Hey y'all! It's Hive account@riverflows writing under the Hive account@naturalmedicine banner, because I wanted to give my earnings from this straight back into the Hive account@naturalmedicine blog to increase our votes for you guys. Upvoting this post helps us put it back into the community.

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a while, and I'd love you to add to it in the comments, adding to the value of this post. What do you use papaya or pawpaw for? What's been your experience? What do you know about it? One of my favourite things about Steemit is what we can learn from each other, and that's why me, Hive account@holisticmom and Hive account@mountainjewel started this initiative - we really wanted us to grow and learn together.

So, Every morning for breakfast in Bali we'd have pawpaw. I love all fruit, and grew up in a country where bananas, pineapples and pawpaws were fairly easy to come by. Yet I have mixed feelings about pawpaw (papaya) - I just don't like the taste. Jamie loves them, and has always been convinced they were good for his digestion. The enzyme in them, papain, helps break down protein in meat and other food sources in the gut, so much so it's used commercially to tenderise meat. It can help break down the gluten in wheat and casein in milk, which can also cause digestive problems. However, I think it's the green papaya which is of most benefit, as it's higher in papain than the overripe fruit. These and other enzymes are meant to break down fibrin protein, which is involved in the forming of dangerous blood clots and coats cancer cells with a protective layer. However, like all natural medicine, there are potential side effects, which I'd look into of course if you were planning on taking it. Papaya powder, I'm told, is great in smoothies, but I haven't come across it.

When I got sick in Bali, I wasn't keen on finding out that one of the local natural remedies around me that could help me was pawpaw (I'm just going to call it that from now on, it's an Australian thing, and you'll just have to live with it!) and J. went off on a mission to find me some, which I forced down my throat as I really don't like it!

In the absence of cranberries or cranberry juice, I was clutching at straws. Fruits with high acidity, however, like limes and pawpaws, are said to help remove bacteria and care for the urinary system because they are high antioxidants and vitamin C. They're also rich in fibre, so can help cleanse the colon, intestines and bladder, as well as containing enzymes that help reduce inflammation. However, it wasn't til later that we learnt that underripe paw paw would have been better.

J. also got the host at our homestay to give us the paw paw seeds too, which also contain papain. Just as it breaks down undigested protein, it can also break down the biofilm and fibrin that covers parasites, particularly the eggs, on the walls of our lower intestine. The more digestive enzymes help improve our intestinal ecology, making it less hospitable to worms and other parasites and make it harder for them to breed. Like paw paw itself, I wasn't fond of the taste, except these had a completely different flavour - a bit like mustard or pepper.

In the end, I was forced to take a course of anti-biotics. I read so many forums on what natural remedies to take, and did try everything I could - kombucha, lime, coconut water, and drinking plenty of water. However, I also got bali belly on top of that, so being violently ill with a UTI was not a time where I felt I could rely wholly on natural medicines as the pain was excruciating. I think it's important to take everything into account with natural medicines and make your own judgement about what's best for your body at the time. I certainly didn't want to end up with a severe kidney infection in the middle of a foreign country, and thanks to advice from many Steemians here who are also lovers of natural medicine yet knew that sometimes antiobiotics are absolutely necessary, I took a course of them, which brought me back to life sharpish so I could enjoy the rest of my holiday.

I haven't given up on the health benefits of pawpaw, and I'm going to hunt down some of that powder for summer smoothies. And I certainly relied on natural medicines to bring my system back into balance when I returned, namely coconut yoghurt and kombucha to restore my gut health. Thankfully I'm back to normal, as I know some of these tropical bugs can persist long after we return home.