My favourite is a guy who goes by luckbeaweirdo and his tale of curing his asthma by self-infesting with hookworms by traveling to Cameroon and standing around in outdoor latrine fields.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971

The Xiangru may also be Xiang Ru, otherwise known as Rubia tinctorum radix or Madder root, which may be added to impart a red colour