# Besides asparagus, what else makes urine smell funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038 "2004-11-04T20:44:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/1 "2004-11-04T20:44:57Z")
I’ve heard of some foods that make your pee smell like the food itself, but is there anything else besides asparagus thats adds a totally new bouquet? ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/2 "2004-11-04T21:13:47Z")
Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Probably the same reason asparagus does though. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/3 "2004-11-04T21:21:57Z")
I don’t know, I’ve eaten lots of cabbage and never noticed the “asparagus” effect. Could it be certain types of cabbage only? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/4 "2004-11-04T21:31:41Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I don’t know, I’ve eaten lots of cabbage and never noticed the “asparagus” effect. Could it be certain types of cabbage only? That’s plausible – or it might have to do with the cooking process; the (raw) cabbage in cole slaw doesn’t have the same effect as the (boiled) cabbage in something like boiled dinner or the (braised) cabbage in some casseroles. I notice an unusual bouquet after eating okra; is that me or is it common among others? ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/5 "2004-11-04T21:34:18Z")
Sugar Puffs (which I think are the same as your Sugar Snaps although I don’t know if they have the same affect) make your urine smell funny. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/6 "2004-11-04T21:37:05Z")
Whenever I drink a lot of coffee I notice a distinct vaguely coffee-like smell to my urine. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/7 "2004-11-04T23:25:02Z")
Good point **Polycarp**. I’ve never noticed it after eating cole slaw either. I was thinking of cooked cabbage. And I had Brussels sprouts last night… ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/8 "2004-11-04T23:27:14Z")
I did a search on the asparagus/urine topic about a week ago, thinking I was the only person who had ever experienced it, and I was so happy to discover that there really is _no_ topic not discussed on The Straight Dope. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/9 "2004-11-04T23:41:51Z")
Vitamin B supplements will give you urine that smells like, well, vitamin B supplement. Also I am getting a strange smell with a product from Japan known as natto, which is fermented soybeans. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/10 "2004-11-05T00:04:20Z")
Seakale; I picked and ate some wild seakale in the spring of this year and it made my urine _stink_ - it was a sort of bitter, acrid vegetable smell. Coffee sometimes makes it through as an aroma, as do sugar puffs (caramel-coated puffed wheat breakfast cereal. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/11 "2004-11-05T00:30:30Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > Whenever I drink a lot of coffee I notice a distinct vaguely coffee-like smell to my urine. Me too - it smells like a coffee from a railway station. ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/12 "2004-11-05T00:33:16Z")
For me: coffee and popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/13 "2004-11-05T00:34:19Z")
Pickles. Lots of pickles. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/14 "2004-11-05T00:51:52Z")
Perhaps fish, which is high in amines that often have a smell. Anything rich in amines or sulfur compounds would result in funny-smelling urine. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/15 "2004-11-05T00:59:45Z")
Atkins made my urine smell funny… sort of… like a hot drink that you’d buy at a coffeeshop. Almost sweet, with… cinnamon? Like spicy, but not hot spicy. Grandma-baking-a-cake aroma… But it makes your breath smell weird too, so… I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/16 "2004-11-05T01:06:40Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > Atkins made my urine smell funny… sort of… like a hot drink that you’d buy at a coffeeshop. Almost sweet, with… cinnamon? Like spicy, but not hot spicy. Grandma-baking-a-cake aroma… > > But it makes your breath smell weird too, so… I don’t know. That’ll be the ketones, won’t it? I had the same when my diabetes went way out of control. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/17 "2004-11-05T01:10:51Z")
Interestingly, from a genetic standpoint, everyone’s pee smells funny after eating asparagus (high methionine content, IIRC). But it is an autosomal dominant trait to be able to smell that funniness. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/18 "2004-11-05T01:36:39Z")
Cup-o-noodles Picante Shrimp. I can’t tell which spice it is though. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/19 "2004-11-05T01:45:25Z")
> [@Roches](#): > > Perhaps fish, which is high in amines that often have a smell. Anything rich in amines or sulfur compounds would result in funny-smelling urine. Yes. I ate a lot of tuna 3 summers ago. Tuna melts from Blimpie for dinner several times a week. It was the cheaper dark tuna (if that makes a difference.) It definately made my urine smell like tuna. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038/20 "2004-11-05T02:20:24Z")
I’m gonna leave this on in GQ for the time being. I’m trying to write an update to Cecil’s good article on the subject, so I’ll consider this thread research. You must remember that, while eating a food like asparagus produces in most people a byproduct that is odiferous, some people can smell it and some can’t. Research isn’t easy. Later. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-asparagus-what-else-makes-urine-smell-funny/273038.md?page=2)