The papaya is considered as a highly beneficial health fruit. It is a cylindrical, large, fleshy fruit with a central cavity full of small black seeds. These days some seedless varieties, too, are available. The outer covering of fruit consists of thin smooth skin of yellowish orange color.

The fruit probably originated in Mexico and Costa Rica but now it is widely grown in all tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Papaya is a delicious and nourishing fruit supplying the body with some of the essential nutrients like proteins, minerals and vitamins. A ripened papaya is a rich source of vitamin C besides containing calcium, phosphorus and carbohydrates.

The health and curative benefits of the Papaya are:
Among the many medicinal benefits of the Papaya, its value for the digestive system is prime. It has the ability to assist the digestion of other foods like an enzyme. It helps in assimilating the maximum nutritional value from food to provide energy and body-building materials.
The unripe fruit of Papaya is an effective cure for roundworms. A tablespoonful of Papaya juice mixed with equal quantity of honey dissolved in half a cup of hot water can be taken as a dose for the purpose. Even the Papaya seeds have the power of expelling the intestinal worms.
The papaya in its raw stage is considered highly beneficial in the deficiency of gastric juices, excessive unhealthy mucus in the stomach, in dyspepsia and intestinal irritation.
The regular intake of Papayas cures the habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhoea.