Pantone launches urine colour chart to help ‘polite Brits’ with their hydration

The new urine colour palate courtesy of Pantone and Highland Spring (Pantone/Highland Spring)

Pantone and Highland Spring have launched a new urine colour scale to help “polite Brits” understand more about their hydration.

The internationally renowned colour experts and water producer have joined forces to create the new ‘Pee Healthy’ guide which matches urine colours with Pantone shades in a bid to raise awareness of our body’s natural health indicators on hydration by checking the colour of our urine.

Five key shades, which include “Dry Spell”, “Glass Half Full” and “Feeling Good”, are featured in the new digital colour palate, running from clear to dark yellow, which relate to the different shades of healthy hydration.

Laurie Pressman, vice-president of the Pantone Color Institute, said that the chart “highlights how the visual language of colour can be used as an indicator to provide quick and natural insights as to whether we are keeping ourselves healthfully hydrated.”

A study of 2,000 adults conducted by OnePoll found that 40 per cent are confused about how much water they need to drink.

While those surveyed believed that they should aim for seven glasses of water a day, they typically only managed five, whereas 23 per cent only drink one or two.

One in 10 don’t even have a drink whilst exercising, while 14 per cent don’t have a drink with their meal.

Distractions from their day-to-day routine were cited by 42 per cent of respondents, while 15 per cent said they were “too busy” to keep hydrated.

Nutritionist Lily Soutter says: “Drinking enough fluids and staying hydrated throughout the day is important for energy, concentration, mood, and even exercise performance.

“Reaching our daily water target is important for maintaining normal physical and cognitive functions. Our body is made up of 70 per cent water, therefore staying hydrated can play a key role with our overall wellbeing,” she added.

Going to the toilet too often could be bad for your bladder, according to a clinical physiotherapy specialist in bladder and bowel dysfunction, however.

Diane Wootton told the Daily Mail that people who think “I’d better go before I leave” are more at risk of developing a weak bladder.

“It means your bladder won’t ever fill to a normal level (more than 200ml) because it’s often being emptied,” she said.

“If it’s not stretched, it’ll weaken over time — meaning you really will need the loo all the time.

“I once had a patient who went to the loo 22 times a day partly because of this habit,” she said.