Shower, Floss . . . Drink Your Urine? 5 Top Benefits of Urine Therapy

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When you wake up, the routine is probably as follows: you go to the bathroom to urinate, brush your teeth and finally, hop in the shower. For many people, the routine has a twist: they go to the bathroom and drink their own freshly-produced urine, brush their teeth and finally, hop in the shower.

While some may roll their eyes in sheer disgust at the idea of drinking their urine, many people swear by “urine therapy,” an ancient technique of using your own urine (ingesting, injecting, inhaling or applying topically) for health purposes.

Just ask Natalia Perera, a holistic teacher who specializes in Yogic and Nature based Psychotherapy and also teaches Ayurveda. Perera, who obtained her Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of New South Wales, is a believer in urine therapy, drinking her own for more than 10 years. She first heard of this unconventional technique while working at an Ayurvedic hospital in India, where a small group of people explained how urine therapy could promote longevity, youthfulness and boost energy.

“It’s not an alternative to medicine so much as it’s a cleansing technique,” she says. The key for it to be effective is to have a “really pure diet because what you’re doing is actually recycling what you’re putting in your body.”

She admits that the taste took a great deal of getting used to, at first using a syringe without the needle to squirt the liquid quickly at the back of her throat. After 18 months of doing it that way, she became used to the taste and now drinks it like she would anything else. “I catch the mid-stream of my urine first thing in the morning in a glass,” she explains, adding that she then will “usually just ingest that straight back in.”

More About Urine Therapy

Research “urine therapy” and you’ll find that drinking, massaging and even injecting one’s own urine is a hot topic. Many turn to the therapy daily, if for no other reason than to keep their skin in good shape. Others feel it has cured them from certain cancers.

While it’s an ancient practice considered to be sacred, a kind of holy water if you will, the idea of drinking urine came to mainstream (pardon the pun) awareness in the early 1990s. NBC news reporter Tom Brokaw was reporting on a story about a man who survived an earthquake in Egypt, buried deep in rubble for nearly 82 hours. What kept him alive? He drank his own urine.

In fact, many people view urine therapy as a form of self vaccination, believing that it’s a safe way to re-introduce and re-absorb necessary elements to our bodies.

The Urine-Toxicity Myth

It’s often thought that because urine is excreted from our bodies that it is therefore toxic. But the breakdown shows otherwise. It’s 95% water with the remaining percentages as urea, minerals, vitamins, insulin, salts, enzymes and hormones. Therefore, it’s not considered a waste product and is not believed to be toxic.

Top 5 Benefits of Urine Therapy

1. Cleanses the Blood

Urine, because it’s a byproduct of blood, becomes more purified the more it is recycled. Therefore, believers say that the continual recycling of our urine leads to cleaner urine which leads to cleaner blood. Many people feel that this contributes to a cleansing effect that also bolsters immune systems.

2. Improves Heart Health

Urine contains an enzyme called Urokinase, known to strengthen the bloodstream that goes from certain heart arteries and muscles. In fact, Urokinase is used in drug form and sold as a miracle blood clot dissolver for unblocking coronary arteries. But for those seeking a more natural way to safeguard their heart, they turn to urine therapy which may be effective in preventing heart attacks and arteriosclerosis.

3. Fights Cancers

Urine also contains urea, which was found to be an effective cancer treatment by Professor of Internal Medicine, Evangelos Danopoulos. Studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s showed his work with urea helped treat those suffering with breast cancer, liver cancer and even certain lip and eye cancers. In short, urea works to prevent cancer cells from grouping together, killing them by disrupting their metabolic activity.

4. Heals Acne

Urea’s antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral have long been touted for its ability to banish skin conditions, including acne. According to S.K. Sharma, author of Miracles of Urine Therapy (affiliate link), massaging the infected areas with urine up to four times daily will “abolish acne.”

5. Provides Relief from Stings

Naturopathic doctors have found that the acidic pH in urine breaks down the toxins put into your skin when you are stung by a bee or jellyfish. Many people soak a sponge or cotton ball in their urine then apply to their skin for quick, soothing relief.

What are your thoughts? Do you engage in urine therapy or know anyone who has? If you don’t, would you ever consider the technique?

Sources for this article include:

Antonia
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. (http://www.rawfoodhealthwatch.com/)