Urine therapy - the drinking and external application of one's own urine as a healing agent - is an ancient Eastern tradition, claimed by devotees to be the oldest of natural remedies. A former prime minister of India, Morarji Desai, drank a glassful of his own urine every day - and lived to reach his century! Today, an increasing number of doctors, health practitioners and journalists are endorsing urine therapy as an effective do-it-yourself home treatment. Drinking one's own urine, also called uropathy, appears to stimulate the immune system and has been able to cure seemingly incurable disease states. Urine contains compounds that are very specific to the individual from which it comes. It is antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antineoplastic, anticonvulsive, and antispasmodic. It is totally non-toxic.

The use of prescription drugs during urine therapy is discouraged. There is the remote possibility of overdosing on a particular medication by recycling the portion of it discharged in the urine. With your doctor’s approval, if you decide to discontinue any medication, it may be important to reduce the amount gradually rather than stopping suddenly. You may be able to practice urine therapy with small quantities of medicine instead of a complete discontinuation. You do not need to discontinue the use of hormones such as thyroid or the sex hormones. If you have a urinary tract infection, it is best to wait until it is resolved before using urine therapy.

For health maintenance, urine can be drunken once or twice a day. If you can only manage to drink it once a day, morning is best. If you are suffering from some disease, then drink it several times a day including the first urine of the day.

Urine is said to be best the first thing in the morning because it contains hormones secreted during the night. Collect your mid-stream urine. Start with perhaps a 1/4 cup of urine in the beginning. If you find it difficult to drink warm, plug your nose and hold it closed for a while after drinking. The urine can also be chilled, but holding your nose is usually all it takes to get the job done. Rinse the mouth with water afterwards and remember, the longer your nose is plugged the better. It may even be worthwhile using a nose plug so both hands are free while waiting for any residual taste and odor to disappear. When you get used to drinking it, you may increase the quantity of urine up to one cup.

Other methods of use have been proposed which include using urine directly in smaller amounts like 1 - 10 drop or making a low potency homeopathic preparation with only a drop or so. Some encourage diluting the urine if necessary but others discourage that practice. Also, please remember to drink plenty of water during this time.

The Golden Fountain by Coen van der Kroon, is available and probably the most complete book to date on urine therapy.

Martha Christy is a medical research writer and natural health consultant who details her own experiences and research in Your Own Perfect Medicine..

Although controversial, one thing that everyone agrees upon about urine therapy is that it's absolutely free!