Urine as panacea? Seriously?
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Two men were drinking urine as a therapy. [Photo: ql1d.com]

Anyone for a refreshing glass of urine? Maybe not.

Some people in China are kocking back urine as a way to cure diseases and to keep healthy. They say it works like magic.

According to the People's Daily, this urine therapy is advocated by an association called the "China Urine Therapy Association (CUTA)" which encourages its members to drink their own urine, suggesting it can cure everything from colds to cancer.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) on Tuesday released an updated list of unlicensed social organizations on its official website, urging caution against their attempts to fraudulently collect funds. CUTA has been placed on that list.

Active on social networks, the association has about 4,000 members who have been exchanging their urine therapy experience online daily since the organization was listed by the MCA.

Members of the association can be found across the country, most of them are senior citizens. They pay a membership fee of 20 yuan (around 3 US dollars).

CUTA claims that it is a non-profit organization, which happens to sell a kind of fruit-flavored product which can be mixed with the urine to make it less pungent and easier to consume.

But does it work? Experts in both Chinese medicine and Western medicine think not.

Chinese medicine experts say that there is a lack of evidence proving the efficacy of urine.

From the perspective of Western medicine, according to experts, urine is a kind of metabolic waste and they say consuming it will add a greater burden to liver and blood circulation.

Journalists from People's Daily have discovered that CUTA is registered in Hong Kong only as an unlimited company and has neither corporate capacity nor governmental accreditation.

The MCA added 51 names in all to the list of "offshore and copycat civil organizations" on its official website on Tuesday, urging caution against their attempts to fraudulently collect funds.

Most of the organizations are registered overseas or outside the Chinese mainland but were founded by Chinese mainland residents, according to a statement by the Ministry.

The groups' names on the list usually include words like "China", "Chinese" and "national", and some of the organizations even use the same name as a legally registered group.

The MCA statements said many of the groups make money by collecting membership fees, organizing training programs or proffering awards, the statement said. Some copycat organizations also attempt to extort and blackmail businesses.

According to Chinese laws relating to the management of foreign non-governmental organizations in China, NGOs must set up legal representative groups in China or cooperate with Chinese groups if they carry out activities in the country. It is also illegal for NGOs to recruit members in the mainland or to conduct or sponsor profit-making activities.

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan