Beeturia

Cause

Explanations

• There is some relationship to iron deficiency.
• There is no known relation to deficiencies in liver metabolism or removal from the body by the kidneys.
• There is no known direct genetic influence, and no single gene variant, that differentiates excreters from non-excreters.

  Factors affecting beeturia

• The pigment content of the meal, including:
• * The type of beetroot
• * The addition of concentrated beetroot extract as a food additive to certain processed foods
• * The storage conditions of the meal, including light, heat, and oxygen exposure, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles that all could degrade the pigments
• * Urine volume, affecting the dilution of the dye
• The stomach acidity and dwell time
• The presence of protecting substances such as oxalic acid in the meal and during intestinal passage
• Medications that affect stomach acidity such as proton pump inhibitors