 It's not unusual for athletes and fighters to have their own pre-fight training diet regimen. Some eat lean, others choose to carb load, and then there are a few like Leodo Machita that have a rather different palette. If you wanted a little bit of an off-color episode today, you're in for a little treat. I first heard about this in reports from 2009 and 2010, but during interviews with Leodo Machita leading up to his fights, Word leaked out that he had a preference for a very specific supplement. While many athletes choose Gatorade or other electrolyte-laden cocktails, Leodo and his family chose to go with a more locally sourced and literally home-brewed approach, their own urine. That's right. Leodo Machita drinks his own urine as part of his training regimen. Leodo's father and respected martial artist Yoshizo Machita adopted the practice from his sensei and encouraged not only Leodo, but Leodo's brother, Shinzo, to implement this into their training. So I think there's a very obvious question here. Why? So interestingly enough, they are not the first to do this, and the concept of urine therapy goes well back to the ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek civilizations. There are actually many anecdotal and documented ancient texts that describe the practice of using human and animal urine to treat and cure a number of ailments. Some of the more common ailments cited to be treatable by urine include infections, wound cleaning, acne, cancer, heart issues, digestive problems, malnutrition, rashes, and allergies. There are some who will go so far to say that urine is an effective treatment for any ailment. There are several athletes that square by it, and there have been different theories thrown out. Some have declared that drinking urine helps bind moisture to the protein, while others say it helps provide additional nutrients that the body needs. So, why does Leodo Machita do it? He was quoted back in 2009 by saying, My father does that for a long time and brings it to us. People think it's a joke. I never said it in the United States because I don't know how the fans will react. I drink my urine every morning like a natural medicine. So, it's still a little unclear about what he means when he says natural medicine. Thankfully, Leodo's father is also forthcoming about the practice, and he was willing to share insight. I want you credit journalist Ariel Helwani for interviewing Yoshizo and Leodo's trainer at the UFC 113 event and ask him directly about the practice. Yoshizo explains that when you eat food, your body digests that food and then pushes out any waste it doesn't need. But the problem is there is waste left behind that your body doesn't filter out. He believes that by drinking urine it helps to flush your body out. He said they do it for health reasons and that it's good for the body. He even went so far to say that once Leodo had a cough that wouldn't go away. So, Yoshizo told his son to try the urine and he did and the coughing stopped. I wouldn't want to cough after that either. He was even willing to demonstrate during the interview and was entirely unfazed by the process. That's a man who's seen things. Like I said, this is not an entirely new practice. There are many accounts in history of urine therapy being boasted as a healthy practice. Some athletes use it to cleanse their hands and then there are historical accounts of survival tactics of drinking urine to stay hydrated. Now, far pay it for me to understand this practice, but let's ask the real question. Do these theories actually hold any water? There have been numerous medical studies on the theory of urine therapy to determine if there really are any health benefits to it at all. Looking at the claim that it provides nutrients and minerals to the body, let's look at what the general composition of what urine contains. Depending on the person's diet, urine is generally 91-95% water. The remaining elements are a combination of creatinine and waste products in the bloodstream, salts, phosphates, uric acid, and some trace proteins. So quite frankly, most of these components are waste products and the body's getting rid of them for a reason. And many argue that the body can use those salts and electrolytes to help replenish their bodies while working out hard. But the thing is though, there are numerous foods and beverages that are far more efficient and safer as a source of these nutrients. In fact, most medical experts caution that not only do you not draw sufficient nutrition from urine, but there are some health risks as well. Many people believe that urine is sterile because it is filtered by the kidneys. The truth is, it still passes through the body and exits and there are still trace amounts of bacteria in it. So while the risk is fairly low, it's not as clean as many assume it is. And addressing the topic of dehydration, urine is not an effective way to combat that. Proponents proclaim that it's full of salts that your body needs, but if you're ingesting additional salts, salts that your body is already thrown away, then you are risking dehydrating yourself even further. Additional risks are electrolyte imbalances, possible trace medications, and the risk of prolonging attention to serious issues that require real medical intervention. So I can in all honesty say that I never expected to come onto this channel and advise people to not drink their own urine. And for those with a further curiosity, Yoshizo was asked what it tasted like. And his answer was, sometimes it's really sweet, sometimes it's salty, it just depends on what you ate the night before. He also said it was better cold versus warm. Still, even with all the evidence that drinking urine can potentially cause more harm than good, there are still those that posit that the medical industry is purposely hiding the benefits because if everyone knew the secret of the sauce, that they would not be able to monetize it. Or maybe you just shouldn't drink pee. And if you think that's weird, go ahead and Google, tie Bam Bam to Yuvasa, and see what he does after post-fight victories. So now I turn it over to all of you to talk amongst yourselves. Do you think that drinking pee has its health benefits, or are you with me and have to take a pass? Either way, be safe out there folks, train hard, and drink responsibly.