Urine: The body's own health drink? - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent



Urine: The body's own health drink?

Some claim it cures everything from colds to cancer, while stranded hiker Paul Beck drank nothing else for six days and survived. So does urine have genuine health benefits?


For its advocates, it is a miraculous elixir that has replaced the morning coffee as their first drink of the day; for most other people, it is bodily waste that should strictly confined to the toilet bowl. But is drinking one's own urine really as good for you as its fans believe?
Last week, British hiker Paul Beck was stranded in the Spanish mountains for six days - and survived by drinking his own urine. The 33-year-old slipped and dislocated his hip while walking. As he waited for rescuers to find him, he tried to exist on powdered chocolate and raw oats, but eventually resorted to urinating into a cup and drinking a few drops a day. He said: "It was pretty awful but in all I did it around five times to keep myself hydrated."
And last year, yachtsmen Mark Smith and Steven Freeman spent 11 days stranded in the South China Sea after their boat capsized and put their survival down to urine.
But apart from possibly helping to keep one alive in extreme circumstances, is drinking urine really good for your health? (snip)