement and at the same time controls excessive libido for men. Additionally, according to one site I looked into, Papaya is estrogenic, meaning it has compounds that act as the female hormone estrogen. Could it be? This must be the culprit why you lose touch with your burgeoning masculinity inside your pants once you take in a ripe papaya. Now I’m clueless if papaya is really an aphrodisiac or maybe it’s just the vitamins that’s gradually take over one’s vitality and lust over time of green papaya consumption.



Tagged as: love, aphrodisiac, papaya