Once you understand the causes of heartburn, you can begin to remedy heartburn. You will find that there are many natural food remedies that you can try. Your choice of natural food medicine, whether it be a fruit or an herb, depends on your preference, your health, and how well the substance works to treat your symptoms.
While there are many food remedies for heartburn, one fruit in particular that has been found to be effective is papaya. The papaya fruit comes from the tropical tree Carica papaya. It has been used orally and topically for many years to treat a variety of health problems, including fungal infections, skin sores, cholesterol, and toothaches. However, despite its anti-inflammatory action, papaya is most recognized for its benefits to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Papaya stimulates digestion, relieves indigestion and constipation, can remove parasites from the intestines, and remedy heartburn.
How exactly does papaya relieve heartburn? The answer is papain. Papain is a digestive enzyme that exists within the papaya. Papain aids digestion and calms the stomach. Dissolves protein and reduces fat and carbohydrates, promoting a healthy acidic enzymatic environment. Papain is also sometimes called vegetable pepsin, because papain is very similar to the pepsin that is created by the stomach to digest food.
How can you take papaya for heartburn? Here are some ways you can use papaya for heartburn relief:
– Eat fresh, raw, ripe papaya with your meal
– Eat fresh raw and ripe papaya for dessert.
– Add papaya to your salad
– Drink papaya juice
– Make papaya part of a marinade
– Eat fresh raw and ripe papaya with honey to treat a heartburn attack. You can also eat this sweet snack before meals and between meals as a heartburn prevention.
– Eat dried papaya after meals (Note: dried papaya should only be eaten in moderation because the concentrated sugar in dried papaya can negate the heartburn relief provided by the papain enzyme)
– Take papaya tablets or papaya seed extract to remedy heartburn symptoms. You can also take these products before meals to prevent heartburn from occurring.
Where can I get papaya? You can get papaya fruit at your local fruit market. You can find papaya tablets and papaya seed extract in health food stores.
What are the side effects of papaya? Eating raw, unripe papaya can negatively affect the mouth, esophagus, stomach, or intestines by causing inflammation, irritation, pain, or sores in these areas. Therefore, papaya should only be eaten when it is ripe.
How to know if a papaya is ripe? A ripe papaya fruit has a creamy, golden-yellow appearance on the outside. The flesh of the fruit is deep yellow-orange in color and has many shiny black seeds clustered in the center. The ripe papaya fruit tastes juicy and sweet.
You should also keep in mind that papaya may not be the best heartburn remedy if you suffer from an ulcer, as existing sores can become more inflamed.
Who should avoid taking papaya? Papain can decrease the ability of your blood to clot and could interact with anticoagulant medications, such as anticoagulants and antiplatelets. Aspirin can also slow blood clotting, as can the following herbs: danshen, ginger (in excessive amounts), devil’s claw, red clover, saw palmetto, horse chestnut, garlic, and eleuthero. Therefore, papaya should not be taken orally with any of the drugs or herbs mentioned above.
People who are allergic to latex should not consume papaya as the fruit contains this substance.
If you are pregnant, consult your health care professional before using papaya as a natural remedy for heartburn.
Finally, be sure to consult your health care provider before choosing to remedy heartburn with papaya.