It Is Super Safe To Eat Papaya Seeds - Just Be Reasonable

Fruit is natures candy. Only sometimes, nature's candy can be poisonous. Although a colorful diet boosts your health and increases longevity, some parts of the sweetest-tasting fruits can actually be dangerous for your health, like the seeds found inside the tender lychee fruit or the stems and leaves of the immune-boosting elderberry.

But what about papaya? Papaya is an orange, oblong fruit that resembles a melon. Like a cantaloupe, papaya is only semi-sweet but still boasts a satisfying tang. At its center, papaya has dozens of black seeds that are scooped out before the flesh of the fruit is consumed. But if you're someone who likes to put every part of a fruit to use, you might be wondering if papaya seeds are safe to consume.

The good news is that papaya seeds are perfectly safe to consume. These slimy little seeds are high in antioxidants, fiber, healthy fats, and cancer-fighting polyphenols – superfood alert! However, some research shows that papaya seeds can be toxic if consumed in high enough quantities.

Some scientific tests conducted on rats showed that papaya seeds can damage DNA and reduce fertility. But it's important to note that the rats were administered a dose of papaya seeds that vastly exceeds the average human consumption.

A healthy daily portion of papaya seeds is about one teaspoon, and since they're bitter and peppery, that might be all you want anyways! Just one teaspoon of papaya seeds is enough to nourish your body with all of their many benefits, but how should you put them to use?

You can use papaya seeds to top off greek yogurt to enhance its healthy combination of protein and probiotics. If yogurt isn't your style, papaya seeds pair just as well with açaí bowls mixed with granola and coconut.

Not interested in the sweet stuff? You can also use papaya seeds to liven up savory salads like som tom — a traditional sour and spicy Thai salad. They're also great for a blended salad dressing with a peppery kick. And if you're just looking to reap the benefits of these healthy little seeds, you can just eat them right off the spoon.

So while there are parts of certain fruits you should avoid, papaya seeds in moderation are healthy and versatile.