8 Surprising Health Benefits Of Papaya Seeds For Liver, Gut, And Kidneys

Most of the time when we eat papaya fruit, we trash the papaya seeds. But little do we know how beneficial they are and how they can prevent and cure a plethora of ailments related to the liver, gut, intestinal worms, and even diseases like dengue. The following is a list that illustrates papaya seeds benefits.


1. Heals liver cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is a disease, usually caused by excessive alcohol consumption over many years, wherein the liver shrinks and becomes hardened. In this state it is ineffective at removing toxins from the body, leading to a variety of serious health problems.

Papaya seeds are often reported as an effective natural treatment for liver cirrhosis and overall detoxification of the liver.

Grind or crush 5–6 papaya seeds and have them with food or juice, especially lime juice, twice a day. This should be done for 30 days. Moreover, eating small amounts of papaya seeds regularly helps in detoxing the liver and keeps liver diseases at bay.

2. Keeps the kidneys healthy

Oxidative stress is a common culprit in chronic kidney disease, particularly in patients with diabetes, and can lead to renal failure wherein your kidneys can no longer properly filter metabolic waste from your blood.

Researchers at the University of Karachi found that the extract of Carica papaya seeds had nephroprotective (kidney protecting) effects against oxidative stress, though being an animal study there isn’t as much evidence here as for the other papaya seeds health benefits.

3. Aids digestion

Many people eat large amounts of difficult to digest meat and other high protein foods. Poorly broken down protein can putrefy in your colon, creating toxic compounds, encouraging bad bacteria overgrowth and really smelly gas.
Proteolytic enzymes, like papain found in papaya seeds, are some of the most powerful natural substances for breaking down undigested protein in your digestive tract.

Eating a small amount of papaya seeds with a meal containing a lot of meat is a simple way to improve protein digestion and prevent problems like constipation and bad gas later on.

4. Destroys parasites in the intestines

Papaya seeds are rich in proteolytic enzymes like papain, which can help to eliminate intestinal parasites from the body. In the same way, that proteolytic enzymes break down proteins from the food, it may also break down intestinal worms and their eggs.

Papaya seeds also contain an alkaloid called Carpaine that can kill intestinal worms and ameba parasites. Studies performed on children in Nigeria showed that drinking papaya seeds juice for a week helped to get rid of parasites in 75 percent of the time.

5. Reduces inflammation of the joints

Papaya seeds are anti-inflammatory in nature, which makes them great for alleviating arthritis, joint disease, swelling, pain, and redness. Papain and chymopapain are the two most important enzymes in papaya seeds that play key roles in reducing inflammation that is associated with these conditions.

6. Treating viral infections

A small amount of papaya seeds has been found to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli, Staphylococcus, and Salmonella. They also help fight viral infections and cure typhoid, dengue, and numerous other diseases. In Nigeria, papaya seeds mixed with milk is an excellent cure for typhoid fever.

The seeds have been extensively used in Costa Rica to fight against dengue fever. The juice from papaya leaves can also help cure dengue by increasing platelet count.

7. Arrests cancer

Papaya seeds contain agents that stop the growth of cancer cells and tumors. They contain isothiocyanates which work well for colon, breast, lung, leukemia, and prostate cancer.

8. Helps in contraception

Papaya seeds are excellent natural contraceptives for both men and women, without any side effects, unlike the over-the-counter contraceptives that have numerous adverse effects on prolonged use. For centuries, both men and women in the Indian subcontinent and in parts of Southeast Asia have traditionally used the papaya fruit and its seeds as a form of birth control.

For men, eating 1 teaspoon of papaya seeds every day for 3 months can greatly reduce sperm production without affecting libido. Moreover, this effect is temporary; when papaya seeds are discontinued, fertility is restored.

How to eat papaya seeds

Papaya seeds can be eaten raw (though that gives a strong, pepper-like but bitter taste), ground or crushed in salad dressings, milk, or honey.

The benefits of papaya seeds, with their high levels of enzymes, are powerful. You don’t need many at a time, five or six seeds at once is more than enough. After you scrape them out of a fresh papaya fruit, it is the best to keep them in a glass of jar in the fridge.