A Cup of Urine A Day Will Keep The Doctor Away (page 2)

minimus

Mulan, contrary to what you may've been told, drinking urine is NOT good for you.

kls

I would like to know who tested this to see if this is true. Talk about bad breath .

RunningMan

Quack remedy. No benefits. Potential hazards. Here is an interview with a doctor:

(PAUL) I have been accused of 'taking the piss', but listen up folks - this is serious. Urine drinking is finding favour as a quack remedy for many ailments. Although information on the virtues of urine drinking are readily available on the web - mainly from sites in California - I have been having great difficulty in finding any Australians who would readily admit to the practice. So I asked Dr Robert Farnsworth, urologist at the Prince of Wales and Prince Henry Hospitals, what he knew of the practice.
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "It's a practice that some of the older cultures - particularly third world cultures and Asian cultures - have promoted from time to time as having a health benefit. I'm also aware that there's an increased incidence of this practice in some areas of America at the moment."
(PAUL)What exactly is urine?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "Urine is one of the body's methods of getting rid of waste products, and obviously it's a fluid, so you're getting rid of some of your waste fluid products, but also some of the chemicals in the body, particularly the acids in the diet - they're excreted through the kidneys."
(PAUL) Is it safe to drink?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH)"Certainly in small volumes, provided it's not infected with germs, there's probably no hazard in drinking it. But if you started drinking significant volumes of your own urine, or particularly if you drank almost all of your own urine, essentially what you're doing is recycling your own waste products - you're not excreting them permanently, so it's just the same as if your kidneys are not working - you're going to accumulate them, and that would be very hazardous."
(PAUL) There is a long list of ailments that urine is claimed to fix. I asked Dr Bob. Pain relief?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "I can see no scientific basis for pain relief being achieved - any source of pain being treated, or cured, or assisted by recycling your own urine."
(PAUL) What about skin complaints, such as shingles?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "Again, the same comment would apply."
(PAUL) Is there any benefit for hypoglycemic people to drink their own urine?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH)"Not at all. Again, it doesn't make scientific logic."
(PAUL) And I suppose you'd say the same of cures for cancer, leprosy and AIDS?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "Et cetera, et cetera . . . .yes."
(MAN'S VOICE) "Ah . . .there's nothing like sinking a bit of piss with the mates . . ."
(PAUL) What are the possible side effects that someone can have from drinking their own urine?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "It's possible your urine could be infected, so you're ingesting bacteria and maybe viruses, and that could be hazardous - it's biologically illogical and also hazardous"
(PAUL) Not only are people claiming that drinking urine is good for you, but using it as a balm, using it for enemas, gargling, douching, eye and ear drops, and even for sniffing to relieve symptoms of asthma. Does any of this strike you as sensible medical procedure?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "They all seem fairly fascinating habits, but again I can't see any scientific benefit from any of them."
(PAUL) There was at least one case where the claim did appear to be based on a scientific fact. Drinking urine can help with jet lag, because of melatonin.
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "I'm not too sure of the scientific logic behind recycling your own melatonin, but my preference would be to take a pill, actually, rather than to recycle my own urine."
(PAUL) One thing they say is, 'Well, the AMA is against this because it's free.' Is that a logical argument?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "Not at all, and I don't think the AMA would take that position - it would be more relevant to the Pharmacy Guild."
(PAUL) What would you recommend people do with their urine?
(ROBERT FARNSWORTH) "Hopefully, excrete it naturally and then the usual methods of getting rid of the waste product. We have a sanitary system, sewerage systems, etc., and I think they're designed to get rid of it and that's the appropriate place for it."