Apr 11, 2025 12:30:00

Is there really any benefit to drinking urine for health reasons?

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Urine therapy ' is a folk remedy in which a person drinks their own urine, and has long been said to have various health benefits. Even today, some celebrities and influencers drink urine for health reasons, but Dipa Kamdar , a pharmacist and senior lecturer at Kingston University in the UK, explains the question of whether drinking urine actually has benefits or risks.

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Well-known practitioners of urine therapy include Momoko Sakura , the author of ' Chibi Maruko-chan ,' Mankitsu (formerly Manshuu Kitsuko), the author of ' Yuyuu Wonderland ,' and news anchor Ichiro Furutachi .

Mexican professional boxer Juan Manuel Marquez drank urine as part of his training before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2009, and former Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai also claimed that the secret to his longevity was 'one glass of urine a day.'

Kamdar said people have been drinking their own and other people's urine as medicine for thousands of years, and most claims about urine therapy are based on personal anecdotes or ancient documents. In Indian Ayurvedic medicine , urine is used to treat asthma, allergies, indigestion, wrinkles and cancer, and the Roman poet Catullus also believed that urine whitened teeth.

Since then, urine therapy has been passed down among people, and in 1945, British naturopath John Armstrong published a book called ' The Water of Life: The Miracle of Urine Therapy, ' and many books on urine therapy have been published in Japan. There have also been reports of urine being used to treat children's seizures in Nigeria, and there is also a urine therapy association in China.

Urine is a liquid produced to remove waste products from the body, and is composed mainly of water (about 95%),

urea (about 2%) produced in the liver after the breakdown of proteins in the body, creatinine , a by-product of the muscle energy release process, salts, and other waste products. 'If urine is just waste, why is it beneficial to drink it?' Kamdar points out.

Proponents of urine therapy claim that urine contains excess vitamins and minerals that the kidneys have removed, and that drinking urine allows you to recycle these nutrients. While this is certainly true, it's unlikely that a glass of urine contains enough nutrients to be of any benefit, and regular vitamin supplements may be more effective.

Some proponents also believe that antibodies in urine can boost the immune system, helping to prevent allergic reactions and treat autoimmune diseases. Others believe that regular urine drinking can rid the body of toxins, improving overall health and purifying the urine and blood. But there's no scientific evidence to support these claims, Kamdar says.

Some social media influencers claim that urine has healing properties and that drinking it or applying it to the skin can help prevent acne and infections. While urea does have a hydrating effect and is sometimes used in skin care products, the levels of urea found in urine are not high enough to have an effect on the skin.

Although proponents of urine therapy claim that freshly excreted urine is sterile, studies have shown that even healthy people's urine contains low levels of bacteria, which can become further contaminated as it passes through the body. Drinking urine therefore poses the risk of bacteria and toxins entering the digestive tract and causing stomach infections and other illnesses.

In addition, urine is a liquid that excretes substances filtered by the kidneys, and taking it back into the body puts an extra burden on the kidneys. It takes more water to excrete the substances taken in by drinking urine, which may accelerate dehydration. In addition, some drugs, such as penicillin antibiotics and heart disease medications, are also excreted in urine, but taking them back into the body may increase the drug concentration in the body and become toxic.

'The mainstream medical community does not support urine therapy, citing a lack of scientific evidence,' Kamdar said. 'Drinking small amounts of urine is unlikely to be harmful, but if you're looking for tangible health benefits, you might want to choose other therapies that are more scientifically based.'