Changes in the colour of your urine can reveal important information about your health. If your urine takes on a hue beyond what's normal, it can be indicative of something wrong with your health. In general, the normal urine colour varies from pale yellow to deep yellowish-brown, which is a result of a chemical pigment in the urine called urochrome.

1. Red or Pink

- When your kidneys, urethra, bladder or any other urinary tract organ gets infected or inflamed, blood cells get leaked into the urine, giving it a red hue. The causes behind the presence of blood can be urinary tract infections, kidney cysts, kidney stones, enlarged prostate and even cancer. Taking blood thinners can also cause you to have blood in your urine.
- Certain foods like blackberries, rhubarb and beets can cause your urine to turn pink.
- The use of certain medications like a particular class of antibiotic used in the treatment of tuberculosis can turn your urine red. Likewise, a drug used to numb discomfort in the urinary tract can cause a red/pink discoloration of your urine.

2. Blue or Green

- The consumption of coloured food dyes containing green or blue pigments can cause you to pass urine of such hues.
- Certain anti-depressant and anti-inflammatory medications can turn your urine green/blue.
- A very rare medical condition called familial benign hypercalcemia (fbh), characterised by high levels of calcium in thE blood and low levels of the mineral in the urine can cause your urine to turn blue.
- Green urine can also occur if your urinary tract gets infected by the pseudomonas bacteria.

3. Dark Brown

- Having large amounts of these foods - aloe, rhubarb (a type of leafy green) and broad beans can cause you to pass dark brown urine.
- Certain anti-malarial drugs, laxatives and muscle relaxants can darken the colour of your urine as well.
- Dark brown urine can also be caused by disorders of the kidney or liver as well as infections of the urinary tract.
Injury of the muscle as a result of excessive training can result in dark brown urine.

4. Orange

- Problems with the bile duct (the duct through which bile from the gall bladder and liver passes before entering the duodenum) or liver along with the passing of light coloured stools can result in orange urine.
- A cause of orange urine may also be dehydration as fluids bring about a decrease in the concentration of compounds present in the urine.

5. White

- The presence of calcium or phosphate sediments in the urine can give it a white hue.
- White urine can also be a result of funguria infection (a form of fungal urinary infection wherein the fungus produces white sediments) or a bacterial infection.



What the Colour of Your Urine Says About Your Health?

Health Benefits of Banana Peel

Bananas have multiple health benefits and are commonly available fruit. They possess a wide variety of vitamins and minerals like vitamins B6, A and C, Manganese, Potassium, dietary fiber, protein, iron, magnesium etc. What many people don't know is the banana peel which is usually thrown away, has multiple health benefits too. It's interesting to know what they are:

1. Whitens Teeth: If you rub banana peel for a minute, every day, for a week on your teeth, you will have naturally white teeth without having to visit the dentist.

2. Removes Warts: The cheapest and simplest method to remove warts and stop them from reoccurring is rubbing the peel of a banana on the affected area, or sticking it there overnight.

3. Treats Acne: Getting rid of pimples is as easy as massaging banana peels on the face and body for five minutes a day until acne disappears.

4. Rids of wrinkles: Mash banana peel and add an egg yolk to it. This mixture works as a great anti-wrinkle face pack. Apply it on your face and wash it off after five minutes. Banana peels are known to keep the skin hydrated.

5. Gives pain relief: This might come as a surprise but the banana peel is known to provide relief from pain. Just place the peel directly on the part that is paining and you'll get relief in about half an hour. You can also make a mixture of banana peel and vegetable oil to apply on the pain affected area.

6. Heals psoriasis: Applying the peel on the psoriasis affected area moisturizes the place and reduces itchiness.

7. Relieves of bug bites: It is advised to massage banana peel on mosquito bites to get immediate relief from pain and itching.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

You will be surprised to know of the many  benefits of a BANANA PEEL!

Impact of drinking water in plastic bottles

We store water in all sorts of plastic bottles, jugs or containers. It can be low grade or high grade, but plastic is plastic! This is a very harmful daily practice as plastic containers carry lot of chemicals and bacteria. 

Let s see the harmful effects of drinking water in plastic bottles:

1. Harmful substances: Apart from harmful chemicals in plastic, water when get stored in plastic bottles also produces harmful substances like fluoride, arsenic and aluminium which can be poison for human body. So, drinking water from plastic bottles would mean drinking slow poison that will slowly and steadily deteriorate your health.

2. Dioxin production: Plastic does melt in hot environment. And we, often store water in plastic bottles while driving and so many times leave it in the car where it is in the direct exposure of sun. Such heating releases a toxin called Dioxin which when consumed can accelerate breast cancer.

3. BPA generation: Biphenyl A is an estrogen-mimicking chemical which can lead to lot of health problems like diabetes, obesity, fertility problems, behavioural problems and early puberty in girls. It s better not to store and drink water from a plastic bottle.

4. Liver cancer and reduced sperm count: Because of presence of a chemical called phthalates in plastic, drinking water from plastic bottles can also lead to liver cancer and reduction in sperm count.

5. Vitamin based bottled water: Nowadays, we get water mostly in plastic bottles and to increase its health content, manufacturers make it vitamin-enriched to attract buyers. But this is even more harmful as it carries health-harming additives like food dyes and high fructose corn syrup.

6. Impact on immune system: Our immune system is immensely affected when we drink water in plastic bottles. The chemicals from plastic bottles are ingested and tend to  disturb our body s immune system.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

Nothing s more dangerous than drinking water in plastic bottles!

8 Foods To Never Eat Before Bedtime
    
Hunger before bedtime is common esp. when you are used to staying up late. The craving to eat something before going to bed makes a person consume anything that is available. Bedtime hunger is not wrong, but there certainly are foods that shouldn't be consumed before going to sleep as they can create health issues. 

Avoid these 8 foods before going to bed.

1. Dairy fat - Having calorie rich cheese or butter for dinner or even before bedtime ensures that your digestive system is going to have a hard time at the night, thus disrupting your sleep.
2. Caffeine - Caffeine from the coffee doesn't let you sleep. It is used to kick our sleepiness so it should never be consumed before bedtime.
3. Spiced/Oily foods- Spices cause flatulence and oils lead to indigestion, ensuring incomplete and disturbed sleep.
4. Red meat - Dinner should always be the lightest meal of the day. If you make your digestive system work heavily overnight, it’s difficult for you to get sound sleep! Red meat being a very heavy, must be avoided to ensure a good night’s sleep.
5. Beans- Beans before bed simply fastens the process of flatulence! Avoid it to have a trouble free night.
6. Sugars- Sugars give you instant energy. That’s exactly what you don’t need before a good night’s sleep so avoid it before bedtime.
7. Aerated drinks- These drinks have acidic content with a lot of sugar and caffeine. Drinking them can destroy you sleep for the whole night so keeping it for the day is wiser!
8. Alcohol- Alcohol makes you drowsy and in a way bogs you down. But that’s really not the kind of sleep you’d like to have. Avoid alcohol to invite the perfect sleep!

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

From Lybrate: If you found this tip useful, please thank the doctor by clicking on the heart icon below. Also, spread good health by sharing this tip with your loved ones over WhatsApp, Facebook and other media.

8 Foods To Never Eat Before Bedtime

Cow Milk vs Buffalo milk - Which is healthier for you?

We can differentiate between the milk from a cow or a buffalo by looking at its color and thickness. While being different from one another in terms of composition and richness, both cow and buffalo milk possess properties that give them their unique nutritional value and health benefits. Including them in your daily diet can help you to stay fit and strong. Here's a look at what they offer, and which one can be the most appropriate for you:

1. Fat content - It's the fat content of these two milks that instantly make them different from one another. Of the two, buffalo milk has a higher percentage of fat content, which keeps your stomach fuller for a long time. On the other hand, cow's milk is easier to digest due to its low-fat content. When it comes to the fat percentage in buffalo milk, on an average it is two times more than that of cow milk. So, if the average fat content in cow milk is 3-4% that of buffalo milk is about 7-8%.

2. Protein content - Buffalo milk contains more protein in comparison to cow milk, which can make it more difficult to digest. It comes with a protein content that is in the range of 4.2%-4.5% and is 11% higher than that of cow milk.

3. Cholesterol content - Cholesterol levels differ in both the milk, with buffalo milk being significantly lower in cholesterol. While buffalo milk has a cholesterol content of 0.65 mg/g, cow milk records 3.14 mg/g of cholesterol.


4. Water content - Cow milk reports higher water content compared to buffalo milk. This is because it contains fewer solids with about 90% of the milk being composed of water. It's this high water percentage that gives cow milk its hydrating quality.

5. Calorie content - Since buffalo milk comes with more proteins and fat, it has more calories. For every 100ml of buffalo milk, you consume about 100Kcals. On the other hand, cow milk contains about 70 Kcals.

If you're on a diet to lose weight and improve your metabolic processes, cow milk would be the most appropriate option as it is low in fat, protein and calorie content. On the other hand, if you want to gain weight and strengthen weak bones, buffalo milk is what you should have daily.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

Cow Milk vs Buffalo Milk - Which is More Healthy?

According to the preconceived notion, drinking alcohol is harmful to the body. It is partly true. Drinking alcohol is harmful to the body, but only in huge proportions. In fact, despite popular belief, drinking alcohol is also good for health.

Here are 8 alcohols that are secretly keeping you healthy:

    Beer: The most common alcoholic drink, beer is loaded with antioxidants called phenols. This protects you against suffering from heart diseases. Beer also lowers the risk of acquiring high blood pressure and helps maintaining it.
    Red Wine: Apart from being a classy drink and having the same benefits of beer, the additional brownie points of red wine is that it helps in increasing life span by generating longevity genes. It also increases good cholesterol and reduces bad cholesterol in the body.
    Ethanol: Ethanol reduces the risk of wear and tear in the brain neurons. Any damage to the neurons may lead to Alzheimer's or dementia. Hence ethanol helps to prevent any harm to the brain cells.
    Vodka: Vodka helps in clearing bad breath as the high alcohol content kills all bad odour bacteria present. It also helps to reduce stress and disinfect wound. It improves the health of the skin and stimulates hair growth. Toothache is also another issue which Vodka can work wonders on.
    Whisky: Whisky helps to numb throat pain when it is gargled in a mixture with warm water. It stimulates weight loss. Whisky also helps in preventing dementia. Other benefits of this drink that it prevents diabetes and cancer. It also helps to keep the heart healthy, increases the level of good cholesterol and terminates blood clots. Whiskey is believed to be one of the healthiest drinks among the alcoholic beverages.
    Tonic: The combination of gin and tonic is very useful while treating malarial infection as it contains quinine; which is used for the treatment of malaria.
    Brandy: Brandy is one alcoholic drink which is full of healthy antioxidants. It has anti ageing properties; hence is very good for the skin. Brandy also reduces the level of bad cholesterol in the body. It also helps in the treatment of bladder and ovarian cancer as well as sore throats and cough.
    Rum: Rum increases life longevity. It is very beneficial for the heart. It also functions as a blood thinner and helps in increasing the level of good cholesterol. Having this wonderful drink occasionally also guards you against osteoporosis and common cold.

8 Alcoholic Drinks That Might Secretly Keep You Healthy

Don't wait any longer, manage your Multivitamins online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Multivitamins - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES