Man cured with urine therapy

A 21-year-old man in Wuhan, Hubei province claims to have cured his thyroid condition by drinking his own urine.

Xiao Liu (pseudonym) was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the Wuhan-based PUAI hospital in 2010 before resorting to the unusual alternative.

"I took medicines for 18 months, and stopped because they weren't working," he said.

Liu first learned about urine therapy online. After more than a year of sipping his pee, a hospital exam revealed his condition was improving.

He is now a card-carrying member of the China's Urine Therapy Association - a Hong Kong organization founded in 2008 that boasts 1,000 "urine-thusiasts."

Its founder, Bao Yafu, a 79-year-old retired engineer, said he has researched the healing powers of pee for the past two decades.

"In 22 years I haven't caught a cold, my eyesight is better and there are no age spots on my face," said Bao.

Doctors claim there is still insufficient evidence of its effectiveness.

"Urine therapy is not a scientific method to cure hyperthyroidism as it contains nothing that would reduce the secretion of thyroid hormones," according to a doctor at PUAI hospital.