http://entertainment.iafrica.com/news/243452.htm

Tom to eat Katie's placenta

Staff Reporter
Tue, 18 Apr 2006

Tom Cruise is intending to eat Katie Holmes' placenta after his fiancée has given birth to their baby.

"I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious. I'm gonna eat the cord and the placenta right there," Cruise said in an interview with GQ.

The statement is the latest in a long line of outrageous comments that critics have called an ongoing publicity stunt.

Just last week the 43-year-old acting superstar revealed that his father was an abusive bully.

Following his latest statement, the GQ interviewer pointed out that it would be quite a task to eat a placenta as it is rather large.

"OK, maybe I won't," the star of the forthcoming 'Mission: Impossible III' retorted.

The baby, rumoured to be a girl, is due very shortly and the couple plan to marry in the North American summer.

Some believe that eating the placenta helps avoid postnatal depression, although that's a condition that would apply to the mother — and not the father.

Placentophagia, eating the placenta, is practised in many cultures, although it is less common in western society. In 1998 a British TV chef fried a placenta and served it to his guests.

Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster took their baby's placenta home and buried it in their garden.

Last week Cruise backtracked on previous comments that Holmes would not be allowed to scream during childbirth.

"It's basically just respecting the mother and helping to be quiet. Not the mother," the actor told chat show host Diane Sawyer.

"The mother makes as much noise... and people... you know, she's going through it. She does what she's gotta do. OK?"

He also explained that Holmes would receive medication if necessary.

"Whatever the woman wants. I'm not gonna tell Kate... you know, if she needs an epidural, she's gonna get her epidural," Cruise said.

"And there's this whole thing that if she needs medicine, she needs medicine."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article358354.ece

Stress is linked to depression

By John von Radowitz Published: 18 April 2006

A hormone released during periods of long-term stress has been directly linked to depression for the first time.

Scientists already knew that many people with depression had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. But it was not clear whether cortisol caused the condition or was a consequence of it.

The new study provides strong evidence that long-term exposure to cortisol contributes to the symptoms of depression. The researchers from Harvard Medical School exposed 58 mice to cortisol for both short and long periods of time. The animals were then tested by being placed in a small dark compartment.

Mice given the stress hormone for more than two weeks took significantly longer to emerge from the compartment into a brightly lit open field. They were more fearful and less willing to explore a new environment. Chronic treatment also dulled their reactions to startling stimuli.

The findings, published in the journal Behavioural Neuroscience, fit in with human evidence. People with Cushing's disease, in which too much cortisol is released, commonly suffer depression and anxiety. People receiving corticosteroid therapy for inflammatory conditions and other disorders are also known to have mood problems.

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