Normal urine color ranges from pale yellow todeep amber — the result of a pigment called urochrome and howdiluted or concentrated the urine is.
Urine consists of excess water and waste productsthat the kidneys filter from the blood. It can range from paleyellow to dark amber depending on the ratio of water to wasteproducts. Many things can affect the color of urine.Most of these are harmless, but a change in color cansometimes signal a health problem.
You're constantly fatigued andtired.
If you're getting enough sleep but stillfeel tired, one possible cause might be overhydration. Per MayoClinic, drinking too much water can result in a loss ofenergy, drowsiness, or a constant feeling of fatigue due to thecreation of an electrolyte imbalance within thebody.Brown, red, or purple urine
Kidneys make urine, so when thekidneys are failing, the urine maychange.Here are a few signs you might be dehydrated and tips tostay healthy all summer long.
- Increased thirst and a dry or sticky mouth.
- Signs of fatigue, confusion or anger.
- Dry eyes or blurred vision.
- Headaches or disorientation.
- Muscle cramps.
- Lack of sweat.
- Dark urine.
- Fever.
Dehydration can be mild, moderate or severe,depending on how much of your body weight is lost through fluids.Two early signs of dehydration are thirst and dark-colouredurine. This is the body's way of trying to increase water intakeand decrease water loss.
Green. If blue pigment gets into urine,the color is often green because the blue mixes with theyellow urochrome that's naturally present. But green urinecan be a sign of a urinary tract infection or a bacterial infectionthat has gotten into the blood (bacteremia).
Perhaps the most common cause of orange urine issimply not getting enough water. When it's highly concentrated,your urine can vary from dark yellow toorange. The solution is to drink more fluids, especiallywater.
But what if you just don't like the taste of
water?Luckily, there are other ways you can
stay hydrated thatdon't involve
drinking water.
Hydration Helpers
- Start your day with oatmeal.
- Include more moo.
- Try carb alternatives.
- Sip smoothies.
- Pack your plate with vegetables.
- Slurp soup.
- Freeze your fruit.
One of the easiest ways to test yourhydration is through bathroom frequency and urine color.Your urine should be light yellow and you should be emptying yourbladder on average 5-8 times per day. Another way to determinehydration levels (especially after a run) is a sweattest.
Urine naturally has some yellow pigments calledurobilin or urochrome. The darker urine is, the moreconcentrated it tends to be. Dark urine is most commonly dueto dehydration. For example, dark brown urine mayindicate liver disease due to the presence of bile in theurine.
10 Signs You May Have Kidney Disease
- You're more tired, have less energy or are having troubleconcentrating.
- You're having trouble sleeping.
- You have dry and itchy skin.
- You feel the need to urinate more often.
- You see blood in your urine.
- Your urine is foamy.
- You're experiencing persistent puffiness around your eyes.
- Your ankles and feet are swollen.
A very light, nearly clear yellow pee meansyou're healthy and well-hydrated. Transparent yellow: Yup,you still good. Deeper yellow: You're normal, but youshould probably think about drinking some water soon.Neon yellow: This could be caused by excess riboflavin,which means you probably just popped a multivitamin.
In addition some liver and kidney disorders can turnurine dark brown, as can some urinary tract infections.Clear Pee with No Yellow (or other) Color: If yourpee is completely clear, it may be a sign that you aredrinking too much water.
Normal pee should be the colour of straw. If yourpee is so colourless that it looks like water, youprobably drank more than you needed. Very dark yellow peeusually means you are a bit dehydrated and need to drink morewater.
Morning is when your urine will be mostconcentrated. So, if your morning urine is a pale, strawcolor, you're probably well hydrated and healthy. Atbedtime, it should look as clear as water or at least paleyellow. If it doesn't, you may need to boost your fluidintake.
Most people urinate between six and eighttimes a day. But if you're drinking plenty,it's not abnormal to go as many as 10 times aday. You may also pee more often ifyou're taking certain medications, like diuretics for highblood pressure.
Urinalysis can tell us a lot aboutdehydration. In addition, increased glucose in theurine may lead to a diagnosis of diabetes or indicateloss of diabetic control and a cause for the dehydration,while excessive protein in the urine may signal kidneyproblems.
Treatments. Dehydration must betreated by replenishing the fluid level in the body. Thiscan be done by consuming clear fluids such as water, clear broths,frozen water or ice pops, or sports drinks (such as Gatorade). Somedehydration patients, however, will require intravenousfluids in order to rehydrate.
Signs of severe dehydration include:
- Not peeing or having very dark yellow pee.
- Very dry skin.
- Feeling dizzy.
- Rapid heartbeat.
- Rapid breathing.
- Sunken eyes.
- Sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion or irritability.
- Fainting.
But unfortunately, hydration is not as simpleas drinking water. It's possible to still bedehydrated after drinking a lot of water. Thebiggest signs that you're dehydrated includeinability to sweat, dry skin, bad breath, dark pee, and urinationless than six times a day.
If dehydration continues, shock and severe damageto internal organs, such as the kidneys, liver, and brain,occur.
Here are 14 foods to eat when you're feelingdehydrated.
- Watermelon is juicy and hydrating.
- Cucumbers are water based.
- Celery has a high water content.
- Blackberries contain a lot of water.
- Cottage cheese can be hydrating.
- Iceberg lettuce is made up of mostly water.
- Soups and broths contain water.
"Dehydration occurs when you use or losemore fluid than you take in, and your body doesn'thave enough water and other fluids to carry out its normalfunctions," the Mayo Clinic explains. Chronic dehydration isnot as severe as extreme dehydration and won't causeyou to faint or spike a fever.
Ketone bodies are usually absent in urine.The presence of ketones in the urine probablyindicates that the body is using fats rather thancarbohydrates for energy. Electrolyte imbalance anddehydration occur when ketones accumulate in theblood.
A yellow, more cloudy color means your body needwater. A darker yellow, amber color isn't healthy. Your bodyneeds water. Orangish yellow and darker: You're severelydehydrated.
Normal urine color ranges from pale yellow todeep amber — the result of a pigment called urochrome and howdiluted or concentrated the urine is. Pigments and othercompounds in certain foods and medications can change your urinecolor. Beets, berries and fava beans are among the foods mostlikely to affect the color.
Why this happens: Kidneys make urine, sowhen the kidneys are failing, the urine may change.How? You may urinate more often, or in greater amounts thanusual, with pale urine.
Moore says a pale straw color—almost clear,but not quite—is ideal. If your pee is crystalclear, you're probably drinking too much H20, whichcan throw off your electrolyte balance in potentiallyharmful ways. “But if your urine is clear andyou're peeing 20 times a day, you're drinking waterexcessively.”
You may be able to tell if you'redehydrated by looking at your urine. Dark yellow to amberurine means you may have mild to severe dehydration.You can usually tell you have healthy hydrationlevels if your urine is very light in color. You may alsourinate less than normal when dehydrated.
High-dose vitamins can turn your pee abright, almost neon yellow color. The most commonculprit is vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, which is found inmost multivitamins. The neon color in pee is just aharmless sign that you're taking more than your body needs, and theexcess is mixing with your pee.
