General Question

playthebanjo's avatar

Does your urine smell like what you eat?

Asked by playthebanjo (2952points) June 15th, 2008 from iPhone

maybe it’s just me…mine smells like coffee after I have had it, today it smelled like maple syrup after waffles. I don’t remember this happening before the last year or so.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

22 Answers

Mtl_zack's avatar

no, except for asparagus. it smells nasty after that.

craziprincess's avatar

Yeah it does smell like coffee after I’ve had a cup or two. I think there are a few things that do make your pee smell, I guess it depends on the person. I think it has to do with how much your kidneys can filter what you’re eating/drinking and if you have the right enzymes in your body to break down the food particles. That’s the case with asparagus. Just make sure you’re drinking enough water.

playthebanjo's avatar

so if your kidneys are filtering at an optimum level there should be less smell, right? In the summer I prob drink between 32 & 64 oz of water per day.

PupnTaco's avatar

Only when i eat asparagus, spaghetti sauce, or Super Sugar Crisp.

I heard something about pineapple juice and another bodily function but I haven’t tested it yet.

VanBantam's avatar

Yeah asparagus makes my urine not smell all that great. Mtl_zack put it best when he said it smells straight up nasty.

BTW I think playthebanjo brings up a good point: does drinking more water reduce the smell?

What is it in asparagus that makes urine smell nasty?

spendy's avatar

@PupnTaco, the pineapple juice works. Be nice…purchase mass quantities and consume in advance. She’ll thank you…and you’ll thank yourself.

babygalll's avatar

Only when I have eaten asparagus. I haven’t noticed with anything else. I don’t normally smell my pee, but besides coffee I drink lots of water.

@spendywendy: What about pineapple?

Trance24's avatar

Um, last I checked it just smelled like piss. And it isn’t pleasant.

PupnTaco's avatar

spendy: sounds like fun. I attempted once but my kids drank all the juice before I got a drop. LOL

Trance24's avatar

@babygal The pineapple juice is being referred to another bodily function, that being fellatio. heh.

marinelife's avatar

About 40% of people experience the asparagus pee smelly thing. Aparagus contains a natural diuretic. I love asparagus, but hate the pee.

babiturtle36's avatar

I agree with the coffee, and asparagus. And the pineapple juice does work hehe :)

mcbealer's avatar

the things we learn on fluther… <blushes>

Wine3213's avatar

It happens when I eat canned chicken, or even tuna sometimes. It’s a really odd thing.

Trustinglife's avatar

If you’re really curious about the asparagus-urine conenction, here is an article about it.

Also, I learned on Jon Stewart’s daily show that our president has high praise for asparagus from Germany. I’m sure that’s relevant.

girlofscience's avatar

Maybe you just have Maple Syrup Urine Disease. Wikipedia it.

playthebanjo's avatar

see, that’s exactly what I was afraid of! Maybe shilolo can help with that?

that1mom's avatar

Yes. It’s gross, but true!

scamp's avatar

I only notice an odor to my urine if I don’t drink enough water to dilute it. But then again, it’s not something I think much about. Ah, the wonders of fluther, where no subject is left out. Your question is unusal, but it is a good one because I learned something new from it. Thanks!

HaleyBob's avatar

Ditto on the coffee smell.

And the pineapple thing is true….. :) Hey-o!

traveler's avatar

PlaytheB, I think this is a serious question. I have wondered about it many times before. I have seriously considered asking my doctor about it.

I notice it with strong foods like Mexican or Thai.

I’d like to know a medical answer from an expert.

Em_Ess_87's avatar

Came across this question here when I searched for the same problem. Mine smells like exactly what I’ve eaten before I go. If I had a balogna sandwich before, it smells like that. If I had spaghetti, it smells like that. If I had peanut butter and crackers, it smells like that. Even for drinks. Pop, juice, even milk. I know it sounds gross, but really it’s not even all that disgusting because it literally just smells like normal food. The only thing gross about it is that it’s not food, it’s piss lol. You can see my concern! Anyways it all started about…I dunno, 2 years ago. Before that, never had this problem.

BUT, if anyone knows why this is happening, that would be awesome. I’m currently in a medical assistant program for school and we go through things like urinalysis, pregnancy testing, applying bandages and what not. Things you’d assist with in a doctors office. And it would be great to be able to provide a urine sample to practice on without being embarassed haha. Kind of like I am now. :/

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