Placenta appears to be pretty controversial, as there is no stronge evidence on the benefits it delivers. The benefits of eating placenta are confusing although it’s now a very common practice among celebrities and many young mothers.
The organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy can bring benefits to new mom’s health if properly recycled, processed and consequently used in foods, as longtime tradition and history unfold. The placenta is becoming a very popular side dish among women immediately after child birth, as the organ that develops into the inner structures of the body has a handful of nutrients, vitamins and beneficial substances that do good, preventing postpartum depression.
Or at least we all thought so, until a recent article debated the subject and revealed fuzzy findings on the matter. The study is published in the Archives of Women’s Mental Health.
US, Canada and Europe have started to embrace the practice that is hundreds of years old, when our ancestors used to mix it with milk to benefit from its added value to nutrition.
Eating placenta prevents postpartum depression, reduces pain and postpartum bleeding and increases breast milk production and encourages early bonding between mother and child. As weird as it sounds, the inner substances and parts our body produces come with huge amounts of benefits, as the aim of our very body is to gather all that it has best to offer protection and enhance our general health level.
But by now, a serious and extended research on the advantages and disadvantages this habit involves hasn’t yet been released, as all the statistics lack information and realistic comparison in different cases, attitudes and behaviors. There is still no good data for or against the therapy.
Everything is rather based on traditional beliefs that have spread through word of mouth over the years, becoming now a real trend among celebrities.
Since placenta started to become the side dish that can be ingurgitated, only 10 studies have been performed, examining placentophagy, as the technical term for this particular eating habit is known.
The studies were published between 1950 and 2014, offering help and shedding a bit of light over the matter.
2013 was the year that revealed a most relevant research on this subject, based on an internet survey meant to reveal some truths. Apparently 40% from the total number of women asked via online debates, reported a better mood.
However, another research on the habit of eating placenta shows that it’s most efficient immediately after birth. This was observed in rats that usually eat their placenta a few minutes after they deliver. This was a starting point for researchers to conclude that placenta is a very sensitive tissue, exposed to deterioration when left for more than 24 hours at a room temperature.
All in all, opinions vary and a team of researchers and reproductive psychiatrists are in the phase of gathering all information to come up with a clear and unified answer that offers most relevant information based on facts and statistics rather than unclear procedure and incomplete studies. What is known by now is that placenta brings benefits indeed, but we don’t yet know to which extent does that.
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