In this era of an increasingly fast pace of life, career women who are often under immense work pressure place greater importance on the care of their bodies. Speaking of skin care and beauty, from Vitamin E, royal jelly to collagen and various plant essential oils, in pursuit of beautiful appearances, white-collar workers have spared no effort. In recent years, a nutrient that was originally a luxury item has gradually entered the lives of ordinary people and gained popularity among white-collar workers - placenta essence.
There are many brands of placenta essence available in the market, with prices varying greatly; online stores sell injections for as high as over 10,000 yuan per vial. The uneven quality of placenta essence products has left many white-collar workers confused about what exactly placenta essence consists of and how much health benefits it can bring to the body.
Nutritional Analysis: One Placenta Essence = Half a Plate of Beef + 2 Eggs + Half a Bowl of Small Shrimp
Data shows that placenta essence refers to cells extracted from the embryo of a lamb inside the mother sheep at around 5 months, containing particularly rich active substances, generally divided into placenta essence and embryo essence. Among all types of placenta essence, the most premium is that of the Alpine black sheep living at an altitude of over 4000 meters, and its market price is relatively higher compared to similar products. "As a skincare product, placenta essence is the most popular in today's beauty market, but it also generates the most controversy," said Liang Jiahong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Liaoning Health and Rehabilitation Society and Senior Nutritionist. "The immunoglobulins, transfer factors, and protein active factors contained in placenta essence are all beneficial for enhancing the body's immunity, while growth stimulating factors, collagen, elastin, multiple amino acids, and nucleic acid compounds are helpful for regulating endocrine functions. It is said that many celebrities maintain their youthful appearance through placenta essence injections, which is actually a type of placenta essence cell activation therapy. The substances in these injections are the most active cells extracted from lamb embryos, and injecting these cells into the human body can effectively accelerate human cell growth, stimulate aging cell renewal, speed up metabolism, thereby fundamentally delaying aging."
"Despite containing trace amounts of growth factors, as long as nutritional balance is ensured, one can find substitutes for placenta essence in daily life," Liang Jiahong told reporters. "Placenta essence contains three major nutrients - proteins, fats, carbohydrates - along with minerals, vitamins, and various enzymes, all necessary nutrients and physiological active substances for the human body. Foods rich in animal protein such as mutton, beef, and eggs can produce similar effects. For microelements, appropriately supplementing foods rich in calcium like small shrimp can also achieve corresponding health benefits. From a nutritional perspective, half a plate of beef plus two eggs and half a bowl of small shrimp is roughly equivalent to one placenta essence capsule."
Expert Suggestions: Use of Placenta Essence Should Be Tailored to Individuals
Liang Jiahong told reporters that the safety of placenta essence largely depends on whether its components are pure and suitable for the individual receiving treatment. There are dozens of types of active cells in placenta essence, and both injection and oral intake may cause allergic reactions. At legitimate placenta essence injection treatment centers, the preparation of injections or oral agents is done promptly based on accurate health data of the recipient. For ordinary people, choosing to consume placenta essence should be done cautiously. According to the characteristics of the physical constitution and health status of Chinese people, different cells need to be combined for optimal treatment results.
"The group of people suitable for placenta essence is relatively large, including those who lack energy, have gastrointestinal dysfunction, or are physically weak after surgery or childbirth, who can take it in appropriate amounts. However, since placenta essence contains a certain amount of immunoglobulin, minors and individuals with special low immune function are not suitable for consumption. Moreover, if expecting mothers wish to use placenta essence, it is best to take it before pregnancy or after childbirth for optimal results."
Treatment Effectiveness: Injection > Capsule > Oral Liquid
Currently, there are three types of placenta essence available in the market: injections, capsules, and oral liquids. Setting aside price factors, how should one use them to achieve the best treatment effect?
Liang Jiahong informed reporters that the extraction and refinement of placenta essence is a very complex technology, and the preservation requirements for live cells are extremely high. After purification, placenta essence can only be stored for up to 6 months under very strict temperature conditions, so currently, it can only be completed in laboratories, making mass production highly unlikely. There are many types of placenta essence available in the market, but most are synthetic. As long as one purchases legitimate products from regular pharmacies, they can achieve certain effects. Regarding price, placenta essence imported from New Zealand is more expensive than others.
Liang Jiahong also mentioned that according to clinical experience over the past seventy years, placenta essence injections yield the best results. However, after injection, if one wishes to maintain the cell activation treatment effect, another injection is needed every two years, and even orally, it requires long-term consumption to maintain the effect. "Influenced by traditional nutritional supplements, most consumers mistakenly believe that placenta essence oral liquid is easier for the body to absorb than capsules. This is not true," Liang Jiahong explained. "The health benefits of placenta essence are achieved by prompting the internal mechanisms of the body to reach adolescent levels, thereby improving skin texture. Therefore, the protection of the active ingredients in placenta essence is crucial."
"If the active ingredients of placenta essence enter the stomach without any protection, gastric acid will destroy the activity of the nutrients, significantly reducing its health benefits. Using capsule packaging avoids this issue because capsules are enteric-coated, capable of dissolving in gastric acid, preserving the activity of various nutrients, and enhancing the absorption and utilization of active substances by the body, thus improving the effectiveness of the product."