Donna Shields – the nutritionist who writes articles for our online Tropical Nutrition Corner – has written an article for one of Wakefern’s online publications highlighting Caribbean Red papaya.
Valentine Wishes With a Healthy Touch *
A red-ribboned box of chocolates or red roses are tried and true Valentine gifts. Let’s face it, red is a rich, vibrant color that most people love, but this year why not send a “red” Valentine’s wish with a healthy touch. While all fresh produce provides a myriad of vitamins, minerals and fiber, who knew that red-hued foods add another nutritional bonus to the mix.
Foods like tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava, red peppers, apricots and papaya, especially Caribbean Red papaya, all get their natural pigment color from a class of phytonutrients called carotenoids. Primary dietary carotenoids include lutein, beta-carotene, lycopene and beta- cryptoxanthin all of which act as anti-oxidants in the body. As anti-oxidants, they tamper down inflammation and can be effective as cancer fighting agents. While many people have heard about the lycopene value of tomatoes and their products, most folks don’t realize that all those other red-colored foods can also contribute lycopene to the diet.
As fruit ripens and gets darker, the lycopene content increases so it stands to reason that a ripe, Caribbean Red papaya would be a particularly good way to consume this important phytonutrient. Papayas, as a terrific source of vitamin C, folate, potassium and the digestive enzyme, papain, along with lycopene make for a very nutritionally powerful fruit.
So this year, use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to try some recipes using Caribbean Red papayas and give the gift of health.
The article then list recipes, for this blog I’ll post links:
Jellied papaya pineapple candy
Papaya-fig nut truffles
*To view article, click on above and find article title in the table of contents
