Produce News - June 2005
Highlights from the article A recent study has confirmed that papayas with spots have a higher vitamin C content than spotless ones. The Brazilian papaya producer Caliman Agricola S.A, in partnership with the laboratory of alimentary technology of North Fluminense State University in Brazil, has discovered through scientific research that papayas with spots are richer in vitamin C than the spotless ones.
The research was coordinated by Professor Karla Silva, who affirmed that papaya skin are not a sign of disease nor damage, as the consumer may think. On the contrary these spots are a pure concentration of Lascorbic acid, the main active variant of vitamin C.
Papayas produce these spots throughout the year, but during extreme conditions (i.e. summer and winter), the production of spots is heightened. The papaya produces more vitamin C to protect itself against the strong tropical sun and oxidation in the summer, as well as the cold and lack of natural irrigation during the winter. The spots on the papaya skin are a by-product of the heightened vitamin C, which manifests itself on the papaya skin.
From a nutritional point of view, the consumer greatly benefits from eating papayas with spots. Daily consumption means a powerful injection of vitamin C, which provides indispensable health benefits such as combating free radicals, delaying the aging process, strengthening the immune system and effects of vitamin E, inhibiting the accumulation of fat inside the arteries, aiding in the proper bone formation, particularly in children and protecting against several types of cancer and reduction of heart diseases.
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