Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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You know how when you eat asparagus especially, your pee will smell odd.

Well, something similar to that has been going on for a while now. I started paleo about 5 weeks ago. I'd say I'm about 90% strict. As far as my actual meals go I'm 100% paleo aside from frying my food in peanut oil (economic), lightly, and eating peanut butter, or some cheese on my eggs.

I'll taste food that other people are having if they offer and if I actually want it, but for the most part, I'm paleo. It feels great, I'm looking better than I have, my training is great. I'm recovering fast. I feel healthy, fit, focused.

But, my pee smells odd.

What does this mean? What is ketosis and does that have something to do with it?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

-- Main Diet: Lots of beef and chicken, some pork, plenty of eggs. Lots of raw veggies (romaine, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber) and cooked (same). Good fats (nuts, olives).

edited May 30 at 18:08

asked May 30 at 17:55

Jared Krauss
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Any chance you're eating asparagus on a regular basis now? – Aaron May 30 at 18:00

Nope. I may have found the culprit: I love raw onions and according to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10691650 this article there is a compound found in raw onions which is also the compound that gives cat pee its smell. Thusly, it could be that I am not breaking down the onions completely. So, probably just means more adjustments by my body to the relatively new diet. But, I'm still open to hear more thoughts. To avoid any further questions about my diet. I eat a lot of veggies and a lot of beef & chicken, a little pork. I like raw salads, but also love cooked veggies. – Jared Krauss May 30 at 18:07

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Oddly tomatoes can do that as well. – Edward J. Edmonds Aug 16 at 10:43

borofergie · Answer 1 · 2012-05-30 18:26:52Z UTC

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How many carbs are you eating? Are you sure that you're not in ketosis? That makes my urine smell like tramps piss (not that I have any personal experience of smelling tramps piss).

answered May 30 at 18:26

borofergie
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Your metaphors are always so colorful...and make me laugh. +1 – MathGirl72 May 30 at 18:44

Indeed, thoroughly enjoy the idea of you smelling tramps piss. That said, can you elaborate on ketosis. I know I've read of this from Wolf, but can you put it in a bit more of layman's terms? – Jared Krauss May 30 at 19:41

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On a "regular" diet your brain burns about 100g of glucose a day (from the carbs you eat). If you eat much less than 100g of carb then your body starts to use ketones as an alternative source of fuel. If you eat much less than 50g of carb, some of those ketones will spill out into your urine and sweat, giving you a distinctive "Eau d'Tramps Piss" smell. I eat less than 20g, so you can imagine how much I stink... – borofergie May 30 at 20:12

My guess, depends on the day. Some days I might get 100g, some days I may only get about 25g. I know I'm not getting more than 100g in a day, because I don't even eat enough calories to do so. Being poor (college) severely restricts the amount of food I can buy, thusly the amount of food I consume is correlative. – Jared Krauss May 30 at 21:10

pjnoir · Answer 2 · 2012-05-30 19:12:22Z UTC

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As Dr Who said, "New body, new rules" I wouldn't fret about it.

answered May 30 at 19:12

pjnoir
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No fretting here. Honestly. Just pure curiosity. I'm not going to change anything. Smelly pee is just for me to deal with and I can deal. Just like to understand processes. – Jared Krauss May 30 at 19:40

My Pee Smells Odd

2 Answers