We pee an average of six times every day. That’s a lot of pee. And it makes sense; your kidneys are cleaning your blood and eliminating waste and toxins. Peeing is just natural. Well, it turns out you can make the most out of your quick visits to the bathroom because your pee can reveal a lot about your health.
From the color of your pee to its smell and from the sensation you get while peeing, these can all be signs of something going wrong in your system. This is what your pee reveals about your health.
The color of your pee matters
Most of the time, urine is excess water and salt, along with urea and inorganic sulfur. These are all waste compounds that your body eliminates from your body. And since urine is not just water, it’s perfectly normal if it has a pale, yellow color.
If your urine is consistently translucent, you might be drinking too much water, which is not ideal. If it’s golden or brownish, then you might be dehydrated. Start drinking more water now. If your pee is red, it might be because of food you ate, like beets, but it can also be blood. If this happens more than once, talk to your doctor.
Any other color isn’t normal either, and although some foods and medications can alter your urine’s color, you should check yourself up, just in case.
What the smell of your pee tells about your health
Some medicines and supplements, like vitamin B, can make your pee smell funky, but that’s no threat. Garlic, onions and asparagus can cause a similar effect, and it can be persistent.
Still, if you haven’t taken vitamins or smelly food, then you might have an infection, a sexually transmitted disease, or there’s something wrong with your kidneys. Stinky pee is not normal, so talk to a professional, especially if the condition lasts more than a few days. If the smelly urine comes with pain or cloudiness, don’t wait — talk to a doctor.
Foamy and cloudy pee is a bad sign.
The color of your urine and its smell are important, but so is its transparency. Foamy and cloudy pee might mean that your kidneys are not processing proteins correctly or that there’s an infection in your urinary tract. Protein is commonly detected if the foam is persistent and remains in the toilet after flushing. It might start like cloudy pee and become more evident over time.
Kidney infections often come with other symptoms and not just irregular pee. So, if you have an infection, chances are you’re not feeling great overall. Your doctor might check for inflammation and the color in your eyes to see if there’s something wrong with out kidneys, but it all starts with pee, and you’re the first line of defense to detect these problems.
Peeing Can Save Your Life
Okay, perhaps we’re exaggerating, but being mindful about the color, clarity and smell of your pee are great ways to detect diseases and unusual illnesses, and some of them lead to life-threatening conditions, so yes, inspect your pee.
You can learn a lot about your body just by paying attention, and it pays off. After all, detecting any condition that can threaten your health in time is often the difference between a successful, uncomplicated treatment and worse conditions. Why wait? Check your pee today and make sure everything is okay.
