10 Factors that affect the smell of your urine that reveal a lot about your health

Taking care of our health involves paying attention to the signals sent by our body. One of them is the smell of our urine, which, in the case of healthy people who drink a lot of liquids, should not be very strong. However, such odor can also be affected by the consumption of certain foods, medicines or vitamins, capable of promoting considerable changes in the smell of urine.

In this post, the awesome.club reveals to you which elements and conditions are capable of causing our urine to acquire a different smell than normal. Some of them are transient, like food, while others indicate processes that are taking place within the body. In such cases, it is probably good to see a doctor.

Urea is responsible for the characteristic smell of urine. The stronger the odor, the higher the concentration of the substance. That’s why, when we don’t drink enough water, the smell becomes more intense, reminiscent of ammonia. The recommended thing is to ingest at least two liters of water a day to have a water balance and maintain the proper functioning of all organs.

The strong smell of urine can be caused by different reasons, such as dehydration, but in some cases it can be caused by infections in the urinary tract. When this happens, the strong odor is accompanied by other symptoms, such as the urge to pee all the time, pain when urinating, little amount released when going to the bathroom, cloudy color, discomfort in the pelvic region and fever.

Diabetes often leaves the urine with a sweet odor. In fact, the Greek term “Mellitus”, also used to designate this condition, refers to the fact that the diabetic’s urine appears to have been sweetened with honey. A percentage of the high amount of glucose in the blood is eliminated in the urine, hence the characteristic “sweet” smell.

Foods such as onions, asparagus and garlic change the smell of urine as they are rich in chemical compounds with sulfur, which intensifies odors. However, including such foods in the daily diet is very beneficial for health: onions, for example, help prevent cancer, cardiovascular problems and asthma.

This is a high concentration of ketone bodies, such as acetone, in the urine. Normally, the body burns sugar, which is glucose, for energy. But when cells don’t get enough glucose, it uses fat as a means of getting energy.

A sign of possible liver problems is a foul-smelling urine. The odor may resemble mold and be accompanied by other symptoms, such as yellowing of the skin and eyes, itchy skin, urine that in addition to being smelly acquires a dark hue, vomiting, fatigue and loss of appetite.

Fistulas can appear when there is an injury, infection or inflammation in the bladder. In all cases, you need to see a doctor, as keeping the bladder functioning normally is essential.

Vitamin B6 is found in foods like sardines, salmon, walnuts, lentils, liver and bananas. Because it is a water-soluble vitamin, that is, it dissolves in water, excess amounts of the substance are eliminated through the urine, which gives it a characteristic smell.

Beverages like coffee, alcohol, tea, and soft drinks are diuretics. This makes people feel more like urinating, which leads to dehydration and a buildup of uric acid, which in turn makes the urine smell bad.

Vitamin supplements and some medications change the odor and color of the urine, which can become shiny. The consumption of vitamin B, for example, causes this change, since riboflavin is naturally fluorescent, leaving the urine with a very strong yellow color.

Do you often pay attention to the color and odor of your urine? Do you consider it important to take this care? Comment!