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sfgal's avatar

can eating beets change the color of your urine?

Asked by sfgal (283points) March 15th, 2007
My pee is pink! There's no reason for me to believe I have a urinary tract infection (UTI) because I feel totally normal, no pain. But I did eat a lot of beets last night. Could that be why I'm peeing a different color?
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32 Answers

ben's avatar
Yes, it is probably beets. If you eat a lot of them, they will turn your pee pink.
gailcalled's avatar
Beets aso add red color to the other waste material..When you do a fecal blood test (when you get old enough), beets are among the foods one skips for three days prior to test. W. a mordant, beets make a lovely dye for fabrics, also.
bpeoples's avatar
FWIW, totally freaked me out the first time I ate a bunch of beets.
bpeoples's avatar
But it goes away pretty quickly, so see a doctor if the color doesn't change back =)
zina's avatar
beets CAN turn your pee red - but this can be a sign of iron deficiency (otherwise just your poop will be red). you may want to check on it!
occ's avatar
how do you get your iron levels checked? Is that a blood test?
hossman's avatar
Yup. And asparagus will make the smell change.
emilyrose's avatar
my friend once went to the doc cuz she thought she was peeing blood, but it was just beets :)
darwinsbulldog's avatar
At first they thought asparagus pee smell was genetic because not everybody they asked noticed a change in their pee. They thought that some people metabolized asparagus differently and didn't make smelly pee. It turns out they were only half wrong. Everybody gets asparagus pee, but due to a mutation, some people just can't smell it.
lydia's avatar

I am a diabetic my ac1 is between 5 & 6. recently my sugar levels have been high when I taken my fasting readings what could be the cause? My diet has remained the same.

Zaxwar91's avatar

This is fun

jevans2's avatar

Actually, this has happened to me, so I canceled my appointment

duby's avatar

darwin your answer reminds me of a joke. woman goes to the Dr says I have a strange problem. All of a sudden i started farting frequently they are silent and they have no odor but it is still a problem In fact i have farted 5–6 times just while talikng to you. The Dr gave her medicne to take and come back in a week. She comes back and says that medicine madee things worse now my gas is still there but it is silent but smells terrible. The Dr says good we cleareed up your sinus problem now we can focus on your hearing loss.
Anyways. I never remember urine changes in the past but recently my urine and stool changed color from beets. i wonder if it is an aging change

Jedi_sena's avatar

One day I woke up and headed to the restroom. When I noticed the tainted toilet water I immediately thought bladder infection. But the alarming amount of “blood” should be accompanied by a LOT of pain. I felt nothing. But something was definitely not normal so I hurried to dress, planning on heading to the clinic at once. Passing through the kitchen I chanced to notice the vegetables I’d purchased at the farmers market and seeing beets, I realized that I’d eaten several beets the night before. Cancel the doctor visit!

theseeker7's avatar

Thank you, it was fabulous to come on here at 5:15am after I visited the bathroom and found my pee pink and thought OH NO!!!!!!!!! I did quickly reflect on the beet salad I had had last night and suspected it might be the beets, but just needed backup…...
Thanks Again

MEGHA's avatar

HOW LONG DOES THE COLOUR STAY PINKISH AFTER EATING BEETS?

glws's avatar

how many beets does it need to do this

lukealexander's avatar

vericose veins – what is an easy way to get rid of them?

abaker's avatar

I am glad to know it was just beets turning my urine pink! I was a little concerned, then realized it started when I started juicing beets… I juice one beet a day and it causes my urine to be pink. Crazy!

faye's avatar

I fed beets to a man from portugal. he loved them. he phoned in sick to work the next day. i didn’t even think to tell him!!

SpatzieLover's avatar

When in doubt Mayo Clinic helps you out

There’s lovely list of pee colors waiting for you there. Yes, pink urine can result from eating red foods.

faye's avatar

Stays pink for part of one day

btankey's avatar

my pee is red and i ate lots of beets two days ago… and have peed a lot, so it can stay red for a long time… this is kind of fun, i’ve been peeing in glasses and leaving them around the house and people think its juice. maybe the beets make them smell less offensive, or otherwise i’ve just drank enough water to make the pee watery, but the beets still make it turn red, i love it

deekendra's avatar

what did we do before the internet?! i have freaking out all morning after having several pinkish pees and dark red stools this a.m. i had hoped it was the massive bowl o’beets that i ate yesterday afternoon, and this confirms it. thanks! btw: love the joke above… :)

pcrockett's avatar

Beet high energy juice: ¼ beet, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, several apples (granny smith adds some tart), strawberry’s (10), and then add what ever else you like. Yum!!!

scared's avatar

I ate red beets last night. A few hours later I started peeing red/pink? Still peeing pink this morning. How long can this last?

augustlan's avatar

@scared Welcome to Fluther! I imagine it will last until it’s all out of your system. It might get flushed out quicker if you drink a few glasses of water.

ang's avatar

I ate salad with beets and cherry vinegrette yesterday (lunch and snack). Every time I pee the color is more pinkish/red, even this morning! Very scary since I am about to undergo a complete thyroidectomy in 4 days for a cancerous nodule, small goiter and cyst on my thyroid. Never had a problem before with kidneys or bladder. I am freaking out and hoping it’s the beets.

augustlan's avatar

@ang Good luck with your surgery!

Dayni's avatar

It’s the beets for sure people. No need to freak out! But a word to the wise:

To avoid illness/health issues (cancers, diabetes, digestive issues, auto immune diseases, obesity, cardiovascular disease, ADHD/ADD, various other health issues, chronic anything, etc.), STAY AWAY FROM PROCESSED FOODS! And eat whole, living, plant based foods. Simply put, FOOD AS MEDICINE. One can actually REVERSE disease by changing one’s diet to eating these foods. Netflix (or purchase from Amazon) Hungry For Change and Food Matters to be enlightened (and research the Gerson Institute/Therapy). And after you watch those, watch The Beautiful Truth (also available through Netflix).

If you are ailing or have health issues of any kind, unfortunately you have FALLEN INTO THE TRAP that most of society has—and that is trusting and believing in the food industry and the “food-like” products that they have put out there for consumption (this includes beverages such as sports drinks and other, so called, fruity “health” drinks. Go here to read a great example. And remember, this is only ONE ingredient many companies are using: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-shocking-health-threats-your-food). It’s downright EVIL that these companies are doing this KNOWING the ramifications—knowing the health risks. And WHY it’s NOT illegal and they are able to continue, is beyond me (this BVO is actually banned in 100 countries but not here in the US). Yet another sign of just how screwed up our society is—another reason to NOT put your faith and trust in these companies and to put the control of what you eat, what you put into your bodies, in your OWN hands! We need to STOP being ignorant from living in the dark (hence my mission to spread the word!).

The food industry/FDA has been deceiving society for DECADES by misleading the public (via advertisements and packaging) into thinking a product is actually “good for them”—when all the while they are putting chemicals and garbage into your “processed” foods, more now than ever! And yes, actually SNEAKING in highly dangerous ingred. just to keep you wanting more (these ingred. are not only horribly detrimental to your health, in various ways, but some are purposely put in foods since they cause chemical reactions in our brains that TRICK you into NOT feeling full or again, making you want more—making you CRAVE the very food that IS detrimental to your health. i.e. MSG is hidden in many products under over 50 dif. names. This not only tricks you into not feeling full, but most importantly, it causes neurological damage. Guess what people? Campbell’s Soup is one of the biggest culprits doing this! And this is just ONE company). These companies do NOT have your best interest at heart. It’s all about money. Same goes for big pharma.

The food industry and pharmaceutical companies (FDA) work together to create what is called the “cancer industry” (think about it). They are keeping you in the dark. These foods make you sick, you go to the doctor, they prescribe drugs which rarely “cures” but “masks” the problem—and chances are, that causes a domino effect (keeping you in the cycle) rather than getting to the root of the matter.They make you think you need drugs or surgeries to cure your heath issues. This is grossly incorrect. NO NEED FOR DRUGS OR SURGERY! Food and nutrition CAN reverse disease but they will NOT tell you this even IF they know (and believe me, many know this!). Why? It would put them out of a job (again, it’s all about money!). There is no money in “healthy” people, but there is BIG money in diseased/unhealthy people.

Don’t continue believing in this deception. Educate yourself. There is plenty of proof out there; testimonies and resources (to start with, again, watch those two documentaries/movies mentioned above. Also research the people IN the docs.; i.e. Kris Karr, Jon Gabriel. Andrew Saul is another awesome resource; www.doctoryourself.com). STOP eating the garbage laden with chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, fillers and such. THIS is what’s making you sick and/or killing you! If one isn’t correctly and often enough detoxifying, these toxins simply accumulate (build up) in our bodies over time causing various health issues/disease.

Not only eat whole, living, plant based foods, juice and/or drink green smoothies (www.blenditandmendit.com or www.rawfamily.com are two awesome resources to get you started). Take charge of your life. Don’t follow the crowd (the majority of society). YOU are the only one who can do this for yourself. And if you don’t know where to start in seeking help with your health issues (if you have them), if it’s too overwhelming, go to a naturopath (holistic practitioner) who also believes in “food as medicine”—they will be up front with you and guide you on the right path. And if you simply think this is crap and just can’t believe in what I am sharing, then you are only hurting yourself. You are deceived and again, you have fallen into THE trap. Look around, most everyone you see is either overweight, obese, or highly unhealthy and NOT living an optimal life (lacking energy and suffering from a multitude of ailments, minor to serious). Why? It’s the “food-like” products that people are living on—because it’s everywhere and people don’t know any better. The answers are out there. You just have to make an effort to find it. There are PLENTY of people who are “in the know” about all of this—there are many many resources to put you on the right path (starting with the two docs.).

Also, part of the trap is a “mindset”. We are conditioned to think and feel a certain way. This goes hand in hand with the deceit that has been “fed” us, so to speak…get from underneath that mindset and take control of your lives. Do the research.

Food FOR medicine people. Watch the documentaries. Real “health” goes way beyond just eating or juicing beets!

Live awesome!

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