What Urine Can Tell You

The other day I had asparagus and up to half the people on this planet can smell the affects of aspargus when urinating. Here an extract from wedMD:

Depending on which study you read, between 22% and 50% of the population report having pungent pee after eating asparagus. But that doesn’t mean only some people’s bodies generate that smell. Researchers believe that, during digestion, the vegetable’s sulfurous amino acids break down into smelly chemical components in all people. And because those components are “volatile,” meaning airborne, the odor wafts upward as the urine leaves the body and can be detected as soon as 15 minutes after you eat this spring delicacy.

But only about one-quarter of the population appears to have the special gene that allows them to smell those compounds. So the issue isn’t whether or not your pee is smelly; it’s whether you’re able to smell it. If you smell a funny fragrance in your urine after you eat asparagus, you’re not only normal, you have a good nose.

So, having thought about this I figured why not post a quick one on urine. The way your urine looks can be used as a method to diagnose the state of your body to a certain extent. I read an extract of “The Better Man Project” online which contains thousands of tips and health hacks, but can’t vouch for anything in the book at this point. Nonetheless it also refers to urine and how to diagnose your pee.

Here my summary:

Urine is bloody
If your urine contains blood, this could signal an enlarged prostate or kidney stone or even cancer. Seek immediate attention by a doctor and specialist.

Urine is brown or rusty
Rust colored urine can mean a bacterial infection. Blood can sometimes also look brown. The color change can be caused by bilirubin, a liver byproduct that can signal liver disease. No need to freak out, but have it checked out by your doctor/urologist.

Urine is frothy or foamy
If your urine looks foamy, this could mean that you have too much protein in your body and your kidneys are not doing a good job of filtering it out. This could mean the start of diabetes or a kidney disease. Schedule an appointment with your urologist.

Urine is cloudy
This could mean a bacterial infection, especially if it smells funny (not like asparagus) or if there is a burning sensation. The cloudiness is a byproduct of white bloods cells that are hard at work to fight the germs.

I love these “basics.” I believe these are things we all should know about how our body signals various things to us and when do we really need to freak out and when should we just take a deep breathe and see what a doctor has to say. Keep the above in mind: BBFC is my way of remembering it, hence the list above in the same order.

Happy peeing.