Eating placenta, an age-old practice in China

From www.straitstimes.com SHANGHAI (AFP) - After Ms Wang Lan delivered, she brought home a baby girl and her placenta, which she plans to eat in a soup - adopting an age-old practice in Chinese traditional medicine. The health-giving qualities of placenta are currently creating a buzz in Western countries, where some believe it can help ward off postnatal depression, improve breast milk supply and boost energy levels. But placentophagy - the practice of eating one's placenta after birth - is relatively common in China, where it is thought to have anti-ageing properties, and dates back more than 2,000 years. 'It is in the refrigerator now and I am waiting for my mother to come and cook it to eat. After cleaning, it can be stewed for soup, without that fishy smell,' Ms Wang said, adding she believed it would help her recover from delivery. My comment: Oral placenta pills are now freely available & registered with the Ministry of Health in Malaysia so the prices are quite reasonable (depending on concentration of the active ingredient, prices vary between RM300-600 per month's supply.) & you don't have to put up with the fishy gooey original raw product.