Why Methylene Blue Turns Your Pee Blue (But Not Always)
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Time to read 5 min
Key Take Aways
Methylene Blue can turn urine blue, but not always, because your body may convert part of it into a clear, colorless form called leucomethylene blue.
Hydration, dose, metabolism, and kidney function all affect whether any blue or green tint appears.
Urine color does not measure effectiveness. You can get the full mitochondrial benefits even if your urine stays clear or partially blue.
How Methylene Blue Affects Urine
If you’ve ever taken Methylene Blue you might have noticed a pretty shocking side effect: Blue pee. Interestingly, not everyone gets that blue or green tint. Let’s break down why this happens for some and not others.
How Methylene Blue Works in the Body
Methylene Blue is a water soluble compound, meaning when you ingest it, it dissolves in fluids and gets absorbed through the gut into your bloodstream. Once in the blood, it circulates throughout the body reaching tissues and cells.
One of the many benefits of Methylene Blue is its enhancement on your mitochondrial function (your cells' power plants) by improving electron transport and reducing oxidative stress.
As your body processes Methylene Blue, it naturally converts part of the molecule into a different form called leucomethylene blue.
This happens when Methylene Blue participates in normal cellular reactions and accepts electrons, which changes it from its blue, oxidized form into a colorless, reduced form.
Because of this shift, a portion of the Methylene Blue you eliminate, especially through urine, may no longer carry any pigment at all.
If your body reduces a large amount of Methylene Blue into leucomethylene blue before excretion, the visible blue tint may never appear, even though the compound is still fully present.
Why You May See Blue Or Green Urine
If Methylene Blue remains in its oxidised blue form when the kidneys filter it, you’ll get colored urine. If it’s been reduced or diluted, you may not.
If the methylene blue (or its colored metabolites) remain present when filtered by the kidneys, then yes, the resulting urine can show a visible tint.
For example, if you’ve taken a dose that leaves a sufficient concentration in circulation and your kidneys are excreting it faster than your body reduces it, then you’ll likely notice the blue or greenish hue.
Most users reported seeing blue or greenish urine after 2 - 6 hours of taking Methylene Blue.
Why You May Not See Blue Or Green Urine
There are many reasons you may not see a change in your urine color when taking methylene blue.
Metabolic Speed
If your body processes Methylene Blue slowly, only a small amount will be excreted at a time, so you may not see any visible tint at all. Factors to metabolism can include weight, age, and sex.
Reduction to Colorless Form
Your body can convert Methylene Blue into leucomethylene blue, a colorless version of the compound. When most of the MB is reduced into this form before excretion, the dye loses its blue pigment, so your urine may appear completely normal.
Individual Kidney/Liver Function
The speed at which your liver metabolises and your kidneys excrete compounds can influence how much colored material ends up in urine. Variability across individuals such as age, health status, hydration, kidney function, all affects this.
Dose
If you took a relatively small dose, the concentration of Methylene Blue or its colored forms might be too low to visibly tint your urine. In some people, the body simply metabolizes and breaks it down faster, leaving very little of the blue form left by the time it’s excreted.
Dilution
If you’re drinking a lot of water, your urine becomes more diluted, which can make the blue tint from Methylene Blue much harder to see. Even if the compound is being excreted normally, the added fluid can spread out the dye so much that the color becomes faint or completely invisible.
Product Quality/Actual Content
If the product you bought contains little to no Methylene Blue at all, then no blue will show up in your urine. Always look for supplements with independent third party lab testing (not just a manufacturer’s own COA).
Check the lab’s credentials and whether the results include actual content verification (purity, dosage) rather than just “passes test”. You can read our third party testing results here.
Why Seeing Blue Doesn’t Necessarily Correlate With Effectiveness
Some people assume that if their urine doesn’t turn blue, the Methylene Blue isn’t working. That’s a flawed assumption. The appearance of blue urine is simply a visible side effect of excretion of the dye/metabolite, not an indication of the therapeutic or mitochondrial effect.
The dye effect is essentially separate from the functional effect on mitochondria if present.
It’s possible to derive benefit without seeing colored urine, and conversely, you might see colored urine with little or no measurable benefit. So urine color should not be the primary marker of efficacy.
Quality Assurance & Third Party Testing
Product quality matters, especially in the supplement space. It’s wise to always ensure the brand you're using provides credible third party testing by a reputable independent lab rather than simply a Certificate of Analysis (COA) from the manufacturer.
That’s why we use the lab Eurofins Scientific, known for rigorous independent testing in pharmaceuticals, food safety and supplements. This ensures your Methylene Blue is actually the compound and dose you expect.
View Our Third Party Tests Here
The Bottom Line
The presence or absence of blue urine simply reflects how your body processes Methylene Blue. Factors like metabolic reduction into leucomethylene blue, elimination rate, and actual Methylene Blue concentration all play a role. Whether your urine changes color or not, what matters most is product quality and proper usage, not the tint itself.
FAQ
Why Does My Pee Turn Blue When I Take Methylene Blue?
Methylene Blue is a water-soluble dye, so any amount your body doesn’t use gets filtered out by your kidneys and released in your urine. When the compound stays in its oxidized (blue) form during excretion, it tints the urine blue or greenish as it leaves your body. This is a normal, harmless side effect that simply shows your body is processing and eliminating the excess Methylene Blue.
I Take Methylene Blue But My Pee Isn’t Blue, Why Is That?
Not seeing blue urine is completely normal. Your body may be converting Methylene Blue into its colorless form, leucomethylene blue, before it’s excreted. Hydration, smaller doses, and faster metabolism can also dilute or eliminate the tint. In many cases, people absorb and process the compound so efficiently that very little of the blue form reaches the urine, which is why the color change doesn’t appear.
If I Take Methylene Blue Will Other Things In My Body Turn Blue?
Methylene Blue may stain your tongue or urine blue, but it does not dye organs at normal doses. Read our deep dive on this topic: https://nutricel.store/blogs/insights/does-methylene-blue-turn-your-brain-blue
How Can I Verify Product Quality?
Look for supplements with independent third party lab testing (not just a manufacturer’s own COA). Check the lab’s credentials and whether the results include actual content verification (purity, dosage) rather than just “passes test”.
References
For further reading and scientific context:
1. Methylene Blue, Absorption, Metabolism, and Excretion in Man and Dog.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022354915385543
2. Methylene Blue: a medical review article on NCBI/StatPearls that explains mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, side-effects (including urine/skin discoloration)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557593/
3. Methylene Blue: a controversial diagnostic acid and medication? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9618115/
Isaiah Lucas
Content Creator at Nutricel Supplements and a passionate advocate for cellular health. His favorite Nutricel product is Blue Boost, which combines Vitamin C Ester and organic cacao powder, for steady and clear focus and energy throughout the day.
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