Eating fruit after a meal isn’t generally recommended as it can have a negative effect on your digestion, papaya is one of the few exceptions

These papaya enzymes are most often taken with food for...

Papaya Enzyme on an Empty Stomach, another strategy that is gaining popularity is to take green papaya in the powder or capsules, or blended up in a smoothie, on an empty stomach.
Under these circumstances little hydrochloric acid would be produced and the papain and other enzymes could pass into the small intestine in larger amounts. From here they are believed to be absorbed into the bloodstream where they can exert an anti-inflammatory effect throughout the body.
Proteolytic enzymes in the bloodstream are known to reduce inflammation in your body, most likely by scavenging damaged and oxidized proteins and breaking them down.
These damaged proteins are implicated in a variety of debilitating autoimmune disorders such as severe allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome and a weakened immune system that is much more vulnerable to infections and disease.
Papain and other proteolytic enzymes are also understood to break down fibrin protein, which is involved in both the formation of dangerous blood clots and provides a protective coating for cancer cells.
It is this action of potentially dissolving cancerous cells protective coating that has many experts interested in papain for use in cancer prevention and possibly even as part of a treatment for cancer.
The protein digesting enzymes from papaya fruit are generally recognized as safe and well tolerated when used internally. Despite its many benefits, there are some papaya enzyme precautions and some potential papain side effects to be aware of which will be covered next.
Have you used papaya enzyme before to improve your digestion or reduce inflammation in your body? I’d appreciate hearing how they worked for you personally.
If you’d like to try an even stronger source of papain and other papaya enzymes and alkaloids then see the page on the beneficial effects of papaya seeds.

Taking eat fruit after a meal isn’t generally recommended as it can have a negative effect on your digestion, papaya is one of the few exceptions
Papaya fruit is a rich source of valuable proteolytic enzymes, such as papain, chymopapain, caricain and glycyl endopeptidase, that can greatly aid in the digestive process. This fact especially true of meals that contain meat or other concentrated forms of protein.
These papaya enzyme can have many other health benefits and may have an even more important role to play when taken on an empty stomach.

Protein Digestion and Papaya Enzymes

Eat large amounts of bad quality meat each week that can put great strain on our digestive system and enzyme producing pancreas. Processed meats, with additives such as the potentially carcinogenic sodium nitrite, are particularly worrying from a health perspective.

We make matters worse, rushed meals, extra large serving sizes, low digestive enzymes and stomach acid production, and poorly functioning digestive systems in general all contribute to this meat often ending up only partially digested by the time it reaches the lower intestine.
Here it can putrefy as it is acted upon by masses of flatulence causing bacteria. But smelly gas is the least of the potential health problems caused by undigested protein in the colon.
The place to fix flatulence and other more serious health issues associated with poor digestion, such as constipation, leaky gut syndrome and IBS, is not at the end of the process in the colon, but at the beginning.
There are certain foods that really need to be avoided for a while. Proper chewing is also important to break up food and can significantly assist carbohydrate digestion, but to get a head start on protein, proteolytic enzymes like the papain enzyme in papaya can really help.

What is Papain ?

The  proteolytic term actually means protein digesting and, as an enzyme, papain is one of the most effective at breaking down meat and other proteins, comparable to the enzyme pepsin that we produce in our pancreas.
Actualy papain is often preferred to pepsin in scientific cell isolation procedures as it is considered a more effective enzyme. It is also used commercially as a meat tenderizer.
Papain works by cleaving the peptide bonds of complex proteins, breaking them down to their individual amino acids, ready for use in the growth and repair of your body.
Introducing the papaya enzyme papain into a meal containing meat can significantly speed up its digestion. It may also help with the breakdown of other ‘troublesome’ proteins, such as the gluten in wheat and the casein in milk, that are often implicated in digestive problems.

Other Digestive Enzyme Benefits of papaya

Do suggest that papain and other plant based enzymes would be destroyed in the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and see no value in them.
And, other nutritional experts believe that while papain may be rendered inactive with high levels of stomach acid, at least some would continue working again once it passes through to the alkaline environment of the small intestine.
Aside from these varying views, there is often a period, estimated at around half an hour to an hour, between when food is first eaten and when large amounts of hydrochloric acid is produced.
During this time, salivary enzymes and any plant-based enzymes in the food (or taken with it) begin the process of digestion. In this window of time the addition of papain into a meal can greatly increase protein breakdown.
Additionally, since papaya as a soft fruit doesn’t require much digestion itself, some of its enzymes may move into the small intestine before large amounts of stomach acid is produced. Once in our intestines, papain and other papaya enzymes can help clear undigested protein-based debris and waste products.
Aside from helping to clear bloating and flatulence issues, proteolytic enzymes may also aid more serious digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome and help prevent fungal candida overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract.

  Green Papaya is Better for Digestion

Fact, Green fruit contain significantly more papaya enzyme than those that are fully ripened. That said, perhaps with the exception of green papaya salad, it’s not as appetizing for most people.
Bright orange papaya, aside from tasting sweeter, is also likely to contain more antioxidants and vitamins and have many other health benefits.
As a compromise, use papayas that are just ripening but still have a little green on them.  Also use sections of fully green papaya in digestive and anti-parasite smoothies.
A convenient and potent alternative rich in papain enzyme are green papaya supplements. If fresh papaya is unavailable or too expensive, green papaya capsules can be taken with a meal high in protein and are an easy way to improve its digestion and avoid intestinal problems later on.