The increasingly erratic behaviour of Tom Cruise has raised a few eyebrows in recent months, not least when the actor, albeit with tongue in cheek, suggested he would eat his newborn's placenta. However, this practice is common in come cultures, and placenta is, in fact, incredibly nutritious.
“You only have to see the placenta,” commented one young mother this week, “in order to decide whether or not to eat it.”
But the same logic could be applied to many other foodstuffs when you see them in the raw, as it were.
The trick, as Tom Cruise will doubtless testify, having this week reportedly promised to scoff the placenta and umbilical cord of his newborn baby, is in the preparation.
Roasting the placenta with onions, peppers and garlic is one method of preparation, but others include frying, mincing or turning into pâté. More modern recipes suggest placenta lasagne, or even power drinks, but the 21st-century mother is surely most likely to turn hers into a smoothie with banana, strawberries and yoghurt.
Eating placenta is commonplace throughout the animal kingdom, and also in some non-western societies.
In fact, the real controversy over Tom Cruise’s suggestion that he would eat his baby’s placenta – also known, less palatably, as the afterbirth – centres on the question of whether it was his to eat.
There are many who consider the placenta to be the best and most nutritious thing since sliced bread, and some have criticised Cruise for denying his partner, Katie Holmes, the life-giving, nutrient-rich organ.
Traditionally, any debate on the rights or wrongs of eating placenta has been sparked by the question of whether the organ belongs to the mother or the baby.
If it is part of the baby – at least until birth – then does its consumption by a third party, even the mother, not constitute cannibalism?
This might be considered an extreme interpretation, however, and eating placenta is a perfectly acceptable practice in many cultures.
It was also fashionable in the west in the 1970s among ‘earth mothers,’ who sought to be closer to Mother Nature, and to honour her, by, among other things, eating their baby’s placenta.
In the UK the debate was reheated when chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall cooked a placenta for a programme broadcast by Channel 4.
It was fried with shallots and garlic and dished up on focaccia bread to a party of dinner guests who were more appreciative than the Broadcasting Standards Commission, which issued a severe reprimand.Yet there appears to be no controversy over the placenta’s health-giving properties. It is rich in minerals and vitamins – not surprising, given that its function is to nourish the baby in the womb – and has particularly high levels of vitamin B6, which can help to fight post-natal depression.The placenta is a remarkable organ, developing from the time of conception until, about twelve weeks into the pregnancy, it is able to take over the production of hormones and nutrients. It is more a life-giving than a life-supporting organ, since the baby gets its oxygen and amino acids, as well as vitamins and minerals, through the placenta and umbilical cord. It is also a two-way support system between mother and baby, since it disposes of carbon dioxide and waste matter for the baby; and it filters out potentially harmful substances, too.Most mammals eat placenta, and it is credited with helping to stop bleeding after birth, perhaps because it contains so much oxytocin.
In humans, too, it has been claimed that a mother who eats the placenta appears to stop bleeding relatively soon, though it is difficult to find any scientific evidence for this.
Another reason why it might be healthy for mothers to eat placenta – are you listening Tom Cruise? – is that it can help to make up nutritional and hormonal deficiencies.
Making a baby comes at a high cost, in terms of the minerals, essential fatty acids and vitamins that are used in the process, and many of these are contained in the placenta.
One theory is that post-natal depression can be caused, or made more severe, by the depletion of all or some of these nutrients, and that replenishing them by eating the placenta can help to prevent the condition.If it isn’t eaten, the placenta can be honoured in different ways, with some cultures holding ceremonies and rituals centred around its burial. This is interpreted as a dedication back to the earth, and a year later a tree is planted, to be nourished, like the baby, by the placenta. The thinking is that it has to be left for twelve months to allow the nutrient levels to drop. Otherwise, the soil would be too rich, and the tree would die: which offers more proof, if it were needed, that the placenta is a potent source of nutrients.What, though, does it taste like?
Another male who ate his partner’s placenta after she gave birth in a caravan, reports that, “she didn’t have a fridge, so we left the placenta on a plate for twelve hours, but apparently it does keep” – though it shouldn’t be kept for more than three days.“It was very big, it filled a whole chopping board,” continues the placenta connoisseur. “I cut off all the rubbery bits to get to the ‘steak’. Then I chopped it into small pieces and fried it with garlic, onions, rosemary and thyme.“It was very light, fluffy meat,” was his analysis. “It was a bit like a soufflé steak. It doesn’t taste too strong, but it takes on the flavour of the things you cook with it.”The man’s partner had a bowl-full of the finished dish, with another ten people sharing the rest as part of a celebration. “She is pregnant again and we’ll do it again,” said the man, “but next time, we’re going to have it with fried potatoes and steamed veg on the side.”
Placenta serving suggestion:
To prepare the placenta for eating it is first necessary to separate the meat from the membranes with a sharp knife. Then it can be prepared like any meat.Another method is to dehydrate the placenta, then steam it, adding lemon grass, pepper and ginger. When blood stops coming out of the placenta pierce it with a fork, then cut into thin slices and bake at a low heat for several hours. Then crush it, using food processor or blender, to give you a powder that can be added to cereals or drinks for maximum health giving properties.
