Papaya in a Gout Diet

Papaya! Yes that green egg shaped exotic fruit that you see at the market, is actually one of my favorite. And for good reason! Papaya is very good for us gout sufferers since it contains “papain” a proteolytic enzyme which is a natural anti-inflammatory, helping keep the body in an alkaline state, preventing the buildup of uric acid in the blood. Basically, papaya helps you digest proteins from meat, poultry, fish and other foods. Papaya’s seeds are edible, although they taste peppery and are somewhat bitter.

Papaya has also been known to help sufferers from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and asthma. Actually, the papain is considered so powerful that it digests a whopping 200 times its own weight in protein! Furthermore, it assists your body’s own enzymes in extracting the maximum nutritional value from the food we eat. Although there haven’t been any studies examining the effects of papaya on gout patients, there are a few studies out there that seem to indicate that papaya benefits patients with rheumatoid arthritis. There have been numerous studies on how vitamin C benefits patients of many types of arthritis like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout. So the circumstantial evidence presented here, is that since papaya is rich in vitamin C, it is a beneficial food for the gout sufferer. I mean one single medium papaya provides 224% of your daily needs!

The thing about papain is that it is especially concentrated when papaya is unripe. If any of you take a digestive enzyme dietary supplement, it is always a key ingredient. It has the same function as bromelain, a similar enzyme found in pineapple which is a key ingredient in NutriGout as well. Another key health benefit for gout sufferers is that papaya is also very high in vitamin C. Papaya is also rich in antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, flavonoids; the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid. In minerals, it contains potassium, copper, and magnesium and fiber.

In addition, papaya helps protect you against heart disease which is very important for gout sufferers to have a healthy cardiovascular system. Since papaya is high in vitamins A and C, these nutrients help prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. Papaya is also a good source of fiber which lowers cholesterol.It protects us from colon cancer, since it is high in fiber and water content, both of which help to prevent constipation and promote regularity and a healthy digestive tract. Those of you that suffer from both gout and diabetes, studies have shown that type 1 diabetics who consume high-fiber diets have lower blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetics may have improved blood sugar, lipids and insulin levels.

How to Eat Papaya

Papaya is relatively available throughout the entire year. When you buy papayas they may be green, you’ll have to wait a few days before they turn reddish orange and are soft to the touch. That’s when you can cut it open and eat it. Those that have patches of yellow color will take a few more days to ripen.

Another popular recipe that Asians use to treat their gout, is using green tea with papaya, see my post on green tea to get the recipe.

Posted by Spiro Koulouris

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