How Paresh Rawal’s advice to drink urine will make you sick not strong

medium120794596When veteran actor and former BJP MP Paresh Rawal injured his knee filming a scene for Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1996 action drama Ghatak, he feared his acting career had come to an end. Fellow actors Tinnu Anand and Danny Denzongpa rushed him to Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital. But what followed was not just medical intervention but, according to Rawal, an experiment in extreme folk medicine.In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Rawal revealed that late action director Veeru Devgan visited him at the hospital and offered a striking piece of advice: drink your own urine every morning and your injury will heal.“Veeru Devgan came to see me at Nanavati. When I told him about my injury, he said, ‘Drink your own urine first thing in the morning. All fighters do this. You’ll heal faster.’ He also told me to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and mutton, and just stick to regular food,” Rawal recalled.The actor took the advice seriously — even stylising the act. “If I had to do it,” he said, “I thought, I will sip it like beer.” For 15 days, Rawal followed the ritual. His next X-rays showed what he described as unexpectedly fast healing.Thanks, Paresh Rawal. But no, thanksDoctors and health experts have been quick to warn that such endorsements, especially from public figures, can perpetuate dangerous pseudoscience.“There is no scientific evidence linking urine consumption to the healing of injuries or fractures,” said Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, head of critical care at SL Raheja Hospital in Mumbai. “Urine contains waste products the body is trying to eliminate — including urea, creatinine, organic acids, and electrolytes like sodium and phosphorus. Reintroducing these can disrupt gut bacteria, cause gastrointestinal infections, and even strain the kidneys.”His verdict is clear: there is a good reason why the body treats urine as waste. Let’s respect that.Dr Anup Khatri, senior consultant in orthopaedics at Gleneagles Hospital, Mumbai, agrees. “Drinking urine again means forcing the kidneys to re-filter the same toxins. That can lead to dangerously high levels of sodium or potassium, causing confusion, irregular heartbeats, or even kidney damage,” he explained. medium120794605Ancient roots, modern risksTo be fair, Rawal is not the first Indian public figure to espouse urine therapy. The practice — known in Ayurveda as ‘Shivambu Kalpa’ — was made internationally famous by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who in the 1970s and ’80s spoke openly about drinking his urine every day.In a now-famous 1978 interview with Time magazine, Desai declared it “the perfect medical solution”, crediting it with his longevity. Desai was 99 when he passed away in April 1995.Traditional Indian texts like the Damar Tantra describe urine as a rejuvenating tonic, used historically to treat ailments ranging from skin diseases to respiratory conditions. Outside India, the Romans used urine to whiten teeth and cleanse wounds. Egyptian beauty practices allegedly involved urine in skincare. In Siberian shamanic rituals, urine was used to recycle the psychoactive compounds of hallucinogenic mushrooms.But none of these historical practices withstand the scrutiny of modern clinical science. “Urine is not sterile,” said Dr Kirti Upadhyaya, senior nephrologist at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. “Even your own urine can contain bacteria, especially if you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or poor hygiene. Drinking it can introduce pathogens into the digestive system and lead to gastroenteritis or kidney infections.”‘WhatsApp Boomer Uncle pseudoscience’The sharpest rebuke for Rawal’s urine advice came from Dr Cyriac Abby Philips — a hepatologist better known as ‘The Liver Doc’ on social media — who called out Rawal’s anecdote as a dangerous myth.“Please don’t drink your urine (or anyone else’s) because a Bollywood actor says so,” he posted. “There is no scientific evidence to support this. On the contrary, urine contains bacteria, toxins, and waste chemicals that the kidneys work hard to eliminate. Reintroducing them can lead to infections and other complications.”Philips dubbed Rawal’s comments a classic case of “WhatsApp Boomer Uncle pseudoscience”, saying such advice risks spreading health misinformation under the guise of tradition.Dr CS Pramesh, director, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, issued his own public warning: “Never thought I’d have to say this, but please don’t drink urine. Not only does it have no health benefits, it can actually do harm. People who promote these practices are frauds.” medium120794621Placebo effect or misplaced faith?So, what explains Rawal’s reportedly fast recovery? Dr Saseedharan offered an explanation: “It is far more likely that his healing was supported by evidence-based factors — such as immobilisation, adequate nutrition, absence of comorbidities like diabetes, and a robust physiotherapy regimen.”Of course, Veeru Devgan’s advice to stay away from alcohol, tobacco, and fatty foods must have helped too.Modern fracture treatment depends on well-established protocols: rest, orthopaedic evaluation, sometimes surgical intervention, and nutritional support, including adequate intake of calcium, Vitamin D3, and protein.Within this line of treatment, drinking urine offers no additional benefit. It may, in fact, interfere with recovery in those with weakened immunity, kidney disorders, or chronic illness.“For people with compromised immunity — such as transplant recipients, cancer patients, or the elderly — the introduction of bacteria and toxins from urine into the body can be disastrous,” said Dr Saseedharan. “It can alter gut microbiota, impair nutrient absorption, and lead to life-threatening infections.”Mythmaking in the age of viralityAt its core, Rawal’s account taps into a powerful — and problematic — cultural current: the belief that ancient practices and personal anecdotes trump modern science. While stories like his can be compelling, they are in turn extremely misleading, especially when repeated without critical evaluation.Urine therapy continues to crop up in wellness circles, WhatsApp forwards, and now, celebrity interviews. But the message from the medical community remains consistent: anecdotes are not evidence, and tradition is not a substitute for science.Rawal may have recovered quickly — but doctors say don’t raise a toast to that. Especially not with what he was drinking.