Having yellow urine is a situation encountered by most people. Occasionally, urine changes color depending on the hydration level of your body. All these changes are initiated by the liver as it tries to save water for use by the body. Although the normal urine color should be pale yellow, clear and free of particles or clouds, it keeps on changing indicating your body’s hydration level. However, care should be taken in this case as different urine colors also depict the health status of the body. This article answers the common question, “What does yellow urine indicate.”
Pale yellow and dark amber urine means that your body is well hydrated. However, the variation is in terms of concentration whereby dark amber urine is more concentrated. On the other hand, bright yellow urine is an indication that your body is dehydrated.
Factors Affecting Urine Color
To sufficiently answer this question, it is important to have a look at the factors affecting urine color. This way, you will be able to understand why your urine appears in a given color.
The primary cause of the bright yellow urine is B-Vitamins. When your body has excess B-Vitamins like B-2 and B-12, your urine will turn to bright yellow. This is the main color that demonstrates that your body is not well hydrated. Therefore, you should take more fluids to hydrate the body.
The yellow urine color changes in darkness based on the concentration of the urine. In this case, the proportion of waste products to water in the urine is what brings about the change in urine color. Therefore, when the concentration increases, the urine darkens indicating that the body is getting less fluids, thus, dehydration. Furthermore, the body is bound to experience this situation when the fluid gets lost through other means like sweating. Therefore, urine color is a good way to monitor the hydration level of your body.
Some medication and foodstuffs also affect urine color. In most cases, beets, fava and berries have been known to affect urine color. Therefore, in case you use some of these foods and realize a change in your urine color, there is no need to worry.
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Why the Yellow Urine Color?
According to scientific research, yellow urine color is as a result of urochrome. Urochrome is a by product of the breakdown of hemoglobin found in the red blood cells. Because red blood cells are renewed daily, the body breaks down the old cells resulting to urochrome. In turn, the urochrome ends up in the urine as the yellow color.
The Recommended Urine Color in the Morning
Another question stressing many people is, what color should urine be in the morning? This question will be answered in his article based on proven scientific research. Urine is mostly concentrated in the morning due to less activities by the body overnight. Therefore, urine is mostly dark yellow or amber in the morning. Therefore, you should not get worried much when you notice this. However, clarity should be based on your urine color in the evening which should be pale yellow or as clear as water. If this is the case, then there is no need to worry with the urine color in the morning as your body is well hydrated.
What Does Yellow Urine Indicate?
Back to the main question now. Yellow urine indicates different body situations. When your body is in the right conditions, your urine color should range from pale yellow to dark amber. The variation, as has been stated, is based on the concentration of the urine.
If your body is dehydrated, you will notice a urine color change to dark yellow or orange. Additionally, the urine might start smelling like ammonia. Therefore, if you notice this condition, you should take more fluids to correct the situation. However, if the condition persists, you should seek medical advice as it might be an indication of underlying health concern.
