Papaya is a fruit.

• botanical information
• part used
• nutritional information
• selection
• magick correspondences and uses
• Chinese herbology
• cautions and contraindications

botanical information:

    Botanical name: Carica papaya

    Common name: papaya, pawpaw

    Use the botanical name when ordering seeds (bulbs, etc.) or when looking up information in the library. Common names vary by nation, culture, and region, and sometimes the same common name is applied to different plants.

part used:

    Part Used (food): Fruit.

Part Used (herb): Dried leaf. Information courtesy of Mountain Rose Herbs

nutritional information:

    Papaya helps keep the liver clean and healthy.

    See also Chinese herbalism below for Chinese gender and Chinese flavor.

 

selection:

    Papaya has the number 13 lowest pesticide load of 45 common fruits and vegetables studied in 2006 by the Environmental Working Group and is therefore a food that can be purchased conventionally-grown when organic isn“t available. The EWA explains, “While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.”
    According to USDA and FDA tests on commercially grown foods collected between 2000 and 2005, papaya has a 23.5% (percentage) of samples tested with detectable pesticides, a 5.0% (percentage) of samples with two or more pesticides, an 0.3 average number of pesticides found in a sample, an average of 0.053 parts per million of all pesticides found, and 19 different pesticides found in use growing papaya. These toxic pesticides don’t apply to organic foods.

magickal correspondences and uses:

Magical Uses Love, Protection information courtesy of

Chinese herbalism:

    Chinese gender: yang (warm)

    Chinese flavor: slightly sweet

cautions and contraindications:

    Cautions and contraindications: Papaya is believed to be safe.

    Wild gathering: Avoid wild gathering. Some plants are endangered species. Please grow your own herbs in your own goddess garden.

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