Discover the Hidden Health Meaning Behind Your Urine Color—and the Food That Can Turn It Blue
Find out what colors may signal a UTI, kidney stones or liver disease
We’ve all heard that staying hydrated is a pillar of good health. And one way to know is to tune into the color of your urine. But exactly what color should healthy urine be and what do you need to know if your urine color is off? To find out, we consulted the experts and learned that urine can actually come in a rainbow of colors. Here’s everything you need to know about urine color and its deeper meaning for your wellness.
Urine basics: How much should you pee each day?
“It is estimated that humans lose two to three liters of water through breathing, sweat, urine, and bowel movements a day,” says hydration expert Dana Cohen, MD, who practices integrative functional holistic medicine in New York City. As the co-author of the book Quench, Dr. Cohen literally wrote the book on proper hydration.
And while we’ve all heard about drinking eight glasses of water a day to stay hydrated, Dr. Cohen says that’s not a magic number since everybody’s individual. To find your personal hydration setpoint, she says, “I think one of the best ways to measure is really to look at your urine output.” The goal: “We are meant to urinate every two to three hours while awake. If you are not doing that, you are not hydrating enough.”
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The hidden health meaning behind your urine color
“Urine should be clear, pale yellow or golden,” says clinical psychologist Michael Breus, PhD, author of Sleep Drink Breathe: Simple Daily Habits for Profound Long-Term Health.
But there’s more than just mellow yellow. Get ready for a comprehensive rundown of all the Easter-egg colors that you might see from your daily pee—and the fascinating secrets they reveal about your personal health.
Dr. Breus says using this color-coded guide is a great health tool. In fact, he points out, this color information “is on a chart in almost every single public restroom in India, because it is really hot and very easy to get dehydrated, which would make your urine color more concentrated.” Keep reading for a deeper look-see into daily pee.
If your urine color is neon yellow…
On the occasion that you notice bright yellow urine, Dr. Breus says, “you are probably taking too much supplemental vitamin B12.” Typically, the gut can absorb about 50 percent of low doses of vitamin B12 at one time. However, that rate of absorption steeply declines to only about 1 percent if you’re taking 1,000 mcg or more, according to data from the National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements.
And that overload means excess amounts of the vitamin get flushed out of the body when you void. If you seem to be overdoing this vitamin, reduce your dose for a couple days to see if your urine color improves.
If your urine color is electric orange…
Depending on your hydration levels, you may notice dark yellow urine. If it looks like a deeper color than usual, “have a tall glass of water ASAP,” says Dr. Breus. And if it ever looks neon orange, don’t be alarmed.
“A likely culprit is eating a boatload of vitamin-A-rich foods such as mangos or carrots,” he says. Commonly used medications for urinary tract infections like phenazopyridine, which contains dye, may also turn urine an unnatural orange color, he adds.
If your urine color is amber orange…
This color, often described as dark brown urine or tea colored urine, can be a red flag for dehydration. To rule that risk out, Dr. Breus says, try “drinking 16 oz. of room-temperature water.” If the amber urine color persists beyond three hours, Dr. Breus says it could be a sign you’re supplementing with too much magnesium.
A word of caution: “If you are drinking plenty of water, dark orange urine could indicate liver disease,” explains Dr. Breus. Women lose the protective properties of estrogen after menopause, so it’s no wonder that 80 percent of women over age 40 have an underperforming liver, says Harvard-trained internist Amy Shah, MD, author of I’m So Effing Hungry. She adds, “We see a tremendous increase in a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] in menopausal women.” Fatty liver has no painful symptoms, but urine color changes can be a sign it’s time to talk to a doctor.
If your urine color is red…
Let’s start with the not-scary news. This alarming red urine color often indicates you recently ate beets or other richly pigmented fruits and veggies including rhubarb and blackberries. There are also certain compounds in fava beans that can impact the look of urine.
“Of course, red could mean blood, and that is never good,” adds Dr. Breus. He explains it could be one of the signs of kidney disease, kidney stones or a UTI. So definitely reach out to your doctor if you experience red or pink urine.
If your urine color is green…
Pee can come in colors other than sunset tones. The distinct scent of asparagus-pee aside, Dr. Breus says, “asparagus can turn pee slightly green.” Some arthritis medications and anesthetics can give urine a lime color as well. Luckily, these effects seem to be temporary.
If your urine color is blue…
“Who knew you could have blue pee?” quips Dr. Breus. “Blue pee is not a sign that you’re losing your mind… blame medications,” he explains, noting acid reflux and ulcer medications can have this unusual effect on our bathroom waste.
He adds, you may also encounter teal-colored urine from taking “the antidepressant amitriptyline and the pain reliever indomethacin,” which is an NSAID. Blue pee can even be linked to imaging dyes that are used for diagnostic testing. Not taking any meds, but still have funky urine? In that case, Dr. Breus says, “Blue urine is almost certainly caused by [artificial] food coloring.”
What about cloudy urine?
Perhaps the color of your urine is typical, but it appears cloudy or strong-smelling. What might that mean? “Chronically cloudy urine is a visible sign of high oxalate crystals, a condition called crystalluria,” explains Toxic Superfoods author Sally K. Norton, a world expert on oxalate overload in the body. Oxalates are compounds that function as a kind of “anti-nutrient.” They’re found in many otherwise-healthy foods and can make people feel sick, achy and tired, especially in bodies that have a sensitivity.
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