Hilary Duff Is “Still Repulsed” That She Drank Her Placenta in a Smoothie, Two Years Later
"I saw that thing, it looked gnar."
Updated, September 24th, 2020, 12:04 p.m. ET: We all question past decisions we’ve made, and for Hilary Duff, one of those includes drinking her own placenta in a smoothie. The actress has perviously discussed how she sipped down her part of her own organ after giving birth to her daughter Banks Violet, now 2-years-old. Yesterday, Duff rehashed the story on Whitney Cummings’ podcast, Good For You, and she’s torn about her feelings on the ordeal.
“I had a home birth, and my midwives—I call them ‘the witches’—they’re pretty, like, hippy-dippy,” Duff explained. “They were like, usually the moms will put a little tiny piece of it in a smoothie. I literally didn’t even taste it.”
Cummings then joked that maybe Duff’s placenta tastes like strawberries and bananas, to which the Lizzie McGuire alum replied, “I don’t think so girl, I saw that thing—it looked gnar.” Some new moms eat their own placenta because it provides nutrients that contribute to energy and balancing hormones.
I’m still completely repulsed by it, Duff continued.
“I know it sounds gross, but it’s so badass that a woman can grow a temporary organ—and then you can eat it!”
Original post, November 9th, 2018: During her pregnancy with daughter Banks Violet, Hilary Duff kept it real about the trials and tribulations of bringing a new human into the world. And the actress continues to keep it real post-pregnancy. Specifically, she opened up about drinking her own placenta. Yep. It’s a thing.
On the November 8th episode of Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy podcast, the Younger starrevealed that after giving birth, she blended her placenta into a smoothie with “lots of berries and lots of fruit juice.” The final product got rave reviews from the actress.
“It was the most delightful smoothie I’ve ever had,” she said.
The star acknowledge that she couldn’t actually taste the placenta thanks to all the added sugar.
“I haven’t had a smoothie that delightful since I was like 10 years old,” she said on the podcast. “It was calorie-filled with juice and fruit and everything delicious.”
Duff admitted that she initially felt a bit “wigged out” by the idea of eating her placenta, but after researching the potential health benefits, she decided to give it a try. She even revealed that the rest of her placenta was frozen into ice cubes so that she can continue to enjoy placenta smoothies in the future.
According to CNN, proponents of placenta-eating argue that it can help stave off post-partum depression, increase milk supply, and improve bonding with your baby. There’s not a lot of evidence to support this, though, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually recommends against it because of the risks of exposure to bacteria like salmonella.
That being said, the practice has become quite the trend in recent years, with celebrities like Nikki Reed, Blac Chyna, and Kim Kardashian all participating. At the end of the day, deciding to eat your placenta is an individual choice. And Duff’s placenta smoothie experience proves you can’t knock it ’til you try it.