The color of your pee says a lot about your health, diet, and hydration levels. You can learn a lot about your overall health and diet just by taking a glance at the color of your urine.

Health Magazine decided to get the straight scoop from the experts about what the color of our urine means, and what it says about our diet, and how much water we are taking in.

What your pee says about you.

As the Vice-Chair of Urology at Mount Sinai, Dr. Ketan Badani knows a lot about this subject. He recently took the time to answer some questions about what the color of our urine reveals about our health.

So, what is the ideal color our urine should be?

Your urine should ideally be a light yellow straw color.

Ideally, your urine will be a light yellow. Having very clear urine is not necessarily bad, however, it just means you are very hydrated! You don’t necessarily need to be drinking that much water if your urine is clear.

What if your urine is dark in color?

Darker colored urine is a sign that you are not drinking enough water or taking in enough liquids. What is happening in your body that is turning your liquid a darker color is your body has begun pulling water from your kidneys.

Your body needs hydration and if you are not giving it that by drinking water, then your body will pull it from your kidneys. Ideally, you should be drinking enough water that your body does not need to do this. Give your kidneys a break!

Foods can change the color of your urine as well.

There are foods that can change the color of your urine as well. These can sometimes cause anxious situations as strange colored urine can make people worry they have developed a medical condition.

Rest assured, most of the time when your urine comes out a weird color, it’s just because of something you ate. Foods with aloe, fava beans, and rhubarb can all turn your pee into a concerning brown color.

What if my urine is pink or red?

There are foods that have been shown to turn urine a pinkish or red color as well. These included beets, blueberries, and rhubarb (again). Rhubarb really should come with a warning label that it will change your pee color.

Medications can also change the color of your urine.

Different medications can also change the color of your urine. Medications prescribed to treat UTIs have been shown to turn urine a brownish color. The medication Rifampin, commonly used to treat infections, has also been shown to turn urine a reddish color.

Health conditions can change the color of your urine.

There are health conditions that can also change the color of your urine. If your urine has changed color and it is not due to any of the above-mentioned reasons, it is best to consult a doctor. Health conditions that can change urinary color range from kidney stones to cancer.

Unusual urine colors that aren’t a cause for concern.

Although it might feel strange to see blue or green colors in your urine, these are not typically a cause for concern. It could be you have eaten asparagus or foods containing dye. Other medications, such as muscle relaxers and heartburn treatments, have also been known to turn urine these colors.

To sum up, don’t freak out if you notice your urine is an unusual color as there is probably a benign explanation for it.

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Source: Health Magazine/Cleveland Clinic