The other day I was going to the bathroom and it was all red. I started to freak out until I realized I had eaten a bunch of beets the day before. I remember my English teacher telling the class about this college prank where the Chemistry geeks made an elixir they gave to the jocks which made their pee turn bright blue. The jocks were mortified when they looked at the toilet bowl after they had done their business.
Here is a preliminary research report on things that alter your pee. Right now I'm including things that alters color and smell. I don't think I could do taste or touch and if I could, that would probably push an already kind of gross project over the edge.
If anyone has suggestions on foods I can research, leave a comment.
Beets
As previously mentioned, beets will turn your urine red. According to Wikipedia, "Betacyanin in beetroot may cause red urine in some people who are unable to break it down. This is called beeturia." [19] It says that beeturia only affects 10-15% of people. If so, that's crazy!! What?!? Am I in that 15 percentile? I thought it was totally normal. In the On-line Medical Dictionary it says that this happens to iron-deficient people, but can also happen to "normal people." I also found research saying that it might be a genetic disposition. Some people's stomachs can break down the dye, while other people can't. I suppose I could have an iron deficiency, but I have a feeling it's totally normal to have your pee turn red from beets. If I can figure out how to, I'm going to put up a survey. Please answer it! I want to know the answer to this!
Also, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have shown that the red beet-induced urine could help fight cancer! They explain that "beet pigments may boost levels of proteins, called phase II enzymes, that help detoxify potential cancer-causing substances and purge them from the body. " Well that's cool.
66 comments:
I just voted that beets turn my pee red, but then I remembered that the only time I've eaten enough beets to make my pee turn red was when I lived in a house with a lot of people and no one flushed... I always noticed magenta pee in the toilet after borscht night, but it could've been someone else's.
The stuff that turns your pee blue is "Methyl Blue". According to a guy name Jason in my chem lab, they played a prank on someone at his work by spiking the guy's redbull with the stuff. He said that one urinal was blue for the next couple days. As for beets, I'm pretty sure that happened to my sister's guinea pig when we were little.
It doesn't turn my pee red, just my poop. That is also terrifying, though.
It turns stool and urine ultra magenta on me. Scared the wits out of me recently; I had cooked and eaten some fresh beets with lemon a few weeks ago for the first time in a couple years, and in the meantime had had major surgery for an infected kidney that had caused bloody urine. When I saw the toilet contents, I thought I was losing my remaining kidney. Thank goodness I remembered about the beets. The bright red went away within 48 hours, but the pink tinge faded over the next three days.
ha, this just happened to me tonight. I ate fresh beets and it turned my pee bright pinkish/red.
I agree...... Blood Red when I had made Beet juice today. I blended beets with carrots and apples together (VERY HEALTHY) And Within 30 min wow.... Its great for the Kidneys aswell
I almost took myself to Emerg one day because of bright red urine after eating beets. Imagine how embarrassing that would have been. "Um madam you have a case of beeturia" How long does the red pee and poo usually last. I had a beet juice yesterday and the 'blood' is still present. Is there any more info about the % of people who have this phenomenon and the underlying cause. Is it related to asparagus pee?
When I urinated and found the toilet water slightly tinged pink, I had to google "urine and beets". I had recovered from a kidney / bladder infection recently and thought that things might be turning toward the worse. The last three days I've included one beet and the tops in my juicing recipe. This is probably the cause. Thought I'd include my experience.
It took 48 hours for the beet dye to clear my system!
Funny -- am reading this more than a year after the last post ... this happened to me today.
I called my doctor's office who referred me to the ER in scoping was needed. Of course, they didn't ask me about me eating fresh beets and I didn't think about it till I got to the ER!
Well, I did have a UTI so it's good I did go...but the rest... beeturia!
I'll have to do some research -- why doesn't it happen to everyone and is it just fresh beets? This was the very first time I cooked and ate fresh beet.
I ate a beet yesterday. My urine looks bloody today. That is how I ended up here :D
LOL I am like the 2 above me. I found this blog because of it. I am thinking it might only be fresh because canned and pickled are packed in liquid that leaches out some of the color. I prefer my beets roasted so all of the color stays in mine.
i just cooked up three fresh beets on Wednesday and my urine turned pink - not bloody pink but beet pink. I called my health insurance nurse and asked about this. We agreed that since i had no other symptoms of bladder infection, i would wait one more day before requesting a urine test. It is Thursday and my urine is still red but i decided to go online to learn more and was relieved to find all this info on this site. Thank you for posting it.
I'm super healthy and have never been anemic..except temporarily during pregnancy with #5..17 years ago. I started adding beets to my super smoothie shake and I have both the magenta/red pee and #2. I researched and read this could mean problems with iron metabolism and/or problems with absorption in the lower intestine. That sucks!! I also get asparagus pee. Funny story - I had to get random drug pee test for work..and I had eaten a ton of asparagus the night before..and I had to had to hand the cup of smelly asparagus pee to the guy..and he had no idea what asparagus pee was..and he was not amused. ha ha ha!! I don't know if I should worry about the beet pee and beet #2....???
LOL Moroh... I think that is priceless....Asparagus pee lol.... mmmmmm. Anyway I ate 1 Beet 2 days a go and I am still peeing pink... first time for me seeing it in my urine. I have been constipated lately and think it may be because of that... possibly not digesting them properly. I was checked recently for iron deficiency with no issues there. Very alarming... I knew about red stools but not pink/red pee... I too thought it was a UTI but not having any other symptoms!! The strange things that happen hey?
My pee was redish for 12 hours after eating only one small cooked fresh beet. I am familiar with this but it still concerns me. It never happens with canned beets even if I drink the juice. I want to eat vegetables like beets instead of potatoes to lower carb intake.
Have always eaten canned beets and never had a problem. My brother told me how good roasted FRESH beets are so I thought I would treat myself and my husband to this. They were soooo very good. The next morning my husband woke me and said he thought he may have ruptured something in his stomache, he was bleeding from his rectum and in his pee! It took a minute but we figured out it had to be the beets because I got up and was also peeing red. Very Funny!
Bets have always turned my P&P red, no surprise for me there, and my iron levels are good (I donate blood) but this time, after eating beets two nights ago, I am still peeing magenta pink pee and it's almost dinnertime. This concerns me... ideas anyone?
Tonight my girlfriend brought home a big bag of fresh beats she got from her sisters garden and boiled them up. With a little salt they tasted great so i had 5 or 6 giant beets and freaked out about 6 hours later (about 20 minutes ago) and thats what led me here. You have no idea how much of a relief it was to find this
I had not eaten fresh beets in several years until this morning. My urine turned blood red. I was shocked and somewhat afraid. Then it happened each time I went to the bathroom for several hours. So red. I was freaked out. Now it's evening and I am only going pink. So, I'm here for the same reason most others are. I googled "beets affecting urine." I am relieved, no pun intended.
L.B.
I am like so many on here before me.. I found this sight when I looked up beets affecting urine! I have always had the slight scare with #2! I have eaten LOTS of beets, fresh, and NEVER had red urine! I am not iron deficient, although I may not digest it right..Very relieved to see all of the posts and comments on tnis! I have been having stomach cramps prior to this for a few days, and then RED! SCARY! I figured it out though, and I am not alone! YAY! I do want to know though, if it supposedly only affects 15-20% of people, then are all of us THOSE people! I believe it is more common than they know about.
I'm here because this happened to me today and I totally freaked out so I googled it and here I am. Yep turns my pee red and the iron deficiency thing explains it cause I recently had a blood test and I'm iron deficient. mmmm it appears the iron supplements might not be working!!
So glad to find this. I've been peeing pink for about 36 hours and was starting to worry. I ate beets for dinner yesterday, so hopefully this will clear up by tomorrow. Weird, though - I eat beets a lot and this is the first time this has happened. Maybe I'm low on iron?
The first time my pee went red i was 8mth pregnant, caused a bit of a stir, then again tonight only hours after finding out i have malaria, both times i panicked untill i realised i had eaten beets only hours before, good blog glad you were here.
So glad to find this. I had a fresh squeezed drink that contained beets in it. Now I can relax and ask to get my iron levels checked next time I happen to go to a doctor.
I'm here because I've been experiencing the same issue. I've been very lethargic for the last month , so this just let me know that I have to have my iron levels tested.
I'm here because I've been experiencing the same issue. I've been very lethargic for the last month , so this just let me know that I have to have my iron levels tested.
I got up at 3 am to pee and had to google red urine causes right away. I was so glad to see it is so common. I had a salad with greens, fresh roasted beets and blue cheese. Delicious! 24 hours later and still peeing pink.
This just happened to me today. I've had fresh cooked beets before but have never noticed the red pee and poop. I was scared at first but then thought about the beets since I knew that asparagus can cause the weird smell so did a google search and found this site. Thank you!!
i have same experience and thats why i am posting it. thnx
I got up at 3 am to pee and had to google red urine causes right away. I was so glad to see it is so common. I had a salad with greens, fresh roasted beets and blue cheese. Delicious! 24 hours later and still peeing pink.
Yes, me, too! I also got up at 3am, and was shocked and scared when I saw that my urine was pink! I have been iron deficient, so maybe this is why this happened.
I've eaten fresh boiled beets, and never had pink urine. This time we roasted them, so all of the dye stayed in the beets. Being a vegetarian, I ate two! They were delicious, but I was also doing an Internet search at 3am to check "pink urine and fresh beets." I'm so glad I found this blog! The asparagus urine, which I have experienced, made me think that the beets were the culprit. Thanks to all for contributing.
Pink urine and all, I feel much better!
Lol...pink pee lead me to this blog! Interesting info. Just drank my first beet pineapple juice. Amazing!! Ill be drinking daily. Wonder if my pee will be pink until I stop. It will be an experiment!. ;)
Lol...pink pee lead me to this blog! Interesting info. Just drank my first beet pineapple juice. Amazing!! Ill be drinking daily. Wonder if my pee will be pink until I stop. It will be an experiment!. ;)
this morning i juiced 4 small beets and apple and pear, very nice btw, but yes pink pee. I think it happens to anyone if the concentration is high enough. as I have juiced beets before but not so many and it has never happened, so I think if its good for you and its crazy cool as well. : )
Just went to a wedding and ate a ton of fresh beets. Came home and my urine was pink. I eat canned beets all the time and this has never happened before. Fun! I feel healthier...
LOLOLOL I was led here by the same reason everyone else was. I've been freaking out since yesterday! :D
LOLOLOL I was led here by the same reason everyone else was. I've been freaking out since yesterday! :D
LOLOLOL I was led here by the same reason everyone else was. I've been freaking out since yesterday! :D
LOLOLOL I was led here by the same reason everyone else was. I've been freaking out since yesterday! :D
Same as everyone here!...Found this blog because I ate beets for dinner tonight and then pee'd pink color urine and immediately went to my computer and googled "beets urine"!
thank you thank you thank you!!! I ate quite a bit of home-cooked beetroot today lunch time and nearly fainted when I went to the loo and saw pink p. It's never happened to me before so as soon as I got home I looked up beetroot and p on the net. I am a 55 year old women and thought something is going wrong, so thank you for putting my mind at rest.
thank you thank you thank you!!! I ate quite a bit of home-cooked beetroot today lunch time and nearly fainted when I went to the loo and saw pink p. It's never happened to me before so as soon as I got home I looked up beetroot and p on the net. I am a 55 year old women and thought something is going wrong, so thank you for putting my mind at rest.
thank you thank you thank you!!! I ate quite a bit of home-cooked beetroot today lunch time and nearly fainted when I went to the loo and saw pink p. It's never happened to me before so as soon as I got home I looked up beetroot and p on the net. I am a 55 year old women and thought something is going wrong, so thank you for putting my mind at rest.
I am soo relieved to here these stories.. Panic over! This morning I went to pee and to my horror I happened to notice the colour was a deep intense red colour. I think I am low in iron which may be the cause .. But still I was mortally freaked out by this experience.
I am soo relieved to here these stories.. Panic over! This morning I went to pee and to my horror I happened to notice the colour was a deep intense red colour. I think I am low in iron which may be the cause .. But still I was mortally freaked out by this experience.
Thanks for the post.....i freaked out then my husband reminded me of the huge bowl of beets the night before....it has lasted 3 days and is still pink! Glad im not the only one! Yeah for the 10-15% of us!
Thanks Dayna,
Me too. Day 3 and still red! Most were worried after 24 hours.
I get asparagus pee too but that disapates quickly.
Good to know someone else is still waiting for the color to fade.
I never noticed the red pee until I ate two fresh uncooked beats like they were carrots. Next day I thought I had blood in my urine until I remembered the beets.
I found this blog for same reason! Pink p. but I didn't eat beets, I drank organic beet juice :)
yup... both pee and poo... but the pee was a bit perplexing, tho i already knew something of the magenta poo.had some borsht yesterday.it kinda makes much sense that it would effect pee, too, tho.all the same, it is shocking to see... thank you for talking freely about it.
Soo annoyingly scary to glance back and see that red pee in the pot. I saw the doctor about blood in urine but it had cleared and I looked and felt stupid ...but happy none the less. Then I ate more beets and so it goes!
This just happened to me. Thought it was weird for it to happen in just a few hours, also in my stool that fast. I knew I was low on Iron but haven't been taking my supplements.
Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU !!! I had a situation several years ago with passing blood in the urine and I thought it had returned ... I LOVE beets and never had this happen but I always ate canned beets. Yesterday I had fresh roasted beets from the garden and BAM, it's 3:30 am and i'm peeing red !!! 24 hours latter pee back to normal. What a relief, I can sleep now :)
I, too, woke up at 3 a.m. and discovered a crimson toilet bowl. I recently started drinking concentrated beet crystals in my smoothies, I don't understand something though... does this red urine mean I am iron deficient?
I, too, woke up at 3 a.m. and discovered a crimson toilet bowl. I recently started drinking concentrated beet crystals in my smoothies, I don't understand something though... does this red urine mean I am iron deficient?
I, too, woke up at 3 a.m. and discovered a crimson toilet bowl. I recently started drinking concentrated beet crystals in my smoothies, I don't understand something though... does this red urine mean I am iron deficient?
I ate a salad with beets in it yesterday... A LOT of beets! And today my urine is on the pink side. I started to freak out because I have never seen my urine pink. I have always had an iron deficiency, but this is the first time I have ever seen "that color" coming from my body. LOL
Like everyone else, I got a little freaked out when my urine changed from its normal color, to pink, then a pale red. In the past, I would usually eat 1-1 1/2 beets, to have only my stool have a tint of color, which was noticed in only one bowel movement, bet never in my urine. For about a month now, I've been juicing regularly, and today's recipe, contained 3 beets, including its greens, a 1/2 cucumber, 2 sprigs of basil, a 1/4 of a medium cantaloupe and a cup of strawberries. I also drank this on a empty stomach. Now, approximately 4 hrs. later, is when the color change began. The other veggies that seem to have a similar effect, are dark greens, especially kale. I've noticed this happening since I'm eating quantity, more raw, and less cooked. I suppose deep down I knew why this was happening, nevertheless, it still put my mind to rest reading these posts. Thanks! Debbie
Yep, I guess I am part of that 15%I juiced two days ago and my pee is still pink. 3 beats 3 carrots about 16 ounces. What is crazy is that I drink over 70 ounces of water a day and I am still peeing pink!
Yes, I am also part of 15%. I ate 3 baked beetroot at night. In the morning when I did pee it was pink color. Very Strange :)
I ate beet chips. My urine was bright red, looked just like fresh blood. Wasn't like that until after I ate the chips so that must be it. I do have the strange smell after eating asparagus and my daughter who is a biology major says that is definately a genetic factor. Some will, some will not. So I am hoping that is all it is. I'm going to wait and see because I have no signs of a UTI.
Happened to me for the first time a few weeks ago. I have always eaten canned beets, but the fresh roasted ones are so good I couldn't resist. Didn't last long and glad to know it is not a serious condition.
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