Placenta Eating Fad May Do More Harm Than Good: Study
Call it cannibalism or not, eating placenta a popular trend among new mothers today. A new study claims that there are no proven health benefits and women ingesting placenta don't know what they are eating.
Researchers at Northwestern University reviewed 10 past studies to find that eating placenta or placentophagy did not offer any protection against postpartum depression, reduced post-delivery pain, energy improvements or lactation benefits, which are some of the usually-claimed benefits by advocates.
Instead, the research team expressed concern that there are no systematic reviews of the risks associated with consuming the placenta which absorbs toxins to protect the fetus during pregnancy.
"Our sense is that women choosing placentophagy, who may otherwise be very careful about what they are putting into their bodies during pregnancy and nursing, are willing to ingest something without evidence of its benefits and, more importantly, of its potential risks to themselves and their nursing infants," said lead author Cynthia Coyle. Sans regulation for storage and handling placenta consumption is a potential risk, she said.
Most mammals practice placentophagy, attributed to a variety of reasons including deriving nutrition and the need to mask scent for avoiding predators. For decades now, skeptics of the practice in humans say that animals in the wild stand to benefit from placental nutrients but well-nourished humans in the developed world, where the practice gained popularity, simply don't need it.
Nevertheless the practice has soared in popularity in recent times what with celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian claiming benefits.
"There are a lot of subjective reports from women who perceived benefits, but there hasn't been any systematic research investigating the benefits or the risk of placenta ingestion. The studies on mice aren't translatable into human benefits," said corresponding study author Dr. Crystal Clark.
