6 effects of papaya on the health of children

According to nutrition experts, papaya is not only one of the 10 best weaning fruits, but also very nutritious. So what is the effect of papaya on young children?

Your baby has started to eat solids and you are planning to feed your baby more papaya but do not know if this fruit is good for your baby or not? In fact, for many parents, papaya is the last choice on the baby snack list because many find it difficult to digest. The fact is that if you want to feed your child this fruit early, there's no danger. Let aFamilyToday Health follow up with the following sharing to learn more about the effects of papaya on the health of young children. 

Nutritional composition of papaya

According to everydayhealth , papaya is a tropical fruit rich in vitamins A, C and fiber. Specifically, in 152g papaya contains:

59 calories

15g carbohydrates

3g of fiber

1g of protein

95.6mg vitamin C

58 mcg folic acid

1492 IU vitamin A

286mg of potassium

In addition, papaya also contains a large amount of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, vitamins B1, B3, B5, E and K.

The effects of papaya on young children

Papaya is a fruit with the following health benefits:

1. Improve digestion

Papaya contains papain, an enzyme that effectively breaks down complex food structures. Therefore, regularly feeding a baby about 60-80g of papaya can help improve digestion.

2. Increase immunity

The child's immune system is still developing and not as strong as the adult's, so the baby is very susceptible to common diseases such as colds and flu . Papaya is rich in vitamin C, an essential nutrient that strengthens the infant's immune system and protects them from harmful bacteria and viruses.

3. Treatment of ulcers

Papaya is rich in vitamin A, which helps to protect young skin from burns and sores. If your baby has a mild burn or rash , you can apply papaya powder to the baby's skin to reduce the burning sensation.

4. Increase metabolism

Papaya is rich in folic acid, which converts homocysteine ​​into amino acids. Homocysteine ​​can damage blood vessel walls and lead to stroke . Therefore, feeding your baby papaya regularly can help protect him from heart-related diseases in the future.

5. Prevent colon cancer

Studies demonstrate that the antioxidants present in papaya can help prevent colon cancer .

6. Cure constipation

If your baby is constipated , you should feed your baby 60-80g of crushed papaya twice a day. Papaya is a natural, fiber-rich laxative that helps in treating constipation very effectively.

Notes when feeding the baby papaya

Here are a few things to keep in mind when adding papaya to your child's diet:

According to experts, you can feed your baby papaya at 7 months. However, if you want, you can still feed your baby earlier (before 6 months old).

Before feeding your baby, check to see if the papaya is fully ripe. If you feed your child an unripe papaya, he or she may experience an upset stomach.

During the first 4 days of feeding your baby, you should only give your baby a few spoons and observe if the child has allergies or not. If your baby has unpleasant symptoms, stop feeding them right away. If your baby is fine, you can continue to offer this food.

You should only feed your baby papaya in moderation, avoid overeating because it can cause stomach pain. In addition, eating a lot of papaya will also lead to an excess of beta-carotene, which causes jaundice.

How to choose to buy papaya for your baby

Choosing to buy papaya for your baby is quite simple. When buying fresh papaya, you should choose fruits grown according to Vietgap standards. Choose fruits that are long, heavy in hand, even ripe, with sticky plastic stalks, these fruits are usually sweet, delicious, have few seeds, thick meat while the large, round, plastic-dried stalks are usually many seeds, thin meat. . If you want to feed your baby instantaneously during the day, you should choose fruits that are dark yellow or orange, and if you are going to let your baby eat them in a few days, choose greenish ones.

The secret to preliminary processing of papaya

After buying papaya, wash the papaya under running water to remove any stains on the peel. Then, soak the papaya in an aqueous solution of white vinegar to remove all the bacteria. 

When you want to feed your baby, you should peel, cut along 2 parts and use a spoon to remove the seeds. If you are careful, you can rinse it with cool boiled water to ensure that all papaya sap is removed. You can use a spoon to scrape ripe papaya in the middle to feed your baby right away or if the baby is too small, after scraping, you can filter through a sieve with large holes so that your baby can eat easily. In addition, you can also use preliminarily processed papaya (grated, pureed) to make delicious snacks for your baby.

Delicious recipes from papaya

To help your baby feel more delicious, you can combine papaya with other foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, oatmeal, yogurt, apples, pears, sweet potatoes ... to prepare food. for baby.

1. Papaya and peach yogurt

Resources:

1/4 cup pre-cooked papaya

1/4 cup peaches finely ground

1 box of yogurt

Perform:

Mix peaches and papaya together, then add yogurt to mix well and let your baby enjoy.

2. Papaya and pear yogurt

Resources:

2 tablespoons finely grated papaya 

2 tablespoons pureed pear

1 box of yogurt

Perform:

You mix the papaya and pear together, then add the yogurt, mix well and let your baby enjoy.

3. Papaya smoothie

You can cut the papaya into small pieces, put it in a blender and add a little milk to the recipe. With this recipe, you have a delicious papaya smoothie for your baby right away.

4. Papaya Porridge with Shrimp and Meat

Resources

Half a cup of pre-cooked papaya

1 egg

50g ground shrimp meat

1 cup of white porridge

Perform:

With eggs, you should wash, boil, then peel, separate the yolk and crush.

Then, put the pre-cooked porridge into the pot, boil, add ground shrimp and stir well. Boil for 15 - 20 minutes, then add papaya and yolks, season to taste, cook for another 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. Ladle into a cup, let it cool and let your baby enjoy.

With the useful effects of papaya mentioned above and a quick and simple way to quickly and easily turn into delicious baby foods, immediately add this fruit to your baby's snack menu.