![\"What](\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/urine_color.jpg\" "\\"What")
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Did you know that looking into the toilet bowl is like looking into a crystal ball for your health? The color of your pee can change depending on how hydrated you are<\/a>, what foods you\u2019ve been eating, and even as a weird side effect to certain medications. Here\u2019s what your urine color\u00a0says about your health \u2014 and when it could signal a serious problem.<\/p>\n RELATED:<\/strong> How Bad Is Booze, Really? 6 Crazy Facts About Alcohol<\/a><\/p>\n Clear Pale Yellow RELATED:<\/strong> How Much Coffee Is Too Much?<\/a><\/p>\n Bright Yellow “In large amounts, the pigments in beets can actually turn your pee red. This isn\u2019t harmful and should resolve fairly quickly”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Brownish-Yellow RELATED:<\/strong> Is It Possible to Drink Too Much Water?<\/a><\/p>\n Brown RELATED:<\/strong> 12 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started CrossFit<\/a><\/p>\n Greenish-Blue or Orange Likewise, if you\u2019re being treated with Phenazopyridine<\/a>, a urinary tract analgesic used for UTIs or bladder irritation, your pee could turn orange. This is a normal side effect of the medication, and should clear up when your treatment is finished. In both cases, consult with your doctor if you\u2019re concerned!<\/p>\n Pink or Red Real talk: Your urine color might hold important clues about your health. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve put together a guide for what\u2019s going on inside your bowl. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[58,161,224,341,396],"class_list":["post-47349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-hacks","tag-hydration","tag-illness","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2womens-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Your Urine Color Means About You<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong>By now you\u2019ve heard that drinking eight glasses of water a day and staying hydrated is important for your health. But if your urine looks like water, you\u2019re probably overhydrated<\/a>, says Jane Miller<\/a>, MD, associate professor of urology at the University of Washington. You likely aren\u2019t doing yourself any harm, but there\u2019s no data to support the need for drinking eight or more glasses of water a day, Miller says. Plus, you\u2019ll just wind up spending half your day in the bathroom if you\u2019re drinking too much.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Consider this your toilet bowl goal. You should strive to have light yellow pee, somewhere between clear and the color of apple juice. You\u2019re probably sufficiently hydrated if your pee is pale yellow, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean anything about your health beyond that if your pee is darker or lighter, says Miller.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>If your pee looks like a neon billboard, blame B vitamins<\/a>, Miller says. Riboflavin<\/a> (B2) is naturally fluorescent when exposed to UV light. It might be jarring to see, but it\u2019s nothing to worry about. Your body excretes the riboflavin<\/a> it doesn\u2019t need through urine, which is why excess amounts, either consumed in food or through taking supplements, could make your pee look bright yellow. Almost all multivitamins contain riboflavin, as do food such as eggs, organ meats, lean meats and dairy.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Pee that\u2019s the color of apple juice is the darkest end of the \u201cnormal\u201d urine spectrum. While you might assume it means you\u2019re super dehydrated, it really just means your pee is extra concentrated, says Miller. \u201cJust because urine is concentrated doesn\u2019t mean you are dehydrated. Your kidneys are very good at concentrating urine to keep you from becoming symptomatically dehydrated.\u201d That said, if your urine is dark often, it wouldn\u2019t be a bad idea to drink more water<\/a>, especially if you\u2019re exercising a lot.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Brown urine can be associated with myoglobinuria, or the presence of myoglobin<\/a> \u2014 a protein found in muscle \u2014 in the urine. It\u2019s most commonly associated with rhabdomyolysis<\/a>, or \u201crhabdo,\u201d which is a form of muscle damage that causes muscle fibers to die and be released into the bloodstream (you may have heard about it in discussions about CrossFit<\/a>). Without prompt medical care, rhabdo could lead to lasting kidney damage.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>We wouldn\u2019t blame you for freaking out if your pee showed up blue in your bowl. But if you\u2019re being treated for a UTI, strange greenish-blue pee could be a side effect. That\u2019s because Uribel<\/a>, a medication used to treat urinary symptoms and irritations, contains methylene blue<\/a>, a dye that can show up in your urine.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A crimson hue could mean a few things. The least worrisome would be that you\u2019ve been eating lots of beets<\/a>, says Miller. In large amounts, the pigments in beets can actually turn your pee red. This discoloration isn\u2019t harmful and should resolve fairly quickly, says Miller. If it doesn\u2019t, you\u2019ll want to get your urine tested for blood, which is another reason your pee might be red. Bloody urine could be a sign of a urinary tract infection<\/a> (UTI) or urinary stones, which are usually accompanied with pain and discomfort. Kidney, ureter and bladder cancers can also present with blood in the urine, and typically don\u2019t have other symptoms, such as pain, associated with the bloody urine, says Miller. \u201cAlthough all important, this is the most serious, and why you should let your [healthcare] provider know \u2014 even if it goes away quickly \u2014 because some cancers bleed intermittently.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"