Blissful Birthing’s team of labor and postpartum doulas, lactation counselors, and placenta encapsulators understand special diets. We all have personal, and professional, experience with dietary restrictions; our two main encapsulators follow vegan and vegetarian diets. It was important when selecting capsules for placenta encapsulation that I found the option that would be the least restrictive to the greatest number of clients.

Special Diets

Whether you follow a special diet for religious, medical, or personal reasons, the capsules we use should be able to consumed by most, if not all. If you’ve read our other blog posts or checked out our service page, you know that we offer both unflavored and flavored options. Our brand of choice is Capsuline.

Their unflavored vegetarian capsules are made with HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) which is derived from trees. They are non-GMO certified, Kosher Parve, Halal certified, and gluten-free. The flavored capsules contain gelatin derived from beef, but contain no pork. They are also gluten-free, and Kosher and Halal certified.

Fun Fact: Our most requested capsule flavor is Berry!

If I follow a special diet, can I consume my placenta?

The short answer is – ____________!

I thought it would be interesting to look into the answer to this question. Boy, was I right! By no means am I an expert on all dietary restrictions and I am always up for gaining more knowledge. Here is what I found:

Can I have my placenta encapsulated if I follow a Kosher* diet? According to some Rabbis, YES! There appears to be a distinction between humans (bipeds) and animals which makes consuming your placenta in pill form acceptable. Also, once the placenta is dehydrated, ground up, and put into pills it is no longer seen as food under Jewish law (because you won’t taste it).

Is my encapsulated placenta Halal? I had much more difficulty finding information on this. However, it seems that there is nothing wrong with consuming the placenta for medicinal purposes.**

Can a vegan consume their own placenta? There are a lot of gray areas in the vegan world (some vegans won’t eat figs because there is at least one dead wasp inside, others won’t eat almonds because of the exploitation of bees, etc). So a lot of it comes down to personal choice. Perhaps the strongest argument that it is permissible for a vegan to encapsulate their placenta is that they are willingly consenting to it and are not exploited in the process.*** The same rational would hold true for those following a vegetarian diet.

Additional Readings

Placenta Encapsulation FAQ
Let Them Eat…Placenta?
Placenta Previa

Resources

*Eating Placenta: Is it Kosher?
Eating the Placenta: A Halakhic Option?
** Using the Placenta for Medicinal Purposes
*** Can Vegans Consume Their Own Placenta?

The content of this post is for informational purposes only. This blog cannot diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Reading this post should not take the place of consultation with your healthcare professional.

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