6 Foods That Can Change the Color of Your Pee
Updated on August 14, 2025
The color of your pee changes depending on how much water or other fluids you have consumed. This makes urine a great visual indicator of how hydrated you are.
But what does it mean when the color of your urine color changes from its usual range of yellows?
Urine may appear in a variety of different colors: reddish pink, dark brown, light orange, bright yellow, and even blue. A new or different color may come from a harmless diet or medication change. The following foods and nutrients can affect your pee.
1. Beets
Beeturia, or urine discolored by beets or beetroot, affects 10 to 14 percent of people. It is more common with people who have an iron deficiency. Chalk up that pink-to-deep-red urine to plant pigments and similar compounds, says Taylor Wallace, PhD, the principal and CEO at Think Healthy Group and an adjunct associate professor at Tufts University and George Washington University.
2. Rhubarb
Large amounts of rhubarb can also turn your pee pink or red. This is likely a result of the anthocyanins in rhubarb, which are the compounds that give rhubarb its vibrant pink hue. Going heavy on the rhubarb could even turn your urine dark brown.
3. Vitamin B
Vitamin B is in animal proteins, leafy greens, and fortified cereals and breads. Certain types of vitamin B can turn your urine green or yellow and give it a fishy or musty smell.
4. Foods With Bright Dyes
Food dyes or colorings may show up in candy, cereal, and soft drinks. If your urine is bright green or blue, and you do not have additional symptoms, the color may come from these dyes.
5. Carrots
Ever heard that eating a lot of carrots can tint your skin orange? It's true — and that's because of the beta-carotene in carrots, which is the pigment that makes carrots orange. It can have the same tinting effect on your urine.
6. Vitamin C
"Some foods — but mostly higher-dose supplements — that contain vitamin C change your urine bright yellow or orange,” Dr. Wallace says.
This happens because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. If you consume a lot of vitamin C via foods such as kiwis, bell peppers, and strawberries or from supplements, you just pee out the excess. Although orange-colored urine can be cause for concern at times, vitamin C is considered an important part of your diet — and this side effect often does not indicate a serious health issue.
When to See a Doctor
Ideally, your urine should be clear yellow. A change in color is usually a harmless by-product of food or medication, it also can show that something is wrong.
Dark yellow and even brown urine could indicate dehydration, for example.
"If your urine is consistently dark yellow or orange, and adjusting your fluid intake and supplements doesn't work, you should see a doctor,” Wallace says. “This can be a sign of liver or biliary tract problems.”
Additional color changes could be the result of kidney issues or urinary tract infections. Contact your doctor if you are concerned about the color of your urine or if your symptoms include:
- Bubbly or frothy urine
- Red or deep brown urine
- Urine that contains blood
- Changes that last more than a few days and are not the result of food or medication
The Takeaway
- Changes to the color of your urine may be harmless results of foods such as beets, rhubarb, or carrots.
- Vitamins B and C also can alter the color of your pee, either as supplements or through foods high in these nutrients.
- Call your doctor if changes to your urine color last more than a few days or if your urine is bubbly, red, or contains blood.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Urine Color. Mayo Clinic. January 10, 2023.
- Sauder HM et al. Beeturia. StatPearls. May 22, 2023.
- Wojtania A et al. Optimizing the Micropropagation of Red-Stalked Rhubarb Selections: A Strategy for Mass Production of High-Quality Planting Material. Agronomy. December 26, 2024.
- Urine Changes. Cleveland Clinic. September 28, 2023.
- Urine. Cleveland Clinic. January 14, 2025.
- Al Nasser Y et al. Carotenemia. StatPearls. June 12, 2023.
- Vitamin C. MedlinePlus. January 19, 2023.
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