✦ High in vitamin C ✦ Rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A) ✦ Provides folate ✦ Contains papain enzyme

Papaya is a soft tropical fruit with orange flesh, high in vitamin C and the carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin. The black seeds are edible but usually discarded.

🍳
Preparation note

Eat ripe and raw to keep heat-sensitive vitamin C; a squeeze of lime brings out flavour without affecting nutrients.

Sources: CoFID 2021

Macronutrients per 100g

44.0
kcal
Energy
0.70
g
Protein
9.50
g
Carbs
2.20
g
Fibre
0.60
g
Fat
9.50
g
Sugars
0.19
g
Saturates
0.04
g
Salt

How to read GI & GL

GI (Glycemic Index) rates how fast the carbohydrates in a food raise blood glucose compared to pure glucose (= 100). Low GI ≤ 55 means a slow, steady rise. But GI says nothing about how much carbohydrate you're actually eating.

GL (Glycemic Load) fixes that. It multiplies GI by the actual grams of carbohydrate per typical serving: GL = GI × carbs per serving ÷ 100. This makes it the more useful number for real-world blood sugar management.

Why they can disagree — a food with low GI can still carry a high GL if the serving is large and carb-dense. Conversely, watermelon has a high GI (72) but a low GL (4) because a normal portion contains very few carbs. Always read both together.

Low GL ≤ 10 Modest total glucose impact per serving.
Medium GL 11–19 Moderate impact — manageable for most.
High GL ≥ 20 Significant carb load per serving. Consider a smaller portion.

Source: Atkinson et al., International Tables of GI & GL Values 2021, Am J Clin Nutr.

Glycemic Index & Load

53
GI Score
🟢 Low GI
6
GL / Serving
Low Load

Low GI food — causes a slow, steady rise in blood sugar. Ideal for sustained energy, blood glucose control, and reducing insulin demand.

Glycemic Load (GL = GI × carbs ÷ 100) accounts for portion size. A low GL means this food has minimal real-world blood sugar impact.

Source: Atkinson et al., International Tables of GI & GL Values 2021, Am J Clin Nutr

Vitamins & Minerals

Nutrient Per 100g % Daily Value* Level
Potassium 215 mg 11%
Vitamin A (RE) 78.0 µg 11%
Vitamin C 68.0 mg 85%
Calcium 21.0 mg 3%
Magnesium 17.0 mg 5%
Chloride 11.0 mg 1%
Phosphorus 9.00 mg 1%
Folate 1.00 µg 1%
Selenium 1.00 µg 2%
Niacin equivalents (NE) 0.400 mg 3%
Niacin (B3) 0.300 mg 2%
Vitamin E (alpha-TE) 0.280 mg 2%
Iron 0.220 mg 2%
Pantothenic Acid (B5) 0.220 mg 4%
Zinc 0.080 mg 1%
Riboflavin (B2) 0.040 mg 3%
Thiamin (B1) 0.030 mg 3%
Copper 0.030 mg 3%
Vitamin B6 0.030 mg 2%
Manganese 0.020 mg 1%
Vitamin D 0.000 µg 0%
Vitamin B12 0.000 µg 0%
Iodine 0.000 µg 0%
Monounsaturated fat 0.170 g —
Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) 0.130 g —
Trans fat 0.000 g —
Glucose (dextrose) 4.80 g —
Fructose 4.70 g —
Sucrose 0.000 g —
Maltose 0.000 g —
Cholesterol 0.000 mg —
Beta-carotene 185 µg —
Biotin (Vitamin B7) 0.300 µg 1%
Retinol (vitamin A) 0.000 µg 0%

* % Daily Value is the proportion of an adult EU Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) supplied by 100g of this food. NRVs are the labelling standard — the same basis as the “%RI” figures printed on food packaging — so these percentages are directly comparable with a shop label. They are a single adult figure and do not vary by age or sex, which is why they sometimes differ from UK dietary reference values: the NRV for vitamin C is 80mg where the UK RNI is 40mg. When Nutriofia assesses your own intake in the reports and trackers, it uses the age- and sex-specific UK values instead.

Fibre is shown without a percentage. Our fibre values use the UK Englyst NSP method, while the published 30g daily goal is an AOAC figure — the two are measured differently and a single percentage would mislead. How we source and normalise our data →

Sources: CoFID 2021
Fruits Tropical & Exotic Phytochemical data available 🇬🇧 CoFID 2021 · 14-390