FitSugar

Are You Drinking Enough Water?

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:05:00 PST

How much water am I supposed to drink in a day? I've heard 8 glasses, 6 glasses, 10 glasses - but how do I know what's right for my own body?

Take the pee test. Sounds classy, I know. But it can be quite informative.

After you pee in the toilet, take a look. Really. I'm serious. What color do you see? Is it dark yellow, light yellow, or does it look clear?

The color of pee is caused by bile, the chemical your liver produces to break up fat. When our bodies break down bile, the pigment urochrome turns pee yellow. The lighter the color, the more it's watered down.

Here's the deal. If you are drinking enough water for your body, your urine will be as clear as water. If your pee is - then you passed the test.

Also, your water needs can change from day to day, so monitor it by checking your pee. If it's clear, you're all good. You can also check out Fit's Calculator to see how much water you should be drinking daily.

What's the Strangest Place You Took a Pregnancy Test?

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:17:32 PST

Sometimes you just can't wait! After buying a home pregnancy test, some hopeful mamas-to-be just can't make it home before peeing on the stick. At a recent event introducing the new easy-to-handle Clearblue Plus Pregnancy Test, maternity concierge and BravoTV reality star Rosie Pope revealed that she discovered her third pregnancy at her oldest son's third birthday party. Saying she just couldn't wait to go home to take the test, she snuck into the bathroom and learned the exciting news.

Most LilSugar readers told us they took their tests at home, but we want to know - pregnant or not - where was the strangest place you took the test?

Rewind: Madonna's Most Memorable VMA Performances

BuzzSugar — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 03:05:00 PDT

With the MTV VMAs around the corner, we took a look at Madonna's most memorable VMA performances.
Robert Pattinson woos his costars and us in these new pictures from Bel Ami.
The CBS tribe has spoken; meet the new and returning contestants on Survivor: South Pacific.
Test your knowledge of Gossip Girl and The O.C. with our Serena vs. Summer quotes quiz.
Watch Sue Sylvester aim dodge balls at the McKinley kids in the Glee season three teaser promo.
It was a good week for music-lovers; Lil Wayne showed us his sensitive side in the new music video for "How to Love," and we got to hear a track off of Florence and the Machine's upcoming album as well as OK Go's take on The Muppet Show's theme song.
If you're not excited about Fall TV, these new pics from The Vampire Diaries might help. If you're more of a HIMYM fan, here are five reasons to get excited for the new season.
In need of a little pep in your day? Check out this slideshow of TV's most memorable cheerleaders.
We brought you the best Disney's D23 expo had to offer, including Miss Piggy's dramatic entrance at The Muppets panel and the lowdown on all the upcoming Pixar films.
There's some peculiar behavior in this week's trailers; Joseph Gordon-Levitt exploits cancer to pick up girls in 50/50, Nicholas Cage pees fire in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and Johnny Depp hits the mini bottles hard in the trailer for The Rum Diary.

What Does Your RDI Look Like: Iron

FitSugar — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:37:27 PDT

Back in my vegetarian phase during college, my mom always said, "If you don't eat beef, you won't get enough iron." While it is a great source of this valuable mineral, red meat is not the only meat that contains iron. Chicken, turkey, and seafood such as oysters, tuna, and salmon are also high in iron. When it comes to vegetarian sources, beans, leafy greens, nuts, egg yolks, potatoes with the skin, and dried fruits can help you reach your recommended daily intake (RDI). The human body needs iron to make hemoglobin, which helps carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body, and an adult woman should get 18 milligrams of iron daily. Check out the chart below to make sure you're meeting the RDI of iron.

Food	Amount	Amount of Iron (mg)
Fortified cereal	1 oz	4.5-7
Dried apricot	1/4 cup	1.5
Raisins	1/4 cup	1.1
Molasses	1 tbsp	3.3
Garbanzo beans	1/2 cup, cooked	3.4
Pinto beans	1/2 cup	2.2

To see what other foods contain iron and signs of iron deficiency,

Food	Amount	Amount of Iron (mg)
Lima beans	1/2 cup	2.2
Lentils	1/2 cup	3.2
Soybeans	1/2 cup	7
Tofu	1/2 cup	6.2
Sun-dried tomatoes	1/2 cup	9
Spinach	1/2 cup, raw	2.7
Kale	1/2 cup, steamed	2
Broccoli	1/2 cup, raw	1
Asparagus	1/2 cup, steamed	1
Potatoes, with the skin	1/2 cup	3.2
Pine nuts	1/2 cup	9
Peanuts	1/2 cup	3.9
Pumpkin seeds	1/2 cup	14
Sunflower seeds	1/2 cup	6.7
Flaxseed	1/2 cup	6.2
Ground beef	1 patty	4
Steak	3 oz	4
Turkey (dark meat)	3 oz	4
Oysters	3 oz, steamed	7.4
Trout	3 oz	4
Shrimp	3 oz	4

If after reading this list you're worried that you're not getting enough iron, here are the symptoms of anemia: feeling unusually tired, pale skin, shortness of breath during exercise, cold hands and feet, brittle nails, hair loss, and headaches. Another sign of low iron levels is red-tinged pee after eating beets, which in some cases is a sign of iron deficiency. If you're concerned, all it takes is a simple blood test to confirm your iron levels. If you are diagnosed with anemia, try to eat more foods high in iron, pairing them with foods high in vitamin C, which helps your body absorb the mineral. Taking iron supplements can also help, but they may cause an upset stomach, heartburn, or constipation. Although it's rare, you can also get too much iron. Extra amounts of iron in the body eventually build up to dangerous levels and can cause severe damage to organs trying to store the extra iron. So be careful not to regularly exceed your daily requirement.