Saturday, January 28, 2006

Urine for a treat

UrineA type of mushroom called Amanita muscaria grows in some parts of Siberia, and it contains a cocktail of hallucinogenic chemicals. One who consumes the sun-dried mushrooms will usually experience euphoria and hallucinations, but one will also experience a host of unpleasant side-effects, such as nausea, twitching, and an increase sweat and saliva output.

Most of the unwanted side effects can be avoided by putting the mushrooms through a special filter: a human. In the Koryak tribe in Siberia it is customary for an individual who consumes the mushrooms to save his or her urine in a pot for others to drink. The mushrooms' active ingredients are not metabolized by the body so they are excreted into the urine, but the chemicals which cause the unwanted side effects are filtered out by the kidneys. It is said that the potency of the mushroom does not decrease significantly until about the seventh time through.

But not everybody who imbibes urine is doing so for psychoactive pleasure-seeking. Many people drink it because they believe it makes them look and feel healthier, or sometimes because it's their last resort for survival.

The popular belief is that urine is a germ-ridden fluid, but as is often the case, popular belief is at odds with reality. Urine from a healthy person is actually relatively sterile. It is unknown how many people in the world deliberately drink their own urine, but the practice is particularly popular in Indian and Chinese cultures for its purported health benefits. In June 2001, a Chinese news feed reported that more than three million Chinese people drink their own urine to stay healthier. This practice is called Urine Therapy, and its promoters credit urine with a number of curative powers.

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