1 Answer

What Are Normal Values?

Many factors influence the results of a urinalysis including diet, health conditions, and menstruation. Your state of hydration may also affect characteristics such as urine color and specific gravity.

Usually, the pH value will range between 4.6 and 8.0. Diet plays a role in how acidic or alkaline a sample will be with vegetarians more likely to be alkaline and more acidic in those individuals who include meat in their diet. Specific gravity will range between 1.001 to 1.035, depending upon diet and the stage of hydration. This figure represents the kidney's ability to concentrate urine.

Another influence of diet is in the presence of ketones. Popular low carb diets encourage the body to undergo ketosis or the breakdown of fat in order to lose weight. Ketones will then be present in the urine as a result. If the patient is pregnant or has Type 1 diabetes mellitus, ketones may also be present in the sample.

Your doctor can learn a great deal about your body and your lifestyle through a urinalysis. While you may not feel ill, comparing your results with that of urinalysis normal lab values can be all the information your doctor needs to make a diagnosis and begin a course of treatment.

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