Does Cannibalism Have Implications On Health?

Any Negative Effects?

In the majority of the civilizations, cannibalism is the final port of call. It is made use of only when the alternative is certain death. So if this has been going on for all these hears in the history of humans, there must be some benefits, right? Then again, we all feel a little uneasy thinking about eating body parts of people around us, so does it have a negative impact on health and well-being?

Health Implications

Even if cannibalism seems “wrong,” the good news is, eating cooked human flesh is equally as dangerous as eating the cooked flesh of other species of animals. This is the same case for the consumption of the other body parts of a human. The health implications have proven to be the same as that of eating any other omnivore of any kind.

Consuming A Brain

But having said that, there is one thing that should be avoided by all means. The body part to be avoided is the brain. The Fore people of Papua New Guinea, although they have stopped recently, have been practicing transumption which is eating deceased relatives. These group of people has proven the effects and implications of consuming a human brain.

What Is Kuru?

Have you ever heard of Kuru? Well, allow us to explain what Kuru is. It is actually a unanimously fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Kuru is a prion-based disease similar to BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), which also has another name called mad cow disease.

PrP

Prion diseases are caused due to the formation of abnormal glycoprotein also called prion protein (PrP) in the brain. PrP is a natural phenomenon that takes place specifically in the nervous system. The function it has health-wise has not been fully comprehended as of now. But, PrP has been noted to take part in several diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Laughing Sickness

The Fore people are the only population to ever be hit by an epidemic of kuru and it reached an all-time high in the 1950s. The women belonging to the Fore tribe were dying at an alarming rate and even some of their nearest neighbors were affected. The word “kuru” in Fore language means “to shake.” Kuru aka “laughing sickness” causes a pathologic burst of laughter in the affected people.