Not too much…

The other day, I blogged about eating bananas and before that, I also discussed whether it is all right to eat sweet corn too, paying special attention to how they may affect an individual’s blood sugar level. This time around, I want to check out if papayas are all right or not.

Well, this website says that the good news is that papaya is safe to eat BUT fruits are naturally sweet, and since consuming sugar affects blood sugar levels, some people might think that fruits are off-limits. But fruit is actually part of a healthy diet, and it’s OK to eat in moderation.

It goes on to say that papaya isn’t only a good choice for people with diabetes because of its medium GI – eating papaya might also lower your blood sugar. According to some reports, papaya may have a hypoglycemic effect on the body. The fruit contains flavonoids, which are natural antioxidants that may help regulate blood sugar.

Of course, they did add one last word that one should take note of: Moderation is key, though. Try to eat only one or two pieces of fruit per day. It sure looks like it is all right to eat but not too much.

Talking about papayas, I went and bought one the other day and peeled it and cut it into bite-size chunks, ready for consumption.

To start off, I cut off the top of the papaya…

…and after that, I cut it into halves, lengthwise…

Next, I removed all the seeds…

Most people would continue cutting it lengthwise into smaller segments before going on to peel the skin. I am not into that because I am not very gentle and may end up squeezing the fruit too hard and do some damage to it.

Instead, I would cut it into shorter lengths like this…

This way, I would be able to cut off the skin…

…without having to hold on to it tightly.

When he was still around, my late dad would insist that the Indon helper cut away that kind of mushy layer inside the fruit that the seeds would cling to and as they say, like father like son! So, as you can see, I would cut it away …

…too. I wonder how many people would do this – my missus doesn’t bother and actually, I did read somewhere that it is good for health, just that I do not remember what it is good for. By the way, I hear the seeds have some health benefits too!

There you are! My papaya, nicely peeled and cut…

…ready for the eating.

This one that I bought was quite big and I had to fork out a bit over RM7.00 for it. I would say it was well worth it as it was very sweet and was not strong on that papaya smell so everybody in the house enjoyed it very much. Of course, I only ate a bit, not too much!

So far, I think I read somewhere that watermelons aren’t so good and pineapples too even though many are talking about how they are good for people with coughs.