Urine color as a sign of hydration

[darkxshade]

How true is this? I question the validity based on my personal experience.

For example when I wake up in the morning, my urine is usually pretty yellow which makes sense. Now here is where it gets weird. The first thing I drink in the morning is coffee and really not much else. Over the course of the next hour, due to the diuretic nature of coffee, I end up going to take a piss several times where my urine is seemingly clear.

So what kind of voodoo is this? The same happens with alcohol.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Both caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, which means they make the kidney let go of more water than it typically would. Because of the increased fluid, the solute in the urine is less concentrated, thus more clear.

It's not a fail proof way of assessing your hydration status... but if you're peeing solid yellow all the time, you're usually not drinking enough. It should and will vary, but as long as you're not consistently peeing dark or smelly urine, you're usually alright.

 

[darkxshade]

I don't know how to gauge my hydration really. I've drank water all throughout the day often and it still comes out yellow(not dark or smelly but still yellow). It seem to only come out clear when I drink things where I would least expect such a result like diet soda and soy milk.

 

[RagingBITCH]

I don't know how to gauge my hydration really. I've drank water all throughout the day often and it still comes out yellow(not dark or smelly but still yellow). It seem to only come out clear when I drink things where I would least expect such a result like diet soda and soy milk.

What's water all throughout the day often mean? If you had a standard 16oz plastic water bottle...how many of those would you say you would drink through the day?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I don't know how to gauge my hydration really. I've drank water all throughout the day often and it still comes out yellow(not dark or smelly but still yellow). It seem to only come out clear when I drink things where I would least expect such a result like diet soda and soy milk.

That's fine - your pee isn't supposed to be clear. If it's consistently clear, that's usually a sign of over-hydration. Some people think you need to drink a certain amount every day, but it really varies based upon your activity levels and the heat. You actually get a lot of your fluid from food in addition to drinking so the act of drinking isn't the only source of hydration.

 

[abhishek25]

divide your weight by 10 and subtract 2 from it , that much water is required in a day. yellow urine is a sign of dehydration

 

[vi edit]

Vitamins & Supplements can also affect urine color. B vitamins in excess can turn your pee into some neon Mountain Dew looking substance. I was using some GNC "Men's Mega Mix" that had some obscene amount of B vitamins in it. Even well hydrated it looked like I was draining out a cooler of lemon lime Gatorade into a urinal.

 

[JBT]

Boil some beats, and watch your pee turn pink.
Eat some asparagus and instantly have terrible smelling greenish pee.

 

[polarmystery]

Vitamins & Supplements can also affect urine color. B vitamins in excess can turn your pee into some neon Mountain Dew looking substance. I was using some GNC "Men's Mega Mix" that had some obscene amount of B vitamins in it. Even well hydrated it looked like I was draining out a cooler of lemon lime Gatorade into a urinal.

LOL This is absolutely true, it happens to me as well (using Opti-men daily vitamin)