What does my urine colour say about my health?

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What does my urine color say about my health?

Thanks for asking.

Over the course of our lifetime, we produce around 34,000 liters of urine according to Business Insider. Urine evacuates the nitrogen-containing waste produced by the organs and expelled into the blood, like urea and uric acid, for example. It also contains water and mineral salts. It tends to be a clear shade of yellow, ranging from pale to dark at different times of the day. Nevertheless, our pee can come in as many as 10 different shades, which can on occasion lead to unpleasant surprises when going to the bathroom. Some are due to what we eat and drink, while others are caused by health conditions, like urinary infections, diabetes, or kidney stones.

As we approach World Kidney Day, which falls on the 9th of March every year, let's take a moment to go through all those various colours and what they may mean from a health perspective. To start out, why is it yellow most of the time? The blood which reaches our kidneys to be filtered contains bilirubin, a red-orange compound which results from the destruction of old or abnormal red blood cells and is produced by bile. A series of biochemical reactions then transform that bilirubin into urobilin, a compound which is responsible for the yellow colour of urine. The shade varies on our hydration levels. The more fluids we drink, the more the urobilin is diluted, and therefore the clearer our urine is. What are the oddest colours urine can take on? Red may mean that blood is present, which can be a cause for concern. It could be down to a urinary infection, or an enlarged prostate in men. That said, it could result from something as harmless as eating beetroot, which contains a plant pigment called betelane. If your urine colour is bluish or greenish, that might be down to consuming asparagus, or it could be down to a bacterial infection or hypercalcemia, which is an excess of calcium in the blood. Orange pee can be a sign of a liver or gallbladder disorder. Some people even get fluorescent yellow pee. That may be down to supplements containing vitamin B2 or vitamin C. It's worth noting that certain medicines can also make urine darker, just like sweets that contain artificial colourings. Nothing to worry about in those cases. What if the colour doesn't go back to normal? If that's still the case after 3 days, you should see a GP who may refer you to a urologist. If you have an increased risk of kidney disease due to diabetes or high blood pressure for example, you should do a urine test once a year. It's worth noting that urine can also change texture and odour in addition to the colour changes we've been talking about. It can become foamy, which means the urine has a high quantity of protein or contains small bubbles, which may happen when you have a urinary infection or inflammatory bowel disease. The trademark smell of our urine is actually down to the evacuation of colourless gas, methyl mercaptan. In the morning, our urine is more concentrated and the smell is therefore stronger. That also happens when we consume a lot of spices or certain diuretic foods like asparagus.