If your pee is clear does that mean you are well hydrated?

:hysteria: color me confused :hysteria:
dark pee = crabby me
this thread is humorous.Did you look at the chart? That bottom color is the color of dirt. :umno: I'm thinking imminent hospitalization.

Let's just say I'm seriously dehydrated most of the time :umno:

For some reason I expected our Hall Monitor to step in and offer her opinion.

:wavey: I figure she knows more about this than she's letting on. :wavey:

For some reason I expected our Hall Monitor to step in and offer her opinion.

:wavey: I figure she knows more about this than she's letting on. :wavey:
Yeah, hi, I've been in class....quickly:

I don't buy the overhydration thing. Some days I'll drink less than 50 oz of fluid and have clear urine. If I drink plenty of water as is recommended, say 80oz, there won't be a touch of yellow. Isn't color determined by the presence of certain minerals/chemicals (citric acid is a primary contributor - at least that's what I've heard)? So if your diet has less of these color compounds, you could be very underhydrated and not be able to judge by color. Or, you could ingest plenty of coloration and still drink a gallon of water and have dark urine.
Nope. Urine color is an okay indicator of dehydration, its not perfect, but all other things pretty normal, its a good indicator. Of course, it can also change with many other conditions or foods or drugs you've taken. I don't know anything about citric acid being in urine, this is the first I've heard of this...I'll have to google to find out more there...I know that in situations like respiratory acidosis where your kidneys excrete acids, maybe they are citric? I also know that acidic urine can lead to kidney stones, but I digress. I also know that any excess vitamin C (possibly other water soluble vitamins) are urinated out, so you'll notice when you pee after taking a multivitamin it smells like multivitamin and it is kind of a neon green/yellow. But, if your urine is running clear, you are on the hydrated end of the spectrum, for sure. Is it too far (which I think is the actual question of this thread)? Like approaching hyponatremia (condition where you basically have taken in a lot more water than sodium, and have eliminated a lot of your sodium so your electrolytes are out of whack)? To be perfectly honest I don't know, but I would think its an indicator you at the very least don't need to force fluids. I can research this more...

But back to urine color, from one of my books:
Normal urine ranges froma pale straw color to amber depending on concentration. Urine is usually more concentrated in the morning or with fluid volume deficits (so, when dehydrated). As the person drinks more fluids, urine becomes less concentrated.

It goes on to say blood in urine, certain meds, medical dyes, and several foods like berries, beets and other stuff can all change the color of urine without
 

The Mayo Clinic says that urine color is related to "urochrome" which is a blood pigment. Additionally, it defines several possible colors seen in urine, including saying that clear is excess fluid.

Thanks so much for all of that! That is way cool!!!