YIKES! Green Pee After Vitamins…Call It Quits, Or Keep it Going?

So.. you started taking vitamins (hopefully from ProBlk Health) recently and suddenly notice your pee is different from what you are used to. In particular, a bright yellow, orange or green, that some will even describe as neon. Does this sound familiar? Welp… believe it or not, this happens very often. While it can be unsettling / disturbing for some, or even confusing for others, there is nothing to worry about. And trust me, I understand that living in the AC (After Corona) pandemic era we have enough non-stop, overwhelming things to worry about. I would like to ease the burden of your WMT (Worry Management Team) by giving you some good science-based info.

Let’s start with the basics…What does the color of your urine say about your health?

Normal urine color can range from pale yellow to deep amber. This variation usually has to do with how hydrated we are. In other words, how much water we are, or, are not drinking. Unlike the ads we can’t skip through, the more water we drink the better. Please note, when I say water, I don’t mean sweet tea, soda, Kool-Aid, fruit juice or other tasty beverages that list water as their first ingredient. I mean flavorless, usually colorless, odorless water. I will leave it up to you whether your preference is out of the tap, bottle, fridge or water hose. Better hydration is the result of more regular water intake, resulting in lighter color.  I digress… The yellow hue is from our body breaking down old blood cells and eliminating a protein in them called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is vital for transporting oxygen around and about our bodies. In addition to how hard in the paint we go with fulfilling our daily water needs, the foods we eat, medications, or supplements we take can also influence the color of our pee.

Back to original question… Why is my pee bright yellow?

Bright yellow highlighter-esqe urine is common when taking a vitamin B complex, specifically due to B2, AKA riboflavin. Fun fact, ‘flavin’ comes from Latin ‘flavus’ which literally means yellow. So don’t ghost your daily vitamins yet – they’re actually a vital part of maintaining our overall health.  B-vitamins are water soluble, which means they dissolve in water. This does not allow them to be stored in the body like many other nutrients that are often fat soluble. Throughout the day, our bodies will get rid of the parts of the vitamin that are not absorbed or used, often leading to TAH-DAH!!... bright yellow urine. This makes it even more important to continue taking our vitamins to keep our supply stocked and ready to go. Not everyone will experience their urine glowing like Shonuf from The Last Dragon when taking B vitamins. Whether you do or you do not, the best way to know if your body is absorbing enough is get your vitamin levels checked at least yearly. That neon hue may mean that your body has met its needs for the day, and is cool to get rid of the extras.

You may be thinking…What in the heck do B vitamins do anyway?

Well I’m geeked you asked, but will need to wait until the next newsletter. All I will say in the meantime is, the B does not stand for basic. B-vitamins have their hard working little fingers in almost every metabolic process in our bodies. So stay tuned.

One last thing since we are talking about the color of pee. Here is a short but not all inclusive list of colors that should make you pause and make you call a doctor, a friend or the Google to help you get to the bottom of it. Just in case.

Pink/reddish – UTI, kidney disease, prostate disease

Syrup/brown – severe dehydration, liver disease

Orange – dehydration, liver or bile duct issue

Blue/green – often from food dye or medication, rare genetic disease

Foamy/fizzy – kidney disease

Don’t wait until you are sick to be concerned about your health!!!

-Dr. K