PLACENTA EATING, A MODERN DAY CANNIBALISM?

Even in the world of weirdos, placentophagia will stand out as one of the most bizarre practices ever embarked upon by human-beings!Icheoku wonders, whether the stretch of the human taste-bud will ever end? That humanity can eat the after-birth from a newly delivered woman, sounds too strange to be true but investigation reveals that such practice has been an on-going beastly event of mankind. Admitted that animals usually eat their after-births, but for human-beings, it is rather a strange phenomenon?

Human placenta is allegedly very high in nutrients and is thought to prevent post-natal depression or post-partum syndrome. It is also believed that, eating the dark red, waxy white film-like, usually covered in blood vessels birth-residue, helps bond mother and child better? Icheoku asks, is any of this enough reason for human-beings to cannibalise their own after-birth? Placenta which feels like liver to the touch, is slimy but firm, and smells like fresh meat; is the organ that forms in the womb to link the blood supplies of the mother and baby, providing sustenance to and removing waste from the baby.

Medically, there is no particular health benefits or risk from eating placenta, and the derivative nutrients are no different than those found in the liver. Placenta can be taken as a meaty milkshake, whereby some of the bloody lumps are popped into a blender along with rice milk, bananas and sugar, then blitzed up to form a thick, foamy blood-red liquid with an aroma of fresh meat called placenta-shake. There is also the roast-placenta, which ingredients includes fresh placenta, one onion, one yellow or red pepper, one clove garlic (crushed), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper. Then pre-heat the oven to 180°c (fan 160°c, gas 4). Place the placenta in a roasting tin. Cut the veg into wedges, and combine in a bowl with garlic, oil, bay leaves and seasoning, place the mixture in a tin around the placenta and cover. Roast for one and half hours, pouring off excess liquid as necessary. Serve and enjoy! Other recipes for cooking placentas, include placenta-stew, placenta-lasagna, placenta-jerky (dehydrated placenta), placenta-powder (sprinkle over foods or placed in capsules to take as placenta-pills), placenta-power drinks and sushi-placenta where the placenta is eaten raw. In Chinese culture, the placenta is known as a great life-force and is highly respected in terms of its medicinal value. It is usually dried up through dehydration in the oven, then using a mortar and pestle grind up and then you can mix it with food or ingest it within capsules as placenta-capsule?

Even Tom Cruise in an interview with GQ magazine spoke highly of eating placenta and is believed to have eaten his baby's placenta? In his own words, "You don't know placentas, I do. I've studied placentas. I know dozens of ways to prepare them. I know what wines go with them. What do you know"? Stating that placenta "reminds him of veal, but with a springier texture like heart." Continuing Mr Weirdo said the benefits of eating placenta, include reduced hemorrhaging and a decrease in the likelihood of postpartum depression? According to Mr. Cruise, placenta-tartare preserves the greatest amount of the placenta's nutritional content, and is prepared by mixing one pound of finely ground placenta, one teaspoon of brown mustard, one-half teaspoon of Tabasco sauce, one teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce and brandy, one egg, a pinch of salt, and ground white pepper to taste. Refrigerate the mixture for half an hour to allow the flavors to blend in properly and then serve as a spread on crackers or toast, accompanied by any wine with a subtle red-meat aroma, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot? Icheoku says, what a recipe from the man made notorious for crazily jumping up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch?

According to the face of Scientology, placentas can be eaten cooked too such as in placenta aglio olio e peperoncino, a mixture of placenta, garlic, olive-oil and pepper? His recipe, gently blanch one pound of placenta that has been cut into one-quarter-inch-thick discs. After blanching the placenta for no more than thirty seconds, drain and set aside in a deep-heated serving dish. Heat one cup of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add three to four cloves of crushed garlic and one hot chili pepper pod. When the garlic cloves begin to brown, discard them or they will overwhelm the flavor of the placenta. Pour the olive oil over the placenta. Sprinkle with black pepper and one teaspoon of chopped Italian parsley. Stir well and serve immediately with fresh-baked crusty Italian bread and a sweet white wine?

Of all these placenta delicacies, Mr. Scientology said his favorite placenta dish is placenta meat-loaf; which he begins by chopping one onion and combining it with one teaspoon of black pepper and one sleeve of crushed saltines. Then combine one pound of ground placenta with the onion, pepper, and saltines. Add one teaspoon of bay leaves, one teaspoon each of white and black pepper, a clove of roasted and minced garlic, and one cup of chopped tomatoes. Mix well. Place in a buttered loaf pan, cover, then bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for an hour and a half, occasionally pouring off excess blood. Sounds like a Dracula meal? But with Tom any weirdo is the best form of entertainment?

Placenta contains high levels of various vitamins, such as B6, and eating it increases a mother's blood levels of a hormone known as CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone), a known stress-reducer. This hormone is normally secreted by the hypothalamus. Icheoku says, no matter the supposed benefits derivable from eating an after-birth, the practice is nothing short of the practice of barbarism. Humanity cannibalizing its kind in form of a delicacy is unacceptable under any circumstance and the thought of it is plainly gory.