The Importance of Urine Colour to Your Health

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Experts at different times have analysed the colours of people’s urine, and they have come to the conclusion that urine colour has a lot to say about an individual’s health status.

Aside the fact that urine is a veritable human fluid from which diseases could easily be detected from, the colour also reveal to a greater extent, the health condition of the carrier.

This explains the rationale behind the analysis conducted by a London-based medical practitioner, Dr Luke Powles from Bupa Health Clinics, on human urine colours and its health implications.

According to Dr Powles, urine colour indicates people’s hydration levels, with dark yellow colours suggesting the need for an instant glass of water. Red and even green shades may be a sign of a more serious health problem, he adds.

Dr Powles, who spoke via an article on Daily Mail, emphasised the need for most people to drink between 1.5 and two litres of water a day, and should avoid dehydrating, sugary drinks like soda and alcohol.

Below are Dr Powles’ findings of what different urine colours say about people’s wellbeing.

Pale straw

This is the ideal urine colour and demonstrates a person is sufficiently hydrated, Cosmopolitan reported.A lighter colour than this indicates the individual is probably drinking more water than they need to.

Although usually harmless, this may cause them to urinate overly frequently.

Dark yellow

Amber-coloured urine suggests somebody is dehydrated and should drink water as soon as possible.

Green

Although it may be alarming, green urine is usually harmless and occurs as a result of eating particular foods, such as asaparagus or artifical colourings.

In rare cases, however, green urine is a sign of the rare genetic disease familial hypercalcemia, which causes abnormally high calcium levels in the blood. Green urine can also occur as a side effect of certain medications.

Red

Red urine is also usually due to eating certain foods, such as beetroot.

Yet, it can also be due to blood, such as during menstruation or, in more serious cases, infections or even cancers.

If people are unable to link their red urine to a food they have eaten recently, they should visit their GP as soon as possible.