A while back I was sitting naked in a small sauna with 12 other hippies —as you do , ya know, in Portlandia— when the subject of drinking one’s own urine came up—as it does, ya know…nowhere else in the world…
Luckily, this wasn’t my first Bohemian rodeo, so I knew better than to ask if they were serious. Not only were they serious, they were adamant.
Apparently – according to the Homeopath and the Natureopath- drinking one’s pee first thing in the morning provides anti-bodies which fight off illness and disease and miraculously cure all manner of ailments, from MS to psoriasis. But, no matter how much my friends extolled the virtues of drinking my morning pee, I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around trading in my vanilla latte for a self-inflicted golden shower.
In fairness, I did ask myself: If I had a terminal disease and I was told the only way to cure it is to drink my urine, would I consider it? Maybe. But anything less dire, the answer is a resounding “Are you f*cking kidding me?”
So, my next question is: if we were truly designed to drink our urine, WHY IS IT FLOWING OUT OF OUR BODY? My understanding is that it’s because my body is ridding itself of the things that it doesn’t want. #biologicallogic
But I think the real question is this: How do you discern between a weird ‘wu wu’ fad, and something that has actual healing value for your body (or psyche)? We’ve all lived through a myriad of ‘superfoods’ starting innocently enough with blueberries and kale, and descending into the madness that is wheatgrass, goji berries, acai, chia, flax, quinoa, turmeric…need I go on?
Am I saying that none of these have healing properties? Of course not! I am personally guilty of sampling all manner of wacky Ayurvedic and shamanic medicines and healing modalities. Some have worked, others left me feeling coo coo for cocoa puffs— at the end of the day, it’s all about personal experience and discernment.
But what I am trying to say is that maybe we— as in, those of us who are proponents of alternative healing modalities— need to ground some of these fads so that the holistic movement doesn’t seem so flaky.
Yes! to the basics: eating healthy, less processed, more veggie-based food. No! to placenta tartare, coffee enemas and, definitely, drinking urine.
I mean, even if drinking your pee does have value, it’s so far ahead of the curve that I believe pushing for it actually does the movement towards holistic healing a disservice.
I also believe that if we can raise the bar towards basic healthy mindsets, the rest will follow…in time.
And in the meantime, we – meaning all of humanity – need to learn to walk before we can fly….or poop before we can pee…or, um, what am I trying to say? Hell, I dunno…just drink your 8 glasses of water per day, dammitt!