Why Does My Pee Smell Like Coffee?

Urine is one of your body’s ways to strain waste from your blood via kidneys. You might wonder why my pee smells like coffee? Coffee contains various compounds such as hydroxycinnamic acids. 

Hydroxycinnamic acid is responsible for the health benefits and signature smell of coffee. When such compounds break down, they result in waste substances known as metabolites. Your body releases metabolites through pee, which makes it smell like coffee. 

This was just an overview of why your pee smells like coffee. In today’s blog, we will understand this topic in detail. Here’s everything you’ll learn today!

  • Potential causes why your pee smells like coffee
  • How to manage and prevent your pee from smelling like coffee

So are you ready to reveal the mystery behind why your pee smells like coffee? Without any ado, let’s dive straight into our first topic. Here are the causes!

Causes Why Your Pee Smells Like Coffee

Do you know what’s the sign of healthy urine? It’s when your pee is odorless and pale. Waste products are responsible for urine’s appearance, smell, and color. With that said, here are all major potential causes for why your urine might smell like coffee. 

Drinking Excessive Coffee

Polyphenols are the antioxidants responsible for coffee’s smell. When you drink coffee, the polyphenols are absorbed by our digestive tract. After absorption, these antioxidants are broken and then drained in urine. 

So if you consume a high amount of coffee, your urine will contain high levels of polyphenols. Therefore, your pee will smell just like coffee. However, how do you know that you’ve overdosed on caffeine? Here are some symptoms that reflect the overdose of coffee. 

  • Disorientation or confusion
  • Vomiting and chronic insomnia
  • Chest pain and chronic headache
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Fast or irregular heartbeat
  • Hallucinations and convulsions

Check if you are having any of the above symptoms. For healthy adults, a maximum of 400MG of caffeine per day is safe to consume. In case you find yourself overdosed on caffeine, consult a doctor immediately. Excessive caffeine consumption isn’t good for health and can result in severe health issues. 

Dehydration

Coffee contains a stimulus called caffeine. It can increase your urination, which leads to fast dehydration. When you get dehydrated, your urine becomes more concentrated. In other words, your pee will contain more waste compounds and less water. 

Concentrated urine appears darker and smells stronger than healthy urine. If you sip on too much coffee, you will find yourself getting dehydrated more quickly than usual. This will cause your pee to smell like coffee, as your urine will contain more caffeine waste. 

Certain Drinks and Food Items

Various beverages and food items will make your urine appear or smell unusual. Following are a few of such foods. Give this list a careful read. 

  • Puffed wheat
  • Garlic
  • Asparagus
  • Leafy greens such as kale
  • Teas
  • Salmon
  • Alcohol
  • Chili peppers

Do you want your pee to not smell unusual like coffee? Well, cut down the above food items from your diet. You can also seek an expert dietician to recommend the food items that can be eaten in place of the above. 

Other Potential Causes

Except for dehydration, there isn’t any health condition that makes your pee smell like coffee. However, different people interpret urine smells differently. Many individuals misinterpret a smell, which might be caused by something else, as coffee’s smell. 

You don’t have to make the same error. Below, we have shared some medical conditions that cause a change in urine’s smell.

  • Burnt tongue, bladder infection, and inflammation in the urinary tract
  • Liver and metabolic disorder, and nasal congestion
  • Kidney failure and diseases associated with kidneys
  • Bladder fistulas and MSU disease (Maple syrup urine disease)
  • Increased levels of human chorionic gonadotropin
  • Jaundice, bloating, diabetes, and phenylketonuria
  • Yeast infection and Sexually transmitted infection
  • Reduced levels of necessary vitamins and nutrients in your body

Are you suffering from any of the above health issues? Well, it’s the reason why your pee smells bad and unusual. Do you want to prevent your pee from smelling like coffee? Keep reading to discover the treatments. 

How to Manage and Prevent Your Pee from Smelling like Coffee?

First things first, are you a coffee lover? Do you feel like you cannot let go of coffee from your life? If your answer is yes, then there’s no way you can avoid your pee smelling like coffee.

On the other hand, if you are not a coffee addict or willing to do anything to remove that smell, this topic is for you. Following are some of the ways you can eliminate the coffee odor from your pee. These points are important, so read them attentively. 

  • Stay hydrated. For that, drink seven to eight glasses of water every day. Maintaining proper water levels helps your body in diluting the urine. This way, your urine won’t smell bad
  • Reduce your caffeine consumption. One cup of coffee won’t make your pee smell like it, but four to five cups will surely do. Replace your cup of coffee with other beverages such as juices, shakes, etc.
  • You can consult a doctor to get your full body checkup. This way, you’ll know if you are suffering from any of the diseases that we have shared with you above that cause pee to smell unusual. 
  • Like coffee, replace all those drinks and food items containing caffeine. Do you consume energy drinks daily? Well, they also contain caffeine. Therefore, replacing them with some other beverage will help you reduce the coffee’s odor from your pee. 

Final Words

We hope that now you have a fair idea of why your urine smells like coffee. If you wish to eliminate that smell, follow the treatments we have shared with you.

Also, if you know someone who’s facing the same issue, share this blog with them. Help them cure this problem easily. In the end, we wish you a wonderful day ahead!

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I have always been a shopaholic. A lot of times my questions went unanswered when it came to retail questions, so I started Talk Radio News. - Caitlyn Johnson

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