# Diet and Semen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020 "2005-03-11T14:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HugoMoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7993a0/32.png) [@HugoMoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HugoMoor)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/1 "2005-03-11T14:29:14Z")
Alright I give up, I’ll just swallow my pride and ask here; is there any scientific evidence that diet has any effect on semen (specifically its taste). having heard “pineapple juice makes it taste better” from one too many people, I decided it was time to find out a) if it actually does and b) why? A short spate of research has led to nothing but an awful lot of “omg lolz yea it sooo workz!!1!” posts on less-than-reputable forums, and one strange product called Semenix, which firmly states its a myth. Please help me straight dopers! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/2 "2005-03-11T16:02:21Z")
**TMI** I’ve heard the same thing, but from personal experience I am skeptical. My last… donator… was a vegan nondrinker, and my current is an omnivorous drinker. Meat, cheese, and alcohol are all supposed to impact the taste. I was afraid that after getting used to the clean stuff, I’d think my current sweetie’s sweets abhorrent. That wasn’t the case. It wasn’t more bitter or anything like that. I’ve found that the flavor gets diluted with frequent ejaculation. All the more reason to oblige the fellow often. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/3 "2005-03-11T16:08:38Z")
It was asked last year [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=247077) but no final answer discovered yet ! ---
**Author:** ![HugoMoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7993a0/32.png) [@HugoMoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HugoMoor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/4 "2005-03-12T07:54:24Z")
No final answer - we can’t have that on the Straight Dope! I demand a federal study be undertaken at once, for the sake of uhh… increasing human knowledge. I just can’t seem to grasp how food going through the digestive tract and excretory can end up effecting the reproductive system, unless theres some kind of residue left in the urethra after urination… even that seems strange to me, given urine is 97.5% water, which you’d be further diluting with the ejactulate. Any biologists around? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/5 "2005-03-12T08:07:43Z")
It is quite common for foods that are eaten to have some components expressed in the exocrine glands. People who eat garlic often find it expressed in the sebaceous glands, milk can readily be contaminated with the plants the cow eats. It’s more than possible for some components of food to be expressed in the prostate, Cowper’s and other glands associated with semen. Of course just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it happens. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/6 "2005-03-12T08:16:56Z")
I read the thread title as “_Dirt_ and Semen” I thought: “I _gotta_ see this!” ---
**Author:** ![HugoMoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7993a0/32.png) [@HugoMoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HugoMoor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/7 "2005-03-12T08:35:13Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I read the thread title as “_Dirt_ and Semen” Dirt + Semen = Mud… duh 😉 > [@Blake](#): > > It is quite common for foods that are eaten to have some components expressed in the exocrine glands. People who eat garlic often find it expressed in the sebaceous glands, milk can readily be contaminated with the plants the cow eats. Could you explain how this happens? Is it anything to do with components of food being absorbed into the bloodstream and passed along to the glands? I’m starting to regret picking chemistry instead of biology at school now. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/8 "2005-03-12T08:42:26Z")
Yep. The glands basically work by making whatever they are supposed to make and then diluting it with water from the bloodstream then excreting it. However there are some compounds, particularly smallish ketones, that are able to pass through with the water that’s absorbed. Of course being in the water they also end up in the secreted end product. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/9 "2005-03-12T10:18:53Z")
I have definitely noticed a difference in, er, flavor after the “donor” consumes a fair amount of alcohol. However, IME the differences among different men are much more significant than differences caused by dietary variation for any one man. So I would be skeptical about any claims that any particular food has a universal effect in altering semen flavor. However, there seem to be a few “folk prescriptions” floating around that include eating pineapple and/or citrus fruits or juices, drinking lots of water, avoiding red meat, and drinking wheatgrass juice (ugh). Ain’t none of this no “scientific evidence”, though, which is what the OP is looking for. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/10 "2005-03-12T10:22:12Z")
I’ve personally had very good results (or so the receiving party has claimed) with salmon. ---
**Author:** ![HugoMoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7993a0/32.png) [@HugoMoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HugoMoor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/11 "2005-03-12T11:13:41Z")
Thanks Blake, so basically certain fruits could contain these ketones and _might_ possibly make it round the bloodstream to the prostate gland or Cowper’s gland? When I first went looking for an answer to this I thought it would be easy to find, sex and urban legends combined - surely that would prompt someone to find a definative answer! Now I guess I’ll never know ☹ Well, aside from the hearsay which seems to have about the same number of people saying its true as it does saying its bull… guess it just depends on the girl. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/12 "2005-03-13T01:23:23Z")
> [@HugoMoor](#): > > Thanks Blake, so basically certain fruits could contain these ketones and _might_ possibly make it round the bloodstream to the prostate gland or Cowper’s gland? Yes. Essentially fruit favours are just esters and ketones and are quite capable of that. However as I said, just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/13 "2005-03-14T16:27:30Z")
If you were to eat [semen](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=198659) would your semen taste of chicken? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/14 "2005-03-14T16:48:18Z")
> [@HugoMoor](#): > > No final answer - we can’t have that on the Straight Dope! I demand a federal study be undertaken at once, for the sake of uhh… increasing human knowledge. Blind tasting? Maybe you can convince the senate of the need for funding if you offer them the chance of being guinea pigs? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-and-semen/294020/15 "2005-03-15T21:32:21Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Blind tasting? Maybe you can convince the senate of the need for funding if you offer them the chance of being guinea pigs? > 😉 Uh, have you seen some of those guys? Do you really want \*\*them \*\*to be the guinea pigs, when so many other guys would volunteer? On a more personal note: My Guy (an expert on this subject) claims that my semen became slightly bitter several years ago, when I started taking certain medications. It did not change, however when I went on a low-carb diet. He also claims that he can tell by the taste, how long it’s been since my last ejaculation (a claim which cannot be tested, since he always knows how long it’s been). For what it’s worth.