Lately the color of my urine has been darker in the morning. I disregarded it at first but this has been ongoing for the past month and decided to do some Googling regarding this issue. According to a few websites darker urine can be a result of taking in excess beta-carotene. I've recently increased my intake of Sweet Potatoes + Carrots and suspect that their introduction in my diet are causing this change in color. My question is, has anyone had a similar reaction? should I cut back on my intake of these foods?
|
2
|
||||||
|
|
3
|
Could be. Might also be that you're dehydrated? The other color indicator I know of is that DIM causes orange pee. That, and, cloudy means proteins aren't being properly filtered. |
||
|
|
|
1
|
What do you mean by dark? Is it a bright yellow-golden color (maybe even orange) or does it have a brownish tinge to it? If it is the latter, I would suggest drinking a few glasses of water and then going to the toilet to rule out dehydration. If it is the former, then it may indeed be due to beta carotene and it's nothing to worry about. Your body is doing what it is suppose to do by filtering out the excess carotene. The problem with carotene is that it may turn parts of your skin orange which may be cosmetically displeasing, but this is all 100% harmless. To avoid this happening do cut your intake of foods with beta carotene. |
||
|
|
|
4
|
Try drinking more water--lots more water, and see if it clears up. If not, then suspect the beta carotene.
|
||
|
|
|
4
|
I find my urine is generally darker in the mornings due to water loss through the night (from perspiration and breathing i assume). Has your water intake reduced in the past month, that would result in the change you mention. Other than that, when i use to take Berocca in the past it made my urine turn deep yellow in colour, this was due to the excess vitamin B2 being passed via urine. What color do you match on this chart?
|
||||||||
|
|
1
|
Beets and some other foods can discolor urine, as well as the B-vitamins and carotene mentioned previously. None of these provide reasons to worry. However, since no one else has mentioned it, I'd like to add that very dark urine (especially if it's brownish or "tea" colored) can be a sign of illness as well (certain anemias, kidney disease or injury, hepatitis, rhabdomyolysis, etc.). It should be easy enough to test the food theory: change up your diet for a few days and drink plenty of water, if your urine lightens up, it's probably the food. Eat up! But if the urine stays dark, it might be time for labs. |
||
|
|
