What You Can Learn About Your Health by Analyzing the Color and
Smell of Your Urine
May 30, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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Urine has been an important diagnostic tool for 6,000 years, as
well as having some surprising historical uses
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You can learn a great deal about your overall health by
examining your urine and noting its color, odor, and
consistency; your urine can be a powerful window into your
overall health
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Urine color and odor can be altered by your diet, medications,
supplements, water consumption, and physical activity.
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Your urine characteristics can also function as an early warning
system for serious health problems including urinary stones,
infections, kidney problems, metabolic disorders, diabetes,
pituitary disorders, and even tumors
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Frequency of urination is also important; increased urination
may suggest infection, overactive bladder, diabetes, or a number
of other concerns
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Suggestions are provided on how much water to consume daily; the
common “eight glasses per day” recommendation is
overgeneralized, and you should instead pay attention to your
body’s own individual cues
By Dr. Mercola
Urine can reveal important information about your body’s
waste elimination process, providing clues about your overall
health status.
Your kidneys serve to filter excess water and water-soluble
wastes out of your blood, getting rid of toxins and things that
would otherwise build up and cause you to become ill. Many
things — from excess protein and sugar to bacteria and yeast —
may make their way into your urine.
Instead of ignoring your urine and dashing back to whatever
important activity having to pee interrupted, take this golden
opportunity to become familiar with your “normal.”
If you notice changes in the way your urine looks or smells,
the cause might be something as benign as what you had for
dinner last night, such as beets or asparagus. Or, your
astuteness may potentially alert you to a serious condition.
If you suspect you have a urinary tract problem, you should
consult your physician. One of the first things he or she is
likely to do is a urine test. Urine tests have been around for
more than 6,000 years1
and are easy, noninvasive tools for quickly assessing your
health status2.
Minding Your Pees and Cues
In your lifetime, your kidneys filter more than one million
gallons of water, enough to fill a small lake. Amazingly, one
kidney can handle the task perfectly well. In fact, if you lose
a kidney, your remaining kidney can increase in size by 50
percent within two months, to take over the job of both.3
Urine is 95 percent water and five percent urea,
uric acid, minerals, salts, enzymes, and various substances
that would cause problems if allowed to accumulate in your body4.
Normal urine is clear and has a straw yellow color, caused by a
bile pigment called urobilin.
As with your
stool, your urine changes color depending on what foods you
eat, what medications and supplements you take, how much water
you drink, how active you are, and the time of the day.
But some diseases can also change the color and other
characteristics of your urine, so it’s important to be alert and
informed. With so many variables, you can’t always be sure of
what’s causing any particular urine characteristic, short of
laboratory testing. However, urine’s character gives you some
clues to potential problems that may be developing, giving you
time to do something about it.
The following chart outlines some of the most common color
variations for urine and their possible origins. The majority of
the time, color changes result from foods, medications,
supplements, or simply dehydration. But there are certain signs
that warrant concern.
Color |
Possible Cause |
Necessary Action |
Yellow/Gold |
The most typical urine color, indicative of a healthy
urinary tract; yellow will intensify depending on
hydration; some B vitamins cause bright yellow urine
|
None |
Red/Pink |
Hematuria (fresh blood in the urine) related to urinary
tract infection (UTI),
kidney stone, or rarely cancer; consumption of red
foods such as beets, blueberries, red food dyes,
rhubarb; iron supplements; Pepto-Bismol, Maalox, and a
variety of other drugs5;
classic “port wine” color may indicate porphyria
(genetic disorder) |
***Consult your physician immediately
if you suspect you have blood in your urine |
White/Colorless |
Excessive hydration is most likely. (See Cloudy) |
Consult your physician only if chronic |
Orange |
Typically a sign of dehydration, showing up earlier than
thirst; “holding your bladder” for too long;
post-exercise; consuming orange foods (carrots, squash,
or food dyes); the drug Pyridium (phenazopyridine);
liver or pituitary problem (ADH, or antidiuretic
hormone) |
Drink more water and don’t delay urination; consult
physician if orange urine persists despite adequate
hydration |
Amber |
More concentrated than orange so severe dehydration
related to intense exercise or heat; excess caffeine or
salt; hematuria; decreased urine production (oliguria or
anuria); metabolic problem; pituitary problem (ADH, or
antidiuretic hormone) |
Consult your physician if problem persists despite
adequate hydration |
Brown |
Very dense urine concentration, extreme dehydration;
consumption of fava beans; melanuria (too many particles
in urine); UTI; kidney stone; kidney tumor or blood
clot; Addison’s disease; glycosuria; renal artery
stenosis; proteinuria; pituitary problem (ADH, or
antidiuretic hormone) |
Consult your physician if problem persists despite
adequate hydration, especially if accompanied by pale
stools or yellow skin or eyes |
Black |
RARE: Alkaptonuria, a genetic disorder of phenylalanine
and tyrosine metabolism marked by accumulation of
homogentisic acid in the blood; poisoning |
Consult your physician |
Green |
RARE: Unusual UTIs and certain foods (such as
asparagus); excessive vitamins |
Usually benign; consult your physician if it persists,
especially if you have pain or burning (dysuria), and/or
frequent urination (polyuria), which are symptoms of UTI
|
Blue |
RARE: Artificial colors in foods or drugs; bilirubin;
medications such as methylene blue; unusual UTIs |
Usually benign; consult your physician if it persists,
especially if you have pain or burning (dysuria), and/or
frequent urination (polyuria), which are symptoms of UTI
|
Cloudy |
Urinary tract infection, kidney problem, metabolic
problem, or chyluria (lymph fluid in the urine),
phosphaturia (phosphate crystals), pituitary problem
(ADH, or antidiuretic hormone) |
Consult physician, especially if you have pain or
burning (dysuria), and/or frequent urination (polyuria),
which are symptoms of UTI |
Sediment |
Proteinuria (protein particles) or albuminuria; UTI;
kidney stones; see Cloudy |
Consult your physician |
Foamy |
Turbulent urine stream; proteinuria (most common causes
are diabetes and
hypertension) |
Consult physician if not due to “turbulence” |
Does Your Urine Smell Like Roses?
If you’re woman from ancient Rome and your urine smells like
roses, you’ve probably been drinking turpentine. This is a high
price to pay to woo your suitor with pleasant-smelling pee, as
turpentine may kill you! Short of drinking turpentine, there are
many common substances that may alter the way your urine smells,
which is why it’s helpful to know what’s normal. Urine reflects
all of the inner workings of your body and contains a wide
variety of compounds and metabolic by-products. Some dogs can
actually “smell cancer” in human urine6.
Urine doesn’t typically have a strong smell, but if yours
smells pungent (like ammonia), you could have an infection or
urinary stones, or you may simply be dehydrated. Dehydration
causes your urine to be more concentrated and may have a
stronger smell than normal, as do high-protein foods like meat
and eggs. Menopause, some sexually transmitted diseases, and
certain metabolic disorders may also increase the ammonia smell7.
Here are some of the more common reasons your urine’s odor may
change:
- Medications or supplements
- Certain genetic conditions, such as Maple Syrup Urine
Disease, which causes urine to smell sickeningly sweet8
- Certain foods — most notably asparagus. Asparagus is
notorious for causing a foul, eggy or “cabbagy” stench that
results from a sulfur compound called methyl mercaptan (also
found in garlic and skunk secretions). Only 50 percent of
people can smell asparagus pee because they have the
required gene. Cutting off the tips of asparagus will
reportedly prevent the pungent-smelling pee...but of course,
this is the tastiest part!
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Urinary tract infections
- Uncontrolled
diabetes is known to cause your urine to have a sweet or
fruity or, less commonly, a yeasty smell. In the past,
doctors diagnosed diabetes by pouring urine into sand to see
if it was sweet enough to attract bugs. Other physicians
just dipped a finger in and took a taste. Fortunately,
today’s physicians have access to far more elegant
diagnostic tools.
When You Feel the Urge to Go, GO
Urinary frequency is also important. Peeing six to eight
times per day is “average.” You might go more or less often than
that, depending on how much water you drink and how active you
are. Increased frequency can be caused by an overactive bladder
(involuntary contractions), caffeine, a urinary tract infection
(UTI), interstitial cystitis, benign prostate enlargement,
diabetes, or one of a handful of neurological diseases.9
It is important to pee when you feel the urge. Delaying
urination can cause bladder overdistension — like overstretching
a Slinky such that it can’t bounce back. You may habitually
postpone urination if you find bathroom breaks inconvenient at
work, or if you have Paruresis (also known as Shy Bladder
Syndrome, Bashful Bladder, Tinkle Terror, or Pee Anxiety), the
fear of urinating in the presence of others. Seven percent of
the public suffers from this condition.10
How Much Water Should You Drink?
I don’t subscribe to the commonly quoted rule of drinking
six to eight glasses of water every day. Your body is
capable of telling you what it needs and when it needs it. Once
your body has lost one to two percent of its total
water, your thirst
mechanism kicks in to let you know it’s time to drink — so
thirst should be your guide. Or course, if you are outside on a
hot, dry day or exercising vigorously, you’ll require more water
than usual — but even then, drinking when you feel thirsty will
allow you to remain
hydrated.
As you age, your thirst mechanism tends to work less
efficiently. Therefore, older adults will want to be sure to
drink water regularly, in sufficient quantity to maintain pale
yellow urine. As long as you aren’t taking riboflavin (vitamin
B2, found in most multivitamins), which turns urine bright
“fluorescent” yellow, then your urine should be quite pale. If
you have kidney or bladder stones or a urinary tract infection,
increase your water intake accordingly.
You and Your Urinary System
You should now have a pretty good idea of how important it is
to familiarize yourself with what’s normal for your pee. Urine
is a window into the inner workings of your body and can
function as an “early warning system” for detecting health
problems.
The most important factor in the overall health of your
urinary tract is drinking plenty of pure, fresh water every day.
Inadequate hydration is the number one risk factor for kidney
stones, as well as being important for preventing UTIs. To avoid
overly frequent bathroom breaks, stay hydrated but not
overhydrated. Drink whenever you're thirsty, but don't feel you
have to drink eight glasses of water per day, every day. If
you're getting up during the night to pee, stop drinking three
to four hours before bedtime.
Limit your caffeine and alcohol intake, which can irritate
the lining of your bladder. Make sure your diet has plenty of
magnesium, and avoid sugar (including fructose
and soda) and non-fermented soy products due to their oxalate
content. Finally, don't hold it. As soon as you feel the urge to
go, go! Delaying urination is detrimental to the health of your
bladder due to overdistension.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/30/urine.aspx
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