What colour should urine be?

Pale straw to light yellow is the usual range when you're well hydrated. Darker yellow or amber generally means you need more fluid. Colour alone isn't diagnostic of anything — it's a prompt to pay attention, not an answer.

Why is my urine bright yellow after taking supplements?

B vitamins, riboflavin in particular, turn urine a vivid yellow. It's harmless and simply means you're excreting what you didn't use.

When is a change in urine a medical problem?

Blood in your urine, persistent cloudiness with burning, a sudden change in how much you're passing, or dark brown urine all need medical assessment now, not a naturopathic appointment. So does urine that smells sweet, which can indicate blood sugar problems. If you contact us with any of these, we'll tell you the same thing and help you get seen.

What Urine Says About Your Health | Naturopath Melbourne

Urine is one of the more useful things you can observe about your own health, partly because you see it several times a day and partly because changes tend to show up early.

It’s also frequently over-interpreted. What follows is what a change can indicate — not what it proves.

Colour

Pale straw to light yellow is the usual range when you’re well hydrated.

Darker yellow or amber generally means you need more fluid.

Bright, almost fluorescent yellow is usually B vitamins, riboflavin in particular. It’s harmless.

Orange, brown or tea-coloured can indicate dehydration, but also liver or bile problems, and some medications cause it. Tell your naturopath — where liver or bile tests are the next step, we’ll refer you.

Pink or red may be beetroot or blackberries. It may also be blood. ⚠ Don’t assume the food unless you know you ate it — get it checked.

Clarity and smell

Urine is normally clear. Persistent cloudiness, particularly with burning or urgency, suggests infection — see urinary tract infection.

Strong-smelling urine is often just concentration, or asparagus. A sweet or fruity smell is different and should be assessed, because it can indicate a blood sugar problem.

Frequency

What’s normal varies with fluid intake, caffeine and temperature. What matters is a change from your own normal — particularly passing much more or much less than usual, or getting up repeatedly at night when you didn’t before.

⚠ When to see a doctor

blood in your urine
persistent cloudiness with burning or pain
a sudden change in volume, up or down
dark brown urine
urine that smells sweet

None of these should wait for a naturopathic appointment — they need medical assessment now. If you contact us with any of them, we’ll tell you the same thing and help you get seen.

Where a naturopath fits

Your naturopath will ask about all of this as part of a full history, because hydration, kidney function and urinary symptoms sit alongside digestion and general health rather than separately from them.

Where something needs pathology, they’ll arrange it or refer you. Urine observation is a prompt for a conversation, not a diagnostic test.

What your urine tells you