Urine Color Changes
jposer Hello All: I have been a casual user of Kava for several years now and enjoy it very much. I drink approximately 2 or 3 cups of Kava, 2 to 3 times per week. I definitely would not consider this excessive. However, I notice that my urine coloration is always noticeably darker the next morning after drinking kava. After several hours of being up, my urine color returns to it's normal straw color. I feel great and have no other physical signs of abnormal health. My concern is the liver thing. There is always much written about darkening of the urine, jaundice, etc. So I guess that is my concern. I guess my real question is does kava cause harmless, temporary changes in urine color? Thanks in advance. I have searched the web and found no answers. I hoping some regular kava drinkers can share with me their experiences. Janet Poser
muskie I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV :-) But I am a kava drinker, and I too have noticed a darkening of my urine after drinking kava. As I've been drinking kava for a few years, passed a liver panel test last year with flying colors, and am apparently not dead yet, I'm assuming the color change, in and of itself, doesn't mean much. My guess has been either that kava itself causes a temporary color change, *or* that kava's diuretic properties cause a bit of dehydration.
yee I likewise notice the color change when taking kava, but without the benefit of a urinalysis, can't say much about the significance. When I eat beets, the color is dramatically red, when I take vitamins, esp. B complex, it's fluorescent yellow, when I eat meat it's also darker. Friends of mine also notice these kinds of color changes, which leads me to believe that it is a common occurence with kava. Although this is apparent, I cannot offer medical advice, and suggest that such concerns be referred to a medical doctor. mahalo, Jonathan
hkobayashi I didn't think much about this (color change), but does anyone think this is one reason people falsely associate kava to liver damage? I was reading this today, and made me think for a second. http://www.catie.ca/aidsinfo.nsf/0714d2194eb52070852563ab006a5ac9/845df8d69f7cd39885256c23006a3ecb?OpenDocument The following symptoms may occur in people with liver damage: brown urine yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice) The latter is also associated with heavy kava driniking.
yee
quote:
Originally posted by hkobayashi
I didn't think much about this (color change), but does anyone think this is one reason people falsely associate kava to liver damage? I was reading this today, and made me think for a second. http://www.catie.ca/aidsinfo.nsf/0714d2194eb52070852563ab006a5ac9/845df8d69f7cd39885256c23006a3ecb?OpenDocument The following symptoms may occur in people with liver damage: brown urine yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice) The latter is also associated with heavy kava driniking.
As you probably well know, not all "symptoms" are unique to a condition or malady. However, as a precaution, it is not a bad idea to check with a health practitioner. Sometimes this can be a nuisance - like tech support asking you to reboot when you know that isn't going to help. [:)] What I do find crude is that although "symptoms" may not be unique, an advisory sometimes fails or is unable to point this out, thus causing perhaps needless concerns or false alarms in otherwise healthy people. This is an indication that the state of medicine or dianostics is less than our expectations, or perhaps lacking in better standards, if any, as to contraindications. If that is the case, it seems reasonable for vested interests to exploit this. A kava conspiracy perhaps? [:)]... I'm confident the truth will come out eventually, but in the meantime, I wonder about all the costs and loss of benefits thereof. mahalo, Jonathan
muskie
quote:
Originally posted by hkobayashi
I didn't think much about this (color change), but does anyone think this is one reason people falsely associate kava to liver damage? I was reading this today, and made me think for a second. http://www.catie.ca/aidsinfo.nsf/0714d2194eb52070852563ab006a5ac9/845df8d69f7cd39885256c23006a3ecb?OpenDocument The following symptoms may occur in people with liver damage: brown urine yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice) The latter is also associated with heavy kava driniking.
Given that liver damage is diagnosed through much more conclusive medical tests, I don't think kava-provoked brown urine and yellow skin would be confused with true liver damage by any competent physician. But I can easily imagine a heavy kava user with such symptoms panicking and concluding that he or she had liver damage on the basis of such descriptions and the publicity that's been given to the kava scare.