It was a surprise how many Indians were shocked by the study’s findings – drinking cow urine was found to be significantly harmful to human health.
The research carried out by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) discovered urine samples from healthy cows contained 14 types of harmful bacteria. Escherichia coli, which causes stomach infections, was most commonly detected.
Cow urine has long been purported as having a host of health-giving benefits by those who practise ‘Ayurveda’, an alternative, holistic medicine system that derives its teachings from Hindu scriptures and can trace back its roots in India more than 2,000 years.
Involving a mixture of herbal medicines, medical oils and mineral substances, as well as adherence to a strict diet and often the practice of yoga and meditation, Ayurveda is considered a pseudoscience by many in the West.
But at least 77 percent of Indians use Ayurvedic products, according to a 2017 report, with this figure expected to have grown further since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The industry is worth £7.8 billion, and a quick Google search displays a host of major Ayurveda firms advertising products.
Patanjali, India’s largest Ayurvedic firm, sells a medicine containing bottled cow urine for 50p which promises to “cure eczema, control diabetes and cancer”. Easy Ayurveda, another brand, provides customers detailed instructions on how to distil urine, claiming it is useful against a host of conditions from leprosy to asthma.
