Serious question about my urine

[texasblitzem]

I drink a lot of bottled water everyday and I like to pour sugar free flavor packets into the bottles. The grape flavored drink mixes are my favorite. So in the course of a day I drink a lot of dark purple grape-flavored water. Of course this makes me pee a lot, but my urine will be as clear as pure water. I would like to know, where did "the purple" go?
What happens to the purple food coloring particles? Does something in me filter the water and do i excrete the purple food coloring? or am i staining something in my body purple?

Just curious

 

[mgb_phys]

The purple is due to the shape/size of crystals in the coloring. As soon as they get into your body the color dye is broken down into it's individual chemicals and either used like any other food or excreted.

 

[texasblitzem]

Oh that's it? nothing cool or interesting huh?
OK thanks

 

[mgb_phys]

Unless you find the shape and structure of crystals and protein folding and their interaction with electromagnetic radiation cool and interesting - no

 

[Borek]

Some dyes will pass through to the urine. Methylene blue does, it is part of the medicine used for kidney stones flushing (English?), you pee blue/green when using it. Also dyes from red beet can be excreted with urine, although I heard it doesn't work for everyone. For sure it does for me.

 

[jambaugh]

You will also find some vegetable dyes are pH indicators. Add some baking soda to a cup of concord grape juice. It will loose its color.

Try adding some baking soda to a bit of your colored drink and seeing if it looses its color.
If so then try urinating into a plastic cup and adding a bit of distilled white vinegar.
If you get a bit of color then you know the coloring is passing through, if not its breaking down in your system.

 

[txn8v]

Possibly of interest here are some strange experiences w/ drinking blue PowerAde:

A few glasses during a single day of this blue-color/flavor PowerAde would apparently discolor my subsequent BM! No joke. I'm serious!
Initially, I was quite freaked out & concerned! Blue/Green poop is unheard of!
After it happened another time or two, it dawned on me what was causing this.
And I've since given up drinking the stuff.

However, I've always been curious why the blue dye wasn't broken down like any other dyed/colored drink I've imbibed, as well as why - even after the entire digestive process - it still remained to be such a great factor in coloring the solid waste product of mine??
Anyone else been a similar victim of my "Blues"?

[THANX ALL! My Proud (yet humbling) 1st POST!]

 

[mgb_phys]

You can have a food safe dye by either having one that immediately breaks down in the body - like the natural yes in any colored food.
Or you could make one safe by having something that has no chemical reaction with anything in your body - in which case it passes through unharmed - but also can't harm you.
I'm guessing they couldn't find any natural dye the unearthly color of Powerade and so just used some synthetic dye that you can't break down.

 

[alxm]

I'm guessing they couldn't find any natural dye the unearthly color of Powerade and so just used some synthetic dye that you can't break down.

Well, there's no real correlation between "natural" vs "synthetic" (not that that distinction really means anything) and whether or not something can be metabolized.

The purple-red of beets goes straight into your urine, for instance.

 

[Missionz12]

The purple is building up in your insides and you're going to die! GO TO A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!

Just kidding :P

More than likely its like the first responder said, the dye in the powder is broken down and consumed or excreted.

 

[Borek]

It just occurred to me - there are alcoholic beverages sold here that are dyed especially to make your urine look funny. I can't remember details but for sure I have heard discussion about them not so long ago.

 

[MATLABdude]

I'd heard about an elaborate prank that supposedly happened at my University. A group threw a mock health info station together about some illness or other, and passed out "information sheets" along with cookies. Amongst the salient points was that if you passed bloody urine, that you should consult a physician immediately.

The cookies, of course, contained a dye or indicator that would colour most peoples' urine red (phenolphtalein?--I don't know if most people have basic urine or not). Supposedly, the on-campus health clinic was swamped the day afterward. Actually, if it was phenolphtalein (formerly used as a strong laxative) they could also have throw in a part about frequent / large bowel movements.

 

[Borek]

urine red (phenolphtalein?--I don't know if most people have basic urine or not)

Almost neutral usually. And phenolphthalein requires pH around 8-9 to become visible, compare with discussion of end point detection in acid base titration and acid base titration indicators - while this is not abut urine titration, theory behind is identical. So phenolphthalein is IMHO out of the question. Otherwise... there are probably many non-harmfull dyes that will do the trick. I like the idea

 

[WhoWee]

I'd heard about an elaborate prank that supposedly happened at my University. A group threw a mock health info station together about some illness or other, and passed out "information sheets" along with cookies. Amongst the salient points was that if you passed bloody urine, that you should consult a physician immediately.

The cookies, of course, contained a dye or indicator that would colour most peoples' urine red (phenolphtalein?--I don't know if most people have basic urine or not). Supposedly, the on-campus health clinic was swamped the day afterward. Actually, if it was phenolphtalein (formerly used as a strong laxative) they could also have throw in a part about frequent / large bowel movements.

Now that's what I call a campus movement.