Product Overview
NOW Chewable Papaya Enzymes are mint-flavoured lozenges to chew or dissolve in the mouth after meals, 180 lozenges to the bottle. A serving is two lozenges, so there are 90 servings.
The maker uses whole, unripe, spray-dried papaya powder — 40mg per lozenge — and adds papain, bromelain from pineapple, and the enzymes protease, lipase, cellulase and alpha-amylase. Mint and chlorophyll give the flavour and colour, and NOW notes the lozenge also works as a breath freshener.
Key Benefits
- Protein-digesting enzymes — papain (from papaya) and bromelain (from pineapple) break down protein. They are the same enzymes used to tenderise meat.
- A broader enzyme mix — lipase acts on fat, amylase on starch and cellulase on plant fibre.
- After-meal comfort and fresh breath — a pleasant mint lozenge that many people simply like after a heavy meal.
What Digestive Enzymes Can and Cannot Do
The label says the body’s capacity to make enzymes diminishes with age. That is broadly true, but in a healthy person the pancreas still makes far more digestive enzyme than a lozenge adds, and the evidence that enzyme supplements improve digestion in people with normal digestion is limited.
Where enzymes really matter — pancreatic insufficiency after pancreatitis, with cystic fibrosis or after pancreatic surgery — the answer is prescription pancreatic enzymes at much higher doses, managed by a doctor. Do not use papaya lozenges to manage pancreatitis or any pancreatic condition yourself.
Ongoing indigestion, heartburn, bloating or a change in bowel habit is worth a doctor’s visit — sooner if it comes with weight loss, vomiting, difficulty swallowing or black stools.
Key Features
- 180 chewable lozenges; 2 lozenges per serving; 90 servings
- 40mg whole unripe papaya per lozenge, plus six enzymes
- Mint and chlorophyll flavour
- Non-GMO and kosher, as stated by the seller
- Quality tested and packaged by NOW Foods, USA
Ingredients / Specifications
The listing gives only part of the panel; the full figures below are from the supplement facts panel in the product photos.
Per serving of 2 lozenges: calories 5; total carbohydrate 2g, including 1g sugar alcohols (sorbitol and mannitol); papain (from papaya, 2000 USP/mg) 100mg; papaya fruit powder 80mg; bromelain (from pineapple, 2400 GDU/g) 20mg; protease (5000 FCC/g) 20mg; lipase (10,000 USP/g) 2mg; cellulase (4000 FCC/g) 0.6mg; alpha-amylase (25,000 USP/g) 2mg.
Other ingredients: stearic acid (vegetable source), magnesium stearate (vegetable source), silicon dioxide, peppermint leaf powder, peppermint oil and sodium copper chlorophyllin (chlorophyll).
Not manufactured with wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish or tree nut ingredients; produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing these allergens.
How to Use
- Adults: chew or dissolve 2 lozenges in the mouth after meals, or as needed, as the label directs.
- For children over 4, the label gives 1 lozenge after meals. Supervise young children, and see a doctor if tummy aches keep coming back rather than treating them with lozenges.
- Stay with the label dose — sorbitol and mannitol can loosen stools if you take a lot of lozenges.
Who Is It Suitable For?
Adults who want a mint lozenge with digestive enzymes after meals.
- Allergy to papaya, pineapple or latex — do not take it. The label names papaya and pineapple, and people with a latex allergy often react to papaya too.
- Blood thinners — papain and bromelain may add to the effect of warfarin and other blood thinners. Ask your doctor first.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding — the label advises consulting a physician first, as it does for anyone taking medication or with a medical condition.
Why Choose NOW Papaya Enzymes?
A long-standing, clearly labelled product: every enzyme is listed with its amount and activity, which many enzyme blends do not do. Pleasant to take, and a 180-lozenge bottle lasts a long time.
This Is a Supplement, Not a Medicine
A dietary supplement is a food product. It is not a medicine, it has not been through the testing a medicine goes through, and it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Supplement labels use health language — “supports”, “helps maintain”, “promotes” — precisely because they are not permitted to claim treatment. Read them that way. If a listing anywhere promises that a capsule will fix a medical condition, that promise is not one the product can keep.
What a supplement can honestly do is fill a gap in your diet. That is worth something, and it is a smaller thing than most packaging implies.
Talk to a Doctor First
Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before you start, particularly if you:
- take any prescribed medicine — supplements interfere with medicines more often than people expect
- are being treated for a heart, liver, kidney, thyroid or blood condition
- have diabetes
- are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breastfeeding
- have surgery or a dental procedure coming up
Never stop or reduce a prescribed medicine in order to take a supplement instead. That is the single most dangerous thing anyone does with a product like this, and it is what the marketing language quietly invites.
Storage
- Keep the container tightly closed, somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sunlight.
- Do not store it in a bathroom. Heat and humidity break supplements down faster than anything else, and a Dhaka bathroom is the worst place in the house for them.
- Leave the desiccant sachet in the bottle. It is there to keep moisture out, not by mistake.
- Softgels and fish oils are best kept in a fridge in hot weather — they go rancid otherwise.
- Keep it out of reach of children.
- Do not use it after the expiry date, and throw it away if the capsules smell strongly off, have stuck together or changed colour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can children take it?
The label allows children over 4 one lozenge after meals. Lozenges can be a choking risk for small children, so supervise them, and see a doctor if stomach complaints keep coming back.
Does it contain sugar?
About 1g of sugar alcohols (sorbitol and mannitol) per two lozenges, according to the panel. Large amounts of these can cause loose stools.
Is it vegetarian?
The panel lists no animal ingredients, and the stearates are from vegetable sources.
How do I check the pack is in date?
The expiry date is printed on the bottle or the base of the box. Check it as soon as your order arrives. If it is unreadable or close to expiry, message us and we will replace it.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.