https://science.feedback.org/review/social-media-claims-urine-therapy-benefits-not-backed-scientific-evidence/ *Drink your pee, heal your body? 😯* That’s a practice that certain wellness influencers, like chiropractor Daniel Pompa and former model Troy Casey, have promoted. Some also claimed that urine’s curative properties are because urine contains stem cells. To learn more about the scientific credibility of this claim, Science Feedback turned to Yuanyuan Zhang, an associate professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, who studies stem cells. *Here is what the science tells us:* * Urine does contain a small amount of stem cells, but this doesn’t mean drinking urine heals the body * One of the main obstacles is the human digestive system. The odds of stem cells surviving the passage through the digestive tract is “ *highly improbable* ” due to stomach acid and digestive enzymes, Zhang told us * Scientists are looking at how urine-derived stem cells can be used to treat diseases. But this process is *highly controlled and specialized.* Stem cells need to be isolated from urine, cultivated in the lab, then injected or transplanted to the site of injury or disease ↪︎ Simply drinking urine just won’t cut it! * Drinking urine comes with risks ↪︎ Urine contains bacteria and waste products: putting these back into the body poses a risk of illness, especially if done in the long run In summary, *there’s no evidence that drinking one’s urine treats diseases* . In general, pee is best left where it normally goes: down the toilet.🚽