Can you drink your own urine? Your questions answered after Kerry Katona dubs pee ‘spicy’ on the Big Celebrity Detox
VIEWERS were horrified as they watched their favourite celebs down a pint of urine in shudder-inducing scenes on The Big Celebrity Detox.
Kerry Katona dubbed the drink as “spicy” while Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts declared “that is absolutely disgusting”.
The star later told The Sun it was “kinda weird” as he joined stars leaving their lavish lifestyles behind and plunge into a gruelling detox adventure in E4‘s Big Celebrity Detox.
And during the challenge, some celebs even refused to drink the urine, while Megan Barton-Hanson asked: “Can you promise this isn’t going to make me ill?”
But can you drink your own urine? And SHOULD you?
The Sun’s nutritionist Amanda Ursell said there is no nutritional value in drinking your own wee.
“You are weeing out the excess stuff that your body doesn’t need, after all the goodness has been absorbed,” she said.
“And your kidneys have very carefully filtered it out, so why would you then go and drink it?”
Amanda said that surviving on little else other than urine would put people at risk of serious nutrient deficiencies.
She added: “Every nutrient, vitamin and mineral has a corresponding deficiency disease if you don’t get enough of it.”
So if you are using urine to replace foods, you’re likely to suffer a whole range of health problems rather than curing any ailments.
The segment in the E4 show was part of a urine therapy treatment introduced to the celebs, which gets them to sip their own wee to boost “focus and energy”.
Michael Jerome Reece-Page – a British kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist – impressed the other celebs by downing the entire bottle.
One expert was brought into the scene, Harry, who revealed he drank his own urine – after it had fermented for six months.
He told the stars: “You guys feel like puking? Remember it’s a fear from social conditioning and it’s your job to undo that social conditioning.”
As he drank the urine, a medical warning flashing up on screen telling viewers not to try the practice.
On drinking her own wee, Princess Olga said: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. I drink a lot of water, so it was very pale and didn’t have an odour or a particular taste.”
The colour and smell of your wee can actually tell you a lot about your health.
As in Princess Olga’s case, a pale straw hue is the optimum colour for your pee – it means you’re drinking enough water and your kidneys are functioning nicely.
But if it’s a darker yellow, you’re probably dehydrated.
Your body needs water to maintain healthy function in your organs, so be sure to drink your six to eight glasses a day.
If your urine is stinky, that’s another indication you’re not drinking enough water. If that’s the case, you’ll also feel thirsty and dry-mouthed.
Stronger smelling pee could indicate you have a urinary tract infection (UTI), a yeast infection or a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
All the three of these conditions will also come with accompanying symptoms: a UTI will cause a burning sensation when you pee and a temperature, while a yeast infection might give you cottage cheese-like discharge and an itching sensation down there.
Meanwhile, STIs such as chlamydia or trichomoniasis can cause unusual discharge from your vagina, penis or anus, as well as itchiness and rashes, blisters, sores or warts and pain when peeing.
If your pee is smelly and you have other accompanying symptoms, it’s a good idea to visit a GP or sexual health clinic.
Though it could be a sign of a UTI, the NHS says it’s also important you speak to a doctor about blood in your pee as it could be a sign of cancer.
While we encourage you to pay attention to what your wee looks like, please don’t drink it.