metaboliq
Papaya nutrition, per serving and per 100 g
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 36 kcal | 24 kcal |
| Protein | 0.6 g | 0.4 g |
| Carbohydrate (available) | 6.9 g | 4.6 g |
| Dietary fibre | 4.2 g | 2.8 g |
| Fat | 0.2 g | 0.2 g |
Serving: 1 cup cubes, about 150 g. IFCT 2017 food code E049, "Papaya, ripe (Carica papaya)", the mean of 6 regions sampled. IFCT does not report glycaemic index, so this page prints none.
The verdict on papaya
Whole fruit
One counted fruit in place of a sweet or a packet snack.
- 1.7 g of protein for every 100 kcal.
- One serving gives 0.6 g of the roughly 58 g of protein a day ICMR-NIN's RDA sets for a 70 kg adult.
- 4.2 g of fibre in a serving.
How papaya fits a plan that loses fat and keeps muscle
IFCT 2017 lists ripe papaya at 24 kcal and 2.8 g of fibre per 100 g, among the lowest-calorie fruits we list. A full bowl costs few calories, which is useful at breakfast when you want volume.
Papaya on its own is light on protein. On a muscle-keeping plan, have it beside eggs, curd or a besan chilla rather than as the whole breakfast.
Papaya in an Indian kitchen
A ripe papaya has yellow-orange skin and gives slightly; scoop out the black seeds. A bowl of chilled cubes with lime and black salt is a common breakfast fruit across India. Raw green papaya is a vegetable: grated into a salad or cooked in a thoran or sabzi, it is crunchy and very light. Pregnant women are often told to avoid raw or semi-ripe papaya; ask your doctor if that applies to you.
Pair it, or swap it
Papaya with curd and a sprinkle of flaxseed, or papaya after an egg breakfast, makes a balanced start.
Worth knowing
Papaya with sugar or in a shake changes the numbers. Raw papaya is cooked as a vegetable and is in the table below.