Spicy urine can be caused by dehydration, a urinary tract infection (UTI), or even taking some medications.
But certain foods and drinks can also cause urine to have a peculiar smell. And it’s not just about coffee and asparagus.
Garlic, onion, cabbage can also be the culprit, as MailOnline explains…
The NHS warns that eating asparagus and drinking coffee can have some unwanted smelly side effects
If you’re healthy and hydrated, your urine should be clear or pale yellow and have a mild scent, says Dr Hana Patel, a London-based NHS GP.
“There are things that can often make urine smell stronger,” he said.
‘And the most common reason is that you may not be drinking enough fluids.
‘There are also certain types of foods and drinks that can make urine smell bad, such as asparagus or coffee. So can some medications and vitamin B6 supplements.
Asparagus is known to produce a pong, albeit a harmless one.
The odor is caused by the breakdown of asparagus acid, explains Dr. Patel.
“Up to 50 percent of people find this is something they suffer from when they eat asparagus,” he said.
When digested, it produces compounds including methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl sulfone.
These contain sulfur, a chemical found in a skunk’s spray that gives rotten eggs their putrid smell.
The body cannot break down these compounds, so they are excreted in urine, where they give off a unique stench.
Garlic and onion, cabbage, and salt can also be the culprits of some horrible aromas. But doctors warn that smelly pee can also be a sign of dehydration or UTI.
But green vegetables aren’t the only foods that can cause odor.
“Foods that convert to sulfur compounds in the body can make urine smell bad,” Dr. Patel said.
“This smell is commonly compared to that of rotten cabbage or rotten eggs and can come from eating asparagus, garlic and onion, Brussels sprouts, coffee, walnuts and fennel, curry, and spices in curry.”
Foods containing sulfur compounds may also be responsible for “bad breath”, Dr Duane Mellor told MailOnline. It’s also for this same reason that chopping onions can make you cry, says the Aston University dietitian.
“As we break down and digest these compounds, they can also add a slight odor to our urine if we eat a large amount of them,” he added.
If you want to reduce the smell, you can dilute it by drinking lots of water.
Anything that dehydrates you can also make your urine smell.
This is because urine, of which we produce up to 2 liters a day, is made up of water and chemical byproducts that leave the body.
When dehydrated, the mixture of water and said chemicals becomes more concentrated, causing the aroma to become stronger.
“Concentrated residue will make the urine smell stronger,” Dr. Patel said.
‘Ammonia is a waste product found in urine. Most days, you probably won’t notice its odor in your urine.
“However, when you are dehydrated, the ammonia concentration increases and makes your urine smell stronger.”
Eating too much salty food can also make your urine spicy, experts say.
“Salt in urine is unlikely to directly alter odour,” Chris Blick, a London-based consultant urological surgeon, told MailOnline.
‘However, salt can dehydrate us further. This, in turn, will make the urine spicier.”
By the same logic, drinking too much alcohol or coffee can have the same effect on the smell of your urine. Both are diuretics.
“Coffee contains hundreds of chemicals, including antioxidants called polyphenols, which are responsible for odor and many of them are excreted in urine,” Mr Blick said.
‘If people are dehydrated, this may be more noticeable.
“Although there is no harm associated with urine that smells like coffee, if this is the case, you may want to consider slightly reducing your coffee consumption or increasing your water consumption to prevent dehydration,” he added.
In some cases, urine with an unusual smell may indicate an illness or infection, which may be aggravated by alcohol.
“Alcohol can make urine more acidic and irritate the lining of the bladder,” Dr. Patel said. This acidity, he claims, can worsen the symptoms of urinary tract infections, which can also give urine an ammonia-like smell.
‘If you have other symptoms, such as painful urination, urinating more frequently than usual, or cloudy-colored urine, you may have a urinary tract infection (UTI), and I would recommend speaking further to your GP.’ he added. Dr. Patel.
“Urine that smells very sweet can be a sign of diabetes and urine that smells fishy can suggest an infection,” explains Mr. Bick.