View source for Beeturia

{{Short description|Discoloration of urine after consuming beetroot}}
[[File:Betanin.svg|thumb|[[Betanin]], a beet pigment causing urine coloring]]
'''Beeturia''' is the passing of red or pink [[urine]] after eating [[beetroot]]s or [[food color|foods colored]] with beetroot extract or beetroot [[betalain]] [[pigment]]s.<ref name="sauder">{{cite web |author1=Sauder HM, Rawla P |title=Beeturia |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537012/ |publisher=StatPearls, US National Library of Medicine |access-date=29 May 2024 |date=22 May 2023}}</ref> The color is caused by the excretion of the betalain pigments, such as [[betanin]].
The coloring is highly variable between individuals and between different feeding occasions, and can vary in intensity from light pink urine to strongly-colored deep red urine.<ref name=sauder/> The condition is benign and dissipates promptly with avoidance of beet foods.<ref name=sauder/> Beeturia occurs in about 10-14% of the public, with higher frequency and intensity occurring in people with [[iron deficiency]], [[pernicious anemia]] or [[Gastrointestinal disease|digestive diseases]].<ref name=sauder/>
The pigment is sensitive to [[oxidation|oxidative]] degradation under strongly [[acid]]ic conditions. Therefore, the urine coloring depends on [[stomach]] acidity and dwell time, as well as the presence in foods of betalain-protecting substances, such as [[oxalic acid]].<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite journal
| last=Mitchell |first = S. C.
| date = 2001
| title = Food idiosyncrasies: beetroot and asparagus
| journal = Drug Metab. Dispos.
| volume = 29
| issue = 4
| pages = 539–543
| pmid = 11259347
| url = http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/29/4/539.abstract
}}</ref><ref name="Watts">{{cite journal
| pmid = 8148871 |year=1993
| last1 = Watts
| first1 = AR
| last2 = Lennard
| first2 = MS
| last3 = Mason
| first3 = SL
| last4 = Tucker
| first4 = GT
| last5 = Woods
| first5 = HF
| title = Beeturia and the biological fate of beetroot pigments
| doi=10.1097/00008571-199312000-00004
| volume = 3
| issue = 6
| pages = 302–11
| journal = Pharmacogenetics
}}</ref> Beeturia is often associated with red or pink feces.<ref name="Eastwood">{{cite journal
| last1 = Eastwood
| first1 = MA
| last2 = Nyhlin
| first2 = H
| date = 1995
| title = Beeturia and colonic oxalic acid
| journal = QJM
| pmid = 7493168
| volume = 88
| issue = 10
| pages = 711–7
}}</ref>
==Cause==
[[File:Uncommon beetroot colours.jpg|thumb|A selection of differently colored beetroot varieties]]
The red color seen in beeturia is caused by the presence of [[drug metabolism|unmetabolized]] betalain pigments such as betanin in beetroot passed through the body.<ref name="Mitchell"/><ref name="Watts"/> The pigments are absorbed in the [[colon (anatomy)|colon]].<ref name="Mitchell"/> Betalains are oxidation-sensitive [[redox indicator]]s that are decolorized by [[hydrochloric acid]], [[ferric|ferric ion]]s, and colonic bacteria preparations.<ref name="Eastwood"/> The [[gut flora]] play a not-yet-evaluated role in the breakdown of the pigment.<ref name=sauder/>
==Differential diagnosis==
The incidence of beeturia increases in people with [[pernicious anemia]] and [[Iron deficiency (medicine)|iron deficiency]].<ref name=sauder/><ref name=Watts/> There is no known relation to deficiencies in [[hepatic metabolism|liver metabolism]] or [[renal excretion|removal from the body by the kidneys]].<ref name=Watts/> There is no known direct genetic influence, and no single gene variant, that differentiates excreters from non-excreters.<ref name="Mitchell"/><ref name="Myths">{{cite web |last=McDonald |first=J. H. |date=2011 |title=Myths of Human Genetics: Beeturia |publisher=Sparky House Publishing |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=http://udel.edu/~mcdonald/mythbeeturia.html |access-date=July 7, 2015}}</ref>
==Factors==
The extent of excreted pigment depends on the beet pigment content of the meal, including the addition of concentrated beetroot extract as a [[food additive]] to certain processed foods.<ref name="Mitchell"/> Storage conditions of the beet foods, including [[light]], heat, and [[oxygen]] exposure, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles could degrade the beet pigments.<ref name="Mitchell"/> [[Stomach]] acidity and dwell time may affect urine color intensity.<ref name=sauder/><ref name="Mitchell"/><ref name="Watts"/> The presence of beet pigment-protecting substances, such as oxalic acid, in the meal and during intestinal passage, increase the color intensity in the urine.<ref name=sauder/> Medications may affect stomach acidity, such as [[proton pump inhibitor]]s, thereby affecting urine color.<ref name="Mitchell"/>
==See also==
* [[Food coloring]]
* [[Porphyria]], a group of disorders that may cause reddish urine
* [[Blue diaper syndrome]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Symptoms and signs: Urinary system]]
[[Category:Urine]]