Introduction
Depending on the amount of fluid ingested, humans produce about one to two liters of urine per day with the help of our excretory organs, the kidneys. In addition to water, the urine can also excrete harmful metabolic products that are no longer needed. These urinary substances are filtered out of the blood via the kidneys.
Our urine is normally clear and has a light yellow to colorless color. The smell of fresh urine is normally neutral, but through subsequent bacterial decomposition it quickly takes on the typical pungent, ammonia-like odor. This can vary depending on diet and fluid intake. Morning urine is usually darker than the urine discharged during the day.
Why is urine yellow?
The yellow color of urine is caused by urochromes. These are metabolic products that are produced when the red blood pigment haemoglobin is broken down. Urine consists of 95 percent water.
It also contains many organic and inorganic substances such as electrolytes, creatinine, urea, uric acid, amino acids, ketone bodies, small amounts of protein and possibly vitamins and hormones. The urine is thus used to dispose of metabolic waste products as well as toxins and medicines from the body. Our urine can also take on other colors. Discolored urine, but also conspicuous odor and appearance can be completely harmless, but also an indication of certain diseases.
What can dark urine mean?
The color of the urine naturally depends on the amount of drinking that a person takes in. If a lot of liquid is ingested, the color of the urine is light yellow to transparent. If too little is drunk, this can lead to a dark yellow to amber discoloration of the urine.
Nutrition also plays a role. A protein-rich diet leads to more urine being produced, as too much protein is converted into water-soluble urea and then excreted with the urine. Certain drugs containing the active ingredients L-dopa or alpha-methyldopa can also lead to a very dark discoloration of the urine.
Very often a dark urine color is caused by too little drinking. Furthermore, loss of fluid and electrolytes in other ways, such as increased sweating, severe diarrhoea or vomiting, can also cause a dark urine color. If there is such a lack of liquid, the urine is concentrated much more and therefore discolored to a brownish color. If the color of the urine is dark, despite an increase in the amount of fluid drunk and none of the above-mentioned reasons, this should be clarified by a doctor.