Frank Zappa’s famed advice -‘Watch out where the huskies go, an
don’t you eat that yellow snow…’ – could be rendered obsolete by a
new test for dehydration.

…an don’t you eat that yellow snow

For years mountaineers and other outdoor athletes have gauged
hydration, or more usually, dehydration, by checking urine colour.
Clear is good, dark means you need more fluid. But it’s always been
an inexact science – now researchers have developed a colour strip
that helps you to gauge exactly how far gone you actually are.

Think emulsion paint colour strips but ranging from Crown ‘Clever
Clear’ through to Dulux ‘Dangerously Dark’. In tests comparing urine
colours with the strips, dehydrated athletes with high concentrations
of proteins and minerals in their urine, found levels tallied
accurately with the colours on the strips.

One thought though, how will you spot the yellow snow, now its no
longer yellow? We are indebted to Outsidemag.com
for this story…