Beeturia: When Beets Turn Urine Pink to Red

Beeturia is when urine is turned pink or red after eating something that incorporates beets or beetroot. The color change may be alarming, nevertheless it’s considered harmless whether it is from a food. However, it is also necessary to know that certain medical conditions could cause pink or red pee, equivalent to a urinary tract infection or kidney disease.

This article will discuss how beets turn urine (and stools) pink or red, other reasons for reddish urine, and when treatment is required.

What Does Beeturia Look Like?

Urine is normally a spread of yellow tones. Pale yellow normally indicates proper hydration, while dark yellow can mean dehydration. Beeturia is a condition wherein the urine turns a pinkish or reddish hue. It happens after eating something that incorporates beets or beetroot. Beets contain a red substance that may change the colour of urine.

What Causes Beeturia?

Whole beets and the coloring extracted from beets can each cause beeturia. The pigment in beets and other foods that give them their yellow, red, or purple color are called betalains.

The red colorant extracted from beets known as betanin (also called beetroot red). Betanin is utilized in various products within the United States and Europe, equivalent to food, medications, and cosmetics, to offer them a red coloring.

It remains to be unclear how much betalain is absorbed by the body. Betalain can also be excreted through urine. After drinking beet juice, the best amounts of betalain show up in urine two to 4 hours later.

Does Beeturia Indicate an Underlying Condition?

Beeturia is from eating or drinking something that incorporates betalains. It will not be considered harmful, even though it may very well be startling.

Often, pondering back on what you ate or drank throughout the day will provide help to discover where the red coloring got here from. Beets or beet juice itself is the plain cause. However, processed foods equivalent to protein drinks or powders may additionally contain pink or red coloring derived from beet extract.

If red or pink urine will not be attributable to beeturia, it may very well be from a health condition.

What Else Could Make Urine Pink or Red?

An older study shows that 10% to 14% of individuals have pink or red urine after eating beets or food containing beetroot. It’s also thought (based on one other older study) that as many as 45% of people that have pernicious anemia will experience red urine after eating beets or beetroot.

This is because pernicious anemia causes a decrease in red blood cells since the body cannot absorb enough vitamin B12, which affects red blood cells’ health and performance. So, while beeturia is harmless, it could sometimes be attributable to anemia.

Foods aside from beets could also cause red urine or stool. These include blackberries, cranberries, pomegranates, fava beans, and hibiscus tea.

Red food coloring not derived from beets, equivalent to red dye number 40 (listed on ingredients labels as “Red 40” or “Red #40”), utilized in cakes, cookies, frostings, and candy, may cause red urine or stool.

When it will not be from a food coloring (either natural or manufactured), red coloring within the stool or urine may very well be blood. Blood within the urine can occur with common conditions equivalent to urinary tract infections or kidney stones. It could also, less commonly, be a symptom of a blood disorder or cancer.

Can Beets Change the Color of Stool?

Eating beets or beetroot could also change the colour of stool. The food we eat affects our poop in addition to our pee. The red color in beets could lead on to the stool appearing closer to a red than a brown color.

Having bowel surgery, especially a colectomy (surgery to remove part or the entire large intestine), could cause a pronounced red color in stool as well.

When Should I See a Healthcare Provider?

After eating beets or one other red or pink food, processed or unprocessed, the urine or stool could appear on the red spectrum. Thinking back on what was eaten or drunk within the last day or two could make the rationale for the change obvious.

If you observed the red coloring could also be from beets, stop eating the foods as a primary step in determining cause. The red color should begin to go away inside a day or two, or possibly sooner.

Reddish urine or stool that continues after you stop eating red foods could indicate an underlying health condition. If you experience the next symptoms together with reddish urine, see a healthcare provider:

• Abdominal pain
• Burning or pain while peeing
• Changes in mental state equivalent to anxiety, confusion, or hallucinations
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Leaking urine
• Muscle weakness
• New or worsening stool changes (constipation or diarrhea)
• Seizures
• Weight loss

Diagnostic Tests

Tests is perhaps used to rule out other reasons for pink to red urine, including blood. Blood within the urine known as hematuria. Tests may include:

• Blood tests might check for prime white blood cell counts, which could indicate an infection, or low red blood cell counts or low hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells carrying oxygen), which indicate anemia.
• Urinalysis tests urine for the presence of blood or other cells and substances that would indicate a urinary tract infection.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan is a form of X-ray that could make detailed images of the tissues and organs of the urinary tract.
• Cystoscopy uses a skinny tube inserted into the urethra (the tube by which urine exits the body) and bladder to search for inflammation or signs of disease.
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP) is a form of X-ray used together with contrast dye to see the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.
• Kidney biopsy collects a bit of tissue from the kidney to search for damage or disease.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses strong magnets and radio waves to make images of the structures of the urinary tract.
• Ultrasound uses sound waves to create a picture of the organs within the abdomen, including the kidneys.

Treatment for Associated Conditions

The treatment for blood within the urine or other symptoms within the urinary tract will likely be based on the diagnosed condition.

If there’s a kidney or urinary tract infection, antibiotics will likely be used. The form of antibiotics used will likely be chosen so that they’re best suited to kill the bacteria.

Bladder cancer will normally be treated with surgery and possibly also with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and/or targeted therapy.

Kidney stones is perhaps removed by accessing the kidney through the back or inserting a special tube into the urethra. Stones may be broken up with shock waves, which makes it easier for the pieces to go through urination.

A healthcare provider will treat conditions which may cause blood within the urine or other symptoms as needed.

Summary

Beeturia is attributable to color in foods or drinks and will not be a reason for concern. It will go away when those foods aren’t any longer within the weight loss program. If there are symptoms related to it, nonetheless, including pain or problems with urination, seek care from a healthcare provider. A condition that’s causing blood to seem within the urine will likely be diagnosed and treated as needed.