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"Self cannibalisation makes Protestants a wee bit nervous."

You will note that Christ's words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood also made some of his followers nervous too.

Jn 6:60 "Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?""

Jn 6:66 "As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him."

Note that his Apostles did not abandon him at this point, instead Peter declared: Jn 6:68-69 "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Why would a true follower of Christ abandon the Eucharist when Christ teaches about it so clearly? His Apostles do not turn away but instead declare their understanding that he is God more emphatically.

Self cannibalisation makes Protestants a wee bit nervous.

Amen.

Let's see how Augustine viewed the Lord's Supper...

Augustine (Faustus 6.5): "While we consider it no longer a duty to offer sacrifices, we recognize sacrifices as part of the mysteries of Revelation, by which the things prophesied were foreshadowed. For they were our examples, and in many and various ways they all pointed to the one sacrifice which we now commemorate. Now that this sacrifice has been revealed, and has been offered in due time, sacrifice is no longer binding as an act of worship, while it retains its symbolical authority."
And...
Augustine (Faustus 20.18, 20): "The Hebrews, again, in their animal sacrifices, which they offered to God in many varied forms, suitably to the significance of the institution, typified the sacrifice offered by Christ. This sacrifice is also commemorated by Christians, in the sacred offering and participation of the body and blood of Christ...Before the coming of Christ, the flesh and blood of this sacrifice were foreshadowed in the animals slain; in the passion of Christ the types were fulfilled by the true sacrifice; after the ascension of Christ, this sacrifice is commemorated in the sacrament."