{"id":498654,"date":"2026-05-23T06:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T06:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/498654\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T06:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T06:32:11","slug":"withings-u-scan-nutrio-review-checking-your-health-can-be-a-wee-bit-expensive-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/498654\/","title":{"rendered":"Withings U-Scan Nutrio review: Checking your health can be a wee bit expensive \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Withings U-Scan Nutrio<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 \ue9d7<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Price:<\/strong> \u20ac350<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.withings.comOpens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Where To Buy:<\/strong> Withings.com<\/p>\n

Reviewing technology<\/a> can be a mixed bag at times. You go from the bargains to the budget busters; the must-haves to the never-asked-fors. You get to try the next big thing before it catches on, and watch as the hype train runs off the tracks. <\/p>\n

But I can honestly say, this is the first time I\u2019ve reviewed a product that genuinely takes the piss. Quite literally. <\/p>\n

Meet the Withings<\/a> U-Scan, a device that sits in your toilet, collecting urine samples and giving you feedback on your health and where you can make some adjustments to your lifestyle to improve things, all through the magic of wifi. <\/p>\n

Apparently nowhere is safe from the invasion of smart technology, not even the bathroom.<\/p>\n

But before you dismiss this as another solution that has no problem, there are good reasons why you might be doing this. The U-Scan has two types of tests \u2013 the Nutrio, which is designed for a personalised nutrition strategy, and the Calci, which targets those monitoring kidney health due to kidney stones and so on. The version reviewed here is the Nutrio, which measures four markers in your urine \u2013 Vitamin C levels, ketones, bio-acidity and what it calls HydroStatus (aka are you drinking enough water). <\/p>\n

Inside the box, you get the U-Scan device itself, three different hangers to attach it to your toilet and the charging\/cleaning dock. <\/p>\n

The device itself looks like a shell, with grooves on one side, a clip to attach it to the toilet bowl and an LED light that blinks when it is operating. The grooves aren\u2019t for decoration though; they help guide the stream to the correct place on the device. <\/p>\n

You also get a starter cartridge, in this case the Nutrio version, which has 22 tests and slots into the device. You install the cartridge, close up the device and install it in your toilet ready to go. <\/p>\n

The Withings app helps a lot here, talking you through the process and connecting it to your phone and home wifi to send on whatever it detects to the app. This being a Withings device, there is plenty of information in the app to help you figure out exactly what the monitor is measuring, why it is useful and what steps you can take to improve things.<\/p>\n

\"WithingsWithings U-Scan Nutrio: A (mostly) mess-free way to collect urine samples <\/p>\n

Toilets tend to be shared, however. So how does the U-Scan know whose urine output it is measuring? You can schedule a testing window or manually launch a test on the app; other than that, the device remains closed and will ignore whatever liquid is splashed on it. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not quite as easy as it sounds though \u2013 at least not at first. Despite using the recommended hook for the U-Scan, it stubbornly refused to register the sample. Without going into excruciating detail, production wasn\u2019t a problem. A (careful) change of hook and the next attempt worked better. And the good news is that the Nutrio didn\u2019t waste a test on the failed attempt. <\/p>\n

As it is working, you will hear it whirring away (a little disconcerting coming from the toilet bowl) and status lights that blink green when it is waiting for the sample, and orange while it is being analysed. Then it is a matter of waiting until the results are pinged to your app.<\/p>\n

It was a mixed bag. Apparently my pH balance is off, something Withings+ tells me could be down to consumption of coffee. By 10am, I am usually three cups in, so we can chalk that one up to a win for the Nutrio. <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, I need to drink more water, although apparently my ketones and vitamin C levels are bang on target. <\/p>\n

Apparently you can lead a journalist to a massively oversized bottle of water, but you can\u2019t make her drink. At least not unless the water bottle is full of coffee (black, so strong you could trot a donkey on it). It is, however, reassuring to know that I\u2019m doing my best to keep scurvy at bay.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Withings BeamO review: Next-gen thermometer packs a punch \u2013 and a priceOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Each cartridge has 22 tests, so at two a week for monitoring purposes, you can get almost three months out of one. You will need to sign up for a subscription \u2013 \u20ac100 every 2\u00bd months or so \u2013 to get replacements, but it does include the Withings+ subscription that has additional benefits if you are using other Withings products, including a cardiologist review of an ECG you have taken with the Beamo.<\/p>\n

The U-Scan system will need cleaning occasionally, although you can tie it in with the cartridge replacement. The app\u2019s support section has an ominous mention of what to do if the device clogs, but for my own sanity, I am choosing to ignore that. <\/p>\n

Do most people need to track their nutrition and hydration by regularly dipping their urine? Not in the slightest. Could you do all this a bit cheaper? Probably, as long as you are willing to pee on a stick or in a cup, have multiple tests to hand and deal with all that entails. <\/p>\n

After two pregnancies and all that entails, I am an absolute expert at aiming into a cup. However, that doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m particularly fond of it. Been there, done that \u2013 I\u2019m done with clutching uncomfortably warm cups, thanks very much. <\/p>\n

If you want to track this particular health metric, then the U-Scan is a (mostly) mess-free way to do it. <\/p>\n

Good<\/p>\n

Once the device is set up, you don\u2019t have to touch it until the cartridge needs changing, or the battery requires a charge. It is rinsed with each flush of the toilet, and the cartridge pack includes cleaning supplies \u2013 gloves too \u2013 so you can do a deep clean as you replace it. <\/p>\n

It is hands-free too, so you don\u2019t have to mess about with samples, pots and the associated mess. Unless you\u2019ve upended a sample pot on yourself, you won\u2019t appreciate the value of this. <\/p>\n

Bad<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t a cheap solution, with an ongoing subscription cost if you decide that you want regular monitoring. That does include the Withings+ premium service, however, which gives you a health and fitness coach with an AI assistant that you can mine for advice on your lifestyle. <\/p>\n

However, if you want a fuss-free experience, then you might decide the U-Scan is worth the expense. <\/p>\n

Everything else <\/p>\n

The battery on the Nutrio can last up to three months \u2013 the longest a cartridge should last you \u2013 which means minimal handling. <\/p>\n

You can only have one cartridge subscription active at one time \u2013 if you add a second, it will replace your existing subscription with the new cartridge. <\/p>\n

Verdict<\/p>\n

This might be a step too far in health monitoring for some people, but if you are a data hoarder or need to track your kidney health, this is a convenient \u2013 if a little expensive \u2013 way to do it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Withings U-Scan Nutrio \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 \ue9d7 Price: \u20ac350 Website: https:\/\/www.withings.comOpens in new window Where To Buy:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,19,17,31919,82],"class_list":["post-498654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tech-tools","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}