© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/urine-for-a-treat/
A type of mushroom called Amanita muscaria grows in some parts of Siberia, and it contains a cocktail of hallucinogenic chemicals. One who consumes the sun-dried mushrooms will usually experience euphoria and hallucinations, but one will also experience a host of unpleasant side-effects, such as nausea, twitching, and an increase in sweat and saliva output.
Most of the unwanted side effects can be avoided by putting the mushrooms through a special filter: a human. In the Koryak tribe in Siberia it is customary for an individual who consumes the mushrooms to save his or her urine in a pot for others to drink. The mushrooms’ active ingredients are not metabolized by the body so they are excreted into the urine, but the chemicals which cause the unwanted side effects are filtered out by the kidneys. It is said that the potency of the mushroom does not decrease significantly until about the seventh time through.
But not everybody who imbibes urine is doing so for psychoactive pleasure-seeking. Many people drink it because they believe it makes them look and feel healthier, or sometimes because it’s their last resort for survival.
The popular belief is that urine is a germ-ridden fluid, but as is often the case, popular belief is at odds with reality. Urine from a healthy person is actually relatively sterile. It is unknown how many people in the world deliberately drink their own urine, but the practice is particularly popular in Indian and Chinese cultures for its purported health benefits. In June 2001, a Chinese news feed reported that more than three million Chinese people drink their own urine to stay healthier. This practice is called Urine Therapy, and its promoters credit urine with a number of curative powers.
Though there is nothing more than anecdotal evidence to support it, the drinking of one’s own urine has historically been credited in curing irregularity, fluid retention, abdominal pain, food allergies, exhaustion, chronic illness, hair loss, weight problems, lack of energy, jaundice, scurvy, gout, “hysterical vapors,” and more. It can also presumably cure pleasant-smelling breath.
It is true that urine contains many vitamins, hormones and nutrients that are essential to the proper functioning of human body. This is because the kidneys only absorb what is immediately necessary, and pass the leftovers on to the bladder. But it also contains unhealthy metabolic waste by-products, and toxins such as ammonia and formaldehyde. It is no surprise that the health benefits of urine therapy are highly controversial, and that the practice is subject to a lot of criticism. No formal studies have validated urine therapy, though it is highly doubtful that any organized scientific effort has ever been made.
One point of concern is that urine allows dangerous toxins to be re-introduced into the body. Environmental contamination can introduce small amounts of arsenic into a person’s diet, and this deadly poison can become harmfully concentrated in urine. Similar effects can occur with other toxins, and with certain drugs such as the hormones in birth control. Consumption of urine can not only harm one’s social life, but might also compromise one’s health.
One component of urine which has been proven to offer health benefits is urea, an ingredient which is added to some medicines. In my research I learned how the pharmaceutical companies go about collecting the urea for their products, and I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say that this knowledge will now haunt me anytime I step into a Port-a-John brand portable toilet, or see a horse relieve itself.
Consuming urine for health or cosmetic purposes is certainly not a new pursuit. Aztec physicians administered urine as a drink to relieve stomach and intestine problems, and there is evidence that the ancient Romans used the bleaching power of urine as a teeth whitener, supposedly originating in what is now Spain. Today, some runners will occasionally drink their urine to replace lost electrolytes.
There are many stories of individuals drinking their own urine in survival situations, such as to avoid dehydration in the desert or on ships adrift at sea. But urine contains a very high percentage of salt, which will accelerate dehydration in most cases, much like drinking seawater. Introducing urine into an already dehydrated body is not advisable, as it will most likely result in kidney damage. It may also cause vomiting, which will further dehydrate the body.
But it turns out that urine is not completely useless when it comes to survival. The U.S. Army’s Combat Feeding Directorate has spearheaded the development of special dehydrated food packs where urine can, in an emergency, be used to rehydrate pouches of dried chicken and rice. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any critical reviews of the unique food rations’ flavor. There is also the portable purifier invented by Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway) which uses distillation to purify any tainted water, including urine. He demonstrated his invention by drinking his own purified urine at a medical and information technology conference in 2005.
Some people drink urine as a sexual fetish. This practice is known as urophagia.
Does urine offer any benefits as a health beverage? It is difficult to be certain, but probably not. It could be that someone who is experimental enough to attempt the practice is particularly susceptible to the placebo effect. But even if it can improve one’s health, perhaps the more compelling question is how this benefit was discovered. And how did the Koryak tribe learn that the hallucinogenic properties of the Amanita muscaria mushroom are passed into one’s urine?
Given that urine really doesn’t contain any vitamins or nutrients which can’t be obtained through a healthy diet, urine therapy seems a pointless and somewhat risky pursuit. If anyone would care to speak in the defense of this practice, please do so. Just be sure to use some mouthwash first.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/urine-for-a-treat/
Since you enjoyed our work enough to print it out, and read it clear to the end, would you consider donating a few dollars at https://www.damninteresting.com/donate ?
Ok, so you think peeing in the shower is gross…
Actually, seawater and urine can be used effectively for emergency hydration (the seawater can be added to freshwater at a 1:3 (sea:fresh) ratio). Read ‘Skeletons on the Zahara’ for more info.
Oh. I thought that was Red Bull.
Freaknasty.
I hadn’t heard about the health benefits of urine and neither had I heard of the side effects but aside from drinking it there are other survival uses for it I have heard that it can be used to sterilize a wound or cure athletes foot if any one has the facts on this it would be interesting to know. damn interesting and damn gross too.
Talk about taking one for the team. This couldn’t have been too pleasant to research. As for getting high on mushroom laden pee, I have to wonder two things. 1. What’s in it for the poor schmuck who has to go through the ‘unpleasant side effects’ first, other than the obvious satisfaction of getting idiots to drink his pee?
2. Whatever happened to buying a dime bag, a bag of Doritos, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, and watching Heavy Metal all weekend?
I’m just glad I didn’t read this while eating breakfast. ;-)
When and who started this line of theory(fact?)
Check out “Golden Fountain : The Complete Guide to Urine Therapy” on Amazon.com, and look at the customer reviews. Most of them seem to be serious, and then there’s “Peein’ Ian”. Hilarious.
psyOtic said: “I have heard that it can be used to sterilize a wound or cure athletes foot if any one has the facts on this it would be interesting to know.”
Urine was used quite a bit in the Civil War for the purposes of cleaning wounds. You can imagine the line of soldiers who volunteered their services when an officer was wounded. But I decided to limit the article to cases where people deliberately put urine their mouths, otherwise it would have been much too lengthy.
Sheesh! OK, I don’t care if pee is the fountain of youth, I will not consume it! Even if it’s the last resort of fluid I have left I’d probably rather just dry out than drink urine… And I fail to see how urine can be sterile, I mean if it really was good for you then why the heck does your body insist on getting rid of the stuff if you try to hold it in for a couple of hours, mmmm?
I’ve read in the past that urine is effective against jellyfish stings… though this appears to be disputed depending on the source… I suppose anything is worth a try when in pain but it would seem to me that this is so contradictory and would potentially lead to infection and such.
Waste not, want not.
I saw a pretty official documentary on the Discover Channel saying that urine really helped jellyfish stings.
I just hope I’m running Mars before the ice caps melt and Waterworld happens here on earth.
20 years back, living in a crappy part of town, I was subjected to mail thieves at my apartment building. With a little grape kool-aid powder, sugar and beer supplied urine I restored an empty champagne bottle and mailed it to myself with a birthday card. It was soon stolen.
turns out, I may have actually helped someone!
Cheers!
I knew a lady who drank a cup of her own urine each morning. I can’t tell you much about her physical health, but it seemed to affect her mental state a lot. She started doing crazy stuff like drinking urine.
Well, I was thirsty until I read this. Nasty!!!
Oax said: “20 years back, living in a crappy part of town, I was subjected to mail thieves at my apartment building.
Finally, we meet. Perhaps you should consider a lock next time, then I’ll stop rummaging through your stuff. Ps: your aunt says your uncle is ill.
Prime Minister Begin delighted in drinking a glass full. Anwar Sadat still considered him sane.
Eric Leeson said: “Finally, we meet. Perhaps you should consider a lock next time, then I’ll stop rummaging through your stuff. Ps: your aunt says your uncle is ill.”
Can’t talk now… working on the exlax frosted birthday cake…
It comes out for a reason and that isn’t to put it back in.
An old lady I know used to be very ill, I had to go to her house every day and make sure she was OK…
Then one day she was lying on the floor unconscious. so I called an ambulance, and when she arrived in the hospital the doctors said that she wasn’t doing so good. Then her son arrived and he drinks his own urine. So he made her drink urine, and slowly she became better. Now she drinks her own urine every day, and she’s a lot better than she used to be. I only have to check on her 2 times a week.
This is an odd method to maintain health but it works.
When Norman Cousins was in the hospital, he poured apple juice in his urine collection bottle. When the nurse came to collect it she said that it looked funny. He said-let me see, then took the bottle and said–let me pass it thru again, and quickly drank it, much to the dismay of the nurse.
Actually, my aunts in hong kong drink their own urine they had heard from a medicine man. The effects: being more vocal and verbal, smoother skin, whiter teeth, cures ear infections ( i used this on my gf once, it worked), and of course healthier.
my aunts also use these magnetic belts, where they give off fields or sumthing and help rejuvenate the body. i duno about that working or not. they also have a doctor that PINCHEs them to bruise the skin. when it heals, the skin is nicer? i had this done to me, didnt like it at all. the magnetic belts helped me heal alot faster so who knows.
Matter said: “I fail to see how urine can be sterile, I mean if it really was good for you then why the heck does your body insist on getting rid of the stuff if you try to hold it in for a couple of hours, mmmm?”
Your offhand knowlege of biology must be enough to defeat commonplace scientific testing! Genious!
p.s. I have a similar theory. I fail to see how fire could be hot, I mean, if it’s really hot, why would part of it be blue?
Urine for the most part is sterile, unless you have a urinary tract infection.
As for the health benefits of drinking urine, there is not much to say except placebo, and a particularly gross one at that.
If you want to replace missing electrolytes, eat some fruit or have a sports drink.
If you want more vitamins, eat some fruit and vegetables or at least have a vitamin tablet!
For the rehydration of meals mentioned, it doesn’t just use straight urine. You’re meant to use it with a reverse osmosis filter with the urine; i.e., in essence using distilled water.
In the “survival” situation, drinking your own urine will only work for a very short period of time – possibly one or two days. After that, the concentration of urea and salt in your urine will be above serum levels – i.e., you’ll need more water from your body to get rid of the electrolytes in your urine than the actual water you’ve consumed. This is basically why drinking seawater does not help with dehydration. Worse still, urea is quite nauseating and if you vomit after drinking your pee, you’ll lose even more water.
Michael Tam : vitualis’ Medical Rants
Marius said: “Talk about taking one for the team. This couldn’t have been too pleasant to research. As for getting high on mushroom laden pee, I have to wonder two things. 1. What’s in it for the poor schmuck who has to go through the ‘unpleasant side effects’ first, other than the obvious satisfaction of getting idiots to drink his pee?
2. Whatever happened to buying a dime bag, a bag of Doritos, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, and watching Heavy Metal all weekend?
I’m just glad I didn’t read this while eating breakfast. ;-)”
Amen Marius !
It probably started as a bad joke….”Uh, yeah Dude, sorry but I ate your whole stash of shrooms; but hey I made some “tea” with em first, you want some of that?”
Secret Ninja said: “I saw a pretty official documentary on the Discover Channel saying that urine really helped jellyfish stings.
I just hope I’m running Mars before the ice caps melt and Waterworld happens here on earth.”
Yeh, you got that off friends in S3 when one of them got a jellyfish sting and another had to pee on her!!
Discusting!
if its yellow let it mellow. if its brown flush it down. lol
Two words. NO THANKS. Oh and Cathryn, I heard that on wife swap. I do believe by episodes end, it all got flushed.
People hear about Indians drinking their urine…but what they don’t hear, is the Ayurveda that goes into it. Apparently, they consume certain herbs which causes them to excrete err…medicated urine, which they consume without any problems.
They’d be thoroughly amused when they hear that their western counterparts drink raw urine :) Yuk! Come on guys! Pure water is the best thing for us.
but urine is contamiated with bacteria Escherichia coli isnt it??? and E.coli is an
opportunistic pathogen which causes disease in sites of our body where it is not usually located.
how come it is safe to drink???
well, i would still not dare to drink my urine. its disgusting… hahha
If you are in a survival situation and you have to drink water to stay alive it would work for longer than a few days if you were not eating. You will not build up higher consentrations of anything in your urine if you are not bringing anything more into your body.
AHAHAHAHA
Surely there is someone out there who has a documented study to find probable health benefits from drinking your own whizz
Well, common sense would say so……..
I use to pee on my feet when showering, only when nobody was looking at boarding school in 1956 for my athletics feet and I know it works.
Sooo, if im parched, i piss in my mouth. If i have itchy toes, piss on my feet. If im bored, i go find an indian…
I tried Amanita Muscaria and drinking my urine when on them and it made me feel really spiritual and drunk and everything turned Alice and Wonderland style it like strengthened the mushrooms effect heaps! It was amazing. And I’ve practiced urine therapy, my teeth are white as because I rub urine on them, and my skin is perfect and hair strong from urine, and eyelashes long and eyebrows thick, urine from my experience is like the best beauty product out there it makes you look younger and feel fantastic! And drinking urine made my dreams really vivid and long and cool!
I have found my own urine to be an effective wound dressing. Read John W. Armstrong’s book The Water of Life If you want to learn more.
Now, I want to listen to Frank Zappa’s “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow.”
Just checking back in.
I am returned.