Wrapping up week three of step one!
And I touched a little bit on monitoring the color that comes out of you when you go pee. But I wanted to be a bit more thorough.
I think it should be pretty clear to everyone by now that that is the color we want to be seeing when we go. (get it?) The more tinted yellow we find in our toilets, usually, the more dehydrated we are.
Waking up I often find myself on the scary side of this chart. No matter how much I drink the day before – it is my own curse. That’s why I am reiterating the drinking a large glass of water upon waking spiel. If you haven’t heard it – or haven’t joined us in our lifestyle change, please click here
I also state in the first blog that over drinking is a waste as well. If you’re peeing clear – you don’t need to gulp down more water. Because, believe it or not, clear urine isn’t the best indication for hydration. Sip sip sip throughout the day.
And again – I urge you to read the food portion of the hydration series – here As drinking water alone doesn’t mean we are hydrated…
Hyponatremia, or over hydration, is where the water dilutes the sodium in the blood (other electrolytes may also be effected). MOST LIKELY – this isn’t going to happen to you but it can if you try hard enough. Most people are in a state of dehydration more than anything.
If you are trying very hard to drink lots of water and start to get nausea, headache, cramps or fatigue you should slow down. If you peeing a lot and peeing clear, you can slow down.
This goes both ways.
Another thing to look for is neon pee.
This means you are taking an overabundance of vitamins. I caution anyone I work with to stay away from MVI’s or supplements that have more than 150- 200% of the RDI of any one vitamin, mineral or “health” substance.
B vitamins are usually the culprit of your fun toilet colors. And for the most part, they’re fillers for companies to sell you multiple pills (look for serving size 2+ pills) I see a lot of people taking B vitamins at 1000% +. Unless you actually have a B vitamin deficiency, this is too much.
So if you have the neon party going on – I would find a new MVI, or take it less often.
If you’re urine is dark, this really does indicate dehydration. The kidneys will work to keep the cells themselves from losing water, so stopping you from excreting, and the dark color are all the toxins that are building up in the bladder waiting to be removed.
If it is ever dark brown or black – I would seek medical help right away. This could indicated severe dehydration, liver disease or rhabdomyolysis
Other states of living or medications can cause all sorts of funky colors. Medical News Today put out a very pretty chart on what could be going on.
I just really want you to be aware that clear isn’t always the best. And that yellow isn’t the only color that your body makes.
And it is common curtesy to look back at it. You never know what you’re leaving behind for someone else to clean up 😀 That’s my PSA for this week.
Look for my next blog for Step II this weekend!
Stay hydrated my friends!
Nomad Nutrition 