4 WHAT'S IN IT?

Urine is mostly water. Besides that, it contains the following:

Soluble minerals in excess of your body's needs, mostly salt, but with some magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphate.

Nitrogenous material, primarily urea. Also present is a more complex compound called creatinine, which I believe is responsible for the color and odor. These substances are nontoxic. There is also a small amount of uric acid and an even smaller amount of ammonia. Neither of these is present in enough concentration to do any harm.

Water-soluble stuff your body needs but is unable to retain. This includes water-soluble vitamins like C and B-complex. If you take large amounts of vitamin supplements, you increase the concentration of these in your urine.

Food components that, though nontoxic, are of no use. These include various natural and artificial flavoring and coloring agents. At least some of the aspartame (Nutrisweet) you consume is passed (the resulting sweetness can be a turn-on for some folks). You may also have noticed that if you eat beets, the red coloring is passed. If you consume a large amount of grapefruit, your urine will smell like grapefruit. There is a nontoxic artificial dye called methylene blue that is passed unchanged, for those who like to pee in color. There are plenty more examples.

Degradation products of food compounds. These are also nontoxic. The best known example is what happens when you eat asparagus. Your liver converts sulfur compounds in the asparagus to methylthiol, (a water-soluble gas) which is passed. Methylthiol is not toxic in the quantities present in urine (that quantity being very small), but it is one of the smelliest compounds known. The human nose can detect it in concentrations of much less than one part per million in air.

Toxins that you consumed, or their degradation products. The best example of one of these is alcohol. Alcohol is so water-soluble that your body is powerless to prevent it (or its degradation product, a compound called acetaldehyde) from diffusing through all your tissues. It will be present in your urine in the same concentration it is in your blood. Caffeine and some recreational drugs are other things that may be present in your urine if you consume them first.

Small quantities of blood protein.

Sluffed off cells and mucous from your bladder and urethra linings.

In males, bits of semen, especially after sexual activity.

Trace quantities of hormones, including sex hormones.

Urine should not contain sugar (glucose) in any but minute amounts. If someone's urine is discernibly sweet, barring his or her having consumed an artificial sweetener, that person ought to see a doctor. Diabetes is no joke (and the doctor is the one person that you CAN tell that you or your lover discovered sugar in the urine by taste. Doctors have heard it all, and they don't tell). Urine should not contain blood or puss. Again, if it does, see a doctor.