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The Newest Health Craze In India: Cow Urine

© Sputnik / Sergey PyatakovКорова с теленком
Корова с теленком - Sputnik International
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Hindus in India not only consider the cow a venerated symbol of life, they also hold consider its bodily fluids valued materials.

Distilled urine from the female cow has become a popular product in India, fetching prices as high as milk. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used the blossoming economy to funnel some $87 million into protecting India’s beloved bovines by beefing prohibitions on the consumption of cow meat, and building cow shelters, among other tactics. 

Indian cows eat from a pile of roadside trash in Gandhinagar, capital of western India's Gujarat state, some 30 km from Ahmedabad, on April 13, 2016 - Sputnik International
'Holy Cow' Turns Into 'Goldy Cow': Trace of Gold Found in Indian Cow Urine

According to holistic practitioners, drinking "gomutra," a Hindu word for cow urine, can reap health benefits. The findings of researchers studying the urine of the Gir cattle show that belief to have some substance. A liter of cow urine currently sells for about $1.50, and can be purchased online. 

A coordinator at an Indian cow research group says there are multiple ways to prepare the "golden elixir," and that over two dozen remedies can be concocted from the substance. One cow-business owner says that one of the more difficult aspects to collecting a specimen is knowing when the animal is ready to relieve itself. "The attendants take clues from the animal’s movements and try to identify patterns in urination," he said. 

Cows have come to the rescue of cash-strapped Indian states. Punjab imposes 'cow cess' on liquor, vehicles; Andhra Pradesh demands tax on cow urine used in medicines. - Sputnik International
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Holy Cow! Revenue-Starved Indian States Bank on 'Cow Tax'

Local business owners are competing with each other to develop urine-based products. The director of a company called Patanjali Ayurveda, when speaking of the company’s urine-based floor cleaner claimed, "We prepare 20 tons … a day and still can't meet demand."  

An epidemiologist from the University of Sydney states that the consumption of raw urine could leave people vulnerable to a number of diseases. One farmer points out that keeping cows past their milking prime as a means to collect urine may not be cost efficient. 

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