Mamey Vs Papaya: Which is Better for You?

Mamey and papaya are both packed with healthful nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These fruits are not just tasty—they’re also creamy and colorful, with a hard skin outside and a soft, sweet inside.

Although mamey and papaya seem quite similar, they have differences that make each fruit unique. By comparing these two fruits, you’ll be able to see which one you like best and which one offers you the most nutrition for your money.

Introducing Mamey Sapote

Mamey sapote, often just called mamey, is an oblong fruit from southern Mexico and Central America. It’s known for its sweet taste, similar to pumpkin, and its salmon-colored, creamy inside.

Mamey trees are giant, growing up to over 100 feet high, and the fruits are sizable too, weighing between 2 and 4 pounds. Mamey has a rough brown exterior that you peel off to get to the good part. When it’s ripe, the inside gets super soft, and it tastes a bit like sweet potato custard.

Not many people outside of Latin America and the Caribbean know about mamey. But now, it’s starting to show up in special stores and markets in North America, so more people are getting a chance to try it.

Meet Papaya

Papaya is a well-known tropical fruit that’s pretty easy to find. The skin turns from green to yellow-orange when it’s ripe, and the inside is sweet with little black seeds that you can eat.

There are mainly two kinds of papaya: the big, longer Hawaiian type and the smaller, round type from Mexico or the Caribbean. A typical papaya weighs about a pound.

Because of its vibrant color, sweetness, and creamy texture, many people love adding papaya to fruit salads, smoothies, and salsa. It also makes meat super tender when used in marinades because of an enzyme it has called papain.

Nutrition Showdown: Mamey vs Papaya

Let’s put mamey and papaya’s nutritional content head to head.

1. Calories and Nutritional Basics

A 100-gram serving of mamey contains 122 calories, with 0.4 grams of protein, 0.3 grams of fat, and 31 grams of carbs.

On the other hand, 100 grams of papaya only have 39 calories, with 0.6 grams of protein, 0.1 grams of fat, and 9.8 grams of carbs.

So when you compare them, mamey has over three times as many calories and carbs as papaya does. Mamey is the one that will give you more energy.

2. Vitamin Content

Mamey is a great source of vitamins C and A. Eating just one mamey can give you 140% of your daily vitamin C and 20% of your vitamin A.

Papaya is also loaded with vitamins C and A, giving you 88% of your daily vitamin C and 10% of vitamin A in every 100 grams you eat.

This means that mamey just slightly beats papaya in terms of these two vitamins.

3. Mineral Examples

Mamey also provides a good amount of potassium, iron, magnesium, and copper, with 22% of your daily potassium in each serving.

Papaya has some potassium too, about 9% of your daily value in each serving, and small amounts of other minerals like calcium, iron, and magnesium.

Overall, when it comes to minerals, mamey has a slight advantage over papaya.

4. Fiber Facts

Fiber is really important for a healthy stomach and heart.

Mamey gives you a generous 5 grams of fiber for every 100 grams you eat.

Papaya has a bit less, with 1.8 grams of fiber per 100 grams.

So when it comes to fiber, mamey is the winner by a good margin.

5. Antioxidant Benefits

Both mamey and papaya have awesome antioxidants like carotenoids and polyphenols, which are really good for you.

Mamey has a special antioxidant called retinol, which is great for healthy skin and may even help you look younger.

Papaya has its own unique antioxidant called lycopene, which might help keep you from getting cancer and heart disease.

It’s tough to say which fruit has the best antioxidants, because they both offer different benefits.

Pros of Eating These Fruits

Besides being yummy, mamey and papaya might also help your body in many ways because they’re full of good nutrients.

1. Keeping Your Heart Healthy

Ingredients in papaya like fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and lycopene are good for your heart—they can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress in your body.

Mamey has similar things like fiber, potassium, and antioxidants that also support a healthy heart.

2. Boosting Your Immunity

Mamey’s super high amount of vitamin C could help your immune system more than papaya. Vitamin C is great for making white blood cells, which fight off germs.

3. Helping Your Digestive System

The papain enzyme and fiber in papaya can make your digestion better by helping break down proteins and making sure you’re regular.

Mamey’s fiber is good for your gut too, and some people say mamey is a gentle laxative.

4. Taking Care of Your Skin

Vitamin C in these fruits helps make collagen, which is important for firm and strong skin. Vitamin A helps with making new skin cells. The great antioxidants in both mamey and papaya can also protect your skin from sun damage.

Mamey and papaya both help to make your skin look young and fresh. Mamey might be a little better for keeping skin young because it has a special antioxidant called retinol.

Different Ways to Enjoy Mamey and Papaya

You can eat mamey and papaya in a lot of fun and tasty ways:

• Cut them open and take out the insides to put in a fruit bowl
• Make them into smoothies, fresh juices, icy slushies, or ice cream
• Create sauces, chutneys, salsa, or salad dressings with them
• Use them to bake desserts like pies, cakes, tarts, muffins, and bread
• Grill them and add to kebabs or top your tacos with them
• Stir pieces into oatmeal or yogurt, or make overnight oats with them
• Combine them with other fruits like mango, pineapple, and melon to make a fruit salad

When buying mamey or papaya, look for fruits that are heavy for their size and have smooth skin that’s brightly colored without marks. Wait until they’re a bit soft when you press them to eat them.

Their flesh should be a deep orange or pink without any dark spots. You can keep ripe papaya and mamey in the fridge for a couple of days. Or, freeze the insides to use later.

Mamey vs. Papaya: Which Is More Nutritious?

Mamey and papaya have different good things in them:

Good things about mamey:

• It has more calories and more carbs, so it gives you energy
• There’s a lot of Vitamin C and Vitamin A in it
• Mamey has more potassium and fiber which are good for your health
• It has a special good-for-you thing called antioxidant retinol

Good things about papaya:

• Has fewer calories
• Comes with an enzyme called papain that helps you digest food
• Contains an antioxidant called lycopene
• It’s usually easier to find in stores

It’s not easy to say which fruit is the healthiest. They both have stuff that your body needs to stay healthy and strong.

Go for mamey if you’re looking for a rich fruit that’s full of fiber and vitamins. But if you want a lighter snack that helps with your tummy, pick papaya. What’s great is that you don’t have to choose one over the other; you can enjoy both and get lots of health benefits!

In Summary

Mamey and papaya are both special in their own ways. Mamey can fill you up with calories, fiber, and vitamins A and C. Papaya is light on calories and has the antioxidant lycopene and the enzyme papain.

No matter which one you pick, you’re going to get a whole bunch of important things that help your body fight germs, digest your food, keep your heart healthy, and more. Enjoying these creamy, sweet fruits can be a fun part of your diet.