The average person pees six to eight times a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It all depends on how much liquid you have had to drink, what you have had to drink and naturally, what the external and outside temperature is in comparison to your body temperature. In your lifetime you are probably going to produce enough urine to fill an average suburban swimming pool!
Why does your body go to all the trouble to produce urine anyway?
Well, urination is actually a really important bodily function. The production of urine serves a few vital purposes. Three of the most important being: It helps to remove waste and otherwise toxic elements from your body; it helps you to maintain a steady internal fluid content (vital for organ function) and it even plays a part in regulating your body temperature.
Really it is your kidneys that are doing the dirty work for you. Your kidneys are the organs responsible for filtering out metabolic waste and controlling your body’s fluid content.
To do this they flush the toxins and waste out in the form of pee. This pee (or urine) is sent to your bladder to be stored until it gets full enough to make you feel like you need to pee.
Aside from offering bladder relief, removing potentially toxic waste and regulating your bodily fluids and temperature, your pee is therefore the best indicator of your current health.
Checking your Pee
Many of us never think to look at our pee for signs of health problems. If we are not feeling well we go to the doctor and wait for him to take a urine sample from which he then makes his final diagnosis.
You don’t always need a doctors’ dip-stick to let your pee tell you what is going on inside your body.If we just keep an eye on our urine every day we too could pick up changes in our health, hopefully before we even feel ill.
How to check your pee
Dr Chris Steele suggests that you check the color of your pee mid-stream rather than after it has been diluted by the water in the toilet bowl. The best way to do this, he says, especially for women who may struggle to see their pee mid-stream, is to catch some urine in a small, clean, clear container. This will then allow you to see its color easily.
You should check the color of your pee regularly, even if you are well, so that you can find out what “normal” looks like for you.
What does the color of your Pee say about your Health?
If you are healthy and normal you should have pee that is pale yellow, clear and doesn’t have much of a smell.
However if your Pee is not the usual pale yellow then the color might indicate an underlying health issue.
Take a look at the list below to see what your pee is saying about your health:
Pale yellow or gold pee
Pale yellow or gold is the most common color for urine and indicates that you are probably well hydrated and have a healthy urinary tract. Taking Vitamin B supplements can color your pee brighter yellow, but it should become less bright within a few hours. Your urine may also become slightly darker if you drink less water and paler as you drink more water.
Orange pee
Orange pee could be indicative of your body being dehydrated. This can happen when you have been “holding it” for too long. It can also happen after you exercise because you are using up water to sweat and metabolize faster, which means more metabolic waste to process and less water to process it with. If your urine is orange you should drink water immediately to right your internal fluid content.
It can also be caused by eating or drinking orange (or red) foods and drinks. If either of these is the case it should become paler within a few hours and after a few glasses of water.
If your pee stays orange for a prolonged time it could be a sign of a more serious problem such as Liver or pituitary problems or even an ADH (Antidiuretic hormone, which inhibits your ability to pee).
If your pee stays orange for more than a few days in spite of drinking plenty of water you should consult your GP.
Amber or dark orange pee
This is much the same as orange pee but because it is darker, that means it is even more concentrated. More concentrated urine means that you are even more dehydrated. You should drink water and hydrate yourself immediately.
Concentrated pee could also be the result of consuming too much salt and caffeine.
In more serious causes, amber pee could mean problems like: anuria (decreased urine production), metabolic problems, hematuria, pituitary issues or ADH. These are all conditions which should be treated by a doctor, so if your pee stays dark orange for a few days (in spite of drinking enough water) you should consult your doctor immediately.
Brown pee
If your pee is brown it is very concentrated. You may be extremely dehydrated and you should drink water right away.
There are also a few medical conditions that can cause pee to turn brown. These include Urinary Tract Infections, Melanuria, kidney stones, blood clots and in some cases even cancer. Brown pee can also be as a result of Addison’s Disease, Glycosuria, Proteinuria, pituitary problems and Renal Artery Stenosis.
Sometimes certain foods like Fava beans can turn your pee brown so bear in mind what you have been eating too. If you have not been eating fava beans and the symptoms continue, then you should definitely consult your GP.
Colorless pee
Have you been drinking a lot of water? Because colorless pee means that you are probably over hydrated. Try to drink a little less and it should soon return to normal. You shouldn’t need medical attention unless the condition persists for longer than a few days.
Cloudy or sediment containing pee
If your pee is milky white or cloudy you probably have a urinary tract infection.
In some cases it could be a sign of kidney disorders, problems with your metabolic processes or even Chyluria which is a lymph node issue.
Cloudy white urine is a sign of Phosphaturia and pituitary gland issues.
The important thing to ask yourself is whether you are in any pain or if you have any other bladder discomforts and/or odd symptoms? If you are in pain, feeling sick (nauseous), pee a lot more frequently than usual and have cloudy pee, then you should consult a doctor as soon as possible.
Even something as simple as a urinary tract infection can quickly make you very ill and uncomfortable. Untreated urinary tract infections can lead to bladder and kidney infections. The longer it remains untreated, the more internal damage and the longer the road to recovery.
Red or pink pee
This is usually caused by blood in your urine. If you have any reason to believe you have blood in your pee you should consult your GP immediately!
Blood in your pee is called hematuria and is most often caused by severe urinary tract infections, a heavy knock or blow to the kidney area or kidney stones. Sometimes blood in your urine is caused by Cancer and tumors but before you panic, make sure that you haven’t just eaten foods or taken medication that can make your pee appear red. These would be some red food dyes, beetroot, blueberries and rhubarb.
Medicines that can turn your pee red include iron supplements, Pepto-Bismol and Maalox.
Just remember that any artificial food that has dyes strong enough to color your pee most probably aren’t good for you.
Black pee
This is very rare. If you do experience black pee you could have a genetic disorder of tyrosine metabolism and phenylalanine which causes an accumulation of homogentistic acid in the blood. Seek medical attention immediately!
Green or blue pee
This is also rare but when it is experienced its usually because of something that you have eaten. Certain foods, colorants and highly concentrated vitamins can cause discoloration of your pee to green or orange.
If you experience pain or discomfort at the same time as your pee being green or blue it could be due to an unusual urinary tract infection. If the symptoms persist you should seek medical attention.
Foaming Pee
If your pee is turbulent and foamy it could be a sign of diabetes or hypertension. You should consult your doctor if the condition lasts longer than a few days.
What the smell of your Pee tells you
What your pee smells like is also an important indicator of your health. Normal pee doesn’t actually have a strong smell. When your pee has a strong odour it is usually because you are dehydrated. It can also be caused by high-protein foods.
Strong smelling pee
If you have strong smelling pee but you are not dehydrated and haven’t eaten anything high in protein you may have an infection somewhere in your urinary tract or may even have kidney stones. If you have any other symptoms you should consult your GP.
Pee that smells like Ammonia
An ammonia smell in your pee could be because of a sexually transmitted disease, hormonal imbalances or metabolic disorders. If the smell persists for longer than a day or two you should consult a doctor, especially if it is accompanied by burning, pain or any other symptoms.
Sweet fruity smelling pee
A sweet fruity smell in your urine is sometimes caused by uncontrolled diabetes. If you have any other symptoms you should consult a doctor.
Sulphurous smelling pee
Pee that smells like sulphur (eggy smell) can be caused by certain strong smelling foods such as asparagus. The interesting thing about “asparagus smelling pee” is that only about half of all people have the required gene to be able to smell it.
This is not usually a health risk and shouldn’t warrant medical attention unless it is coupled with other symptoms.
Fighting The Urge To Pee
When you feel the need to pee you should do so as soon as you can. We have all learned to “hold it in” because we are so busy in our modern lives that we are not always able to go when we need to.
The problem is that when you hold your pee often you can actually damage the lining of your bladder. It’s like pulling elastic too far. By stretching your bladder wall out for too long too often you will make it lose its elasticity. Fighting the urge also puts a lot of unnecessary strain on your kidneys which will can result in hypertension, high blood pressure and eventually, kidney problems.
So How Often Should You Pee Every Day?
On average most people need to pee six to eight times a day.
Needless to say if you’re drinking a lot of water you may need to pee more often. If you are peeing very frequently it could be because of a bladder infection or because you have been drinking too much caffeine which is a diuretic. Another less common cause for over frequent urination can be prostate problems.
If you are healthy you should have pale yellow pee without a strong smell. You should pee six to eight times in the average day and you should always relieve yourself when you feel the urge to go.
If you have any unusual variations that last longer than a day or two you should have them assessed by a doctor, especially if they are coupled with any other symptoms.
Now that you know how to read your pee, the next step is to boost your immune system and enhance your health. Go to the next page and find out the ‘most powerful healing nutrient known to man’ for a stronger immune system.
About the Author:
Emma Deangela is the best selling author of The Alkaline Diet Program and 80/20 Fat Loss. She has helped over tens of thousands of men and women to lose weight and transform their health with sound nutrition advice.
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