Do you ever take a sip of coffee in the morning and then ask yourself this question, “why does my pee smell like coffee?” Don’t worry, you’re not the only one thinking this. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that your pee smells like coffee because you’re drinking too much of it. Here’s why your pee might be smelling like coffee, and what you can do about it.
Urine is our body’s way of filtering out waste products. Wastes come from the blood through the kidneys. These wastes are what give urine its distinctive odor and even change in color. Eating and drinking certain things in a certain amount, including coffee, can also affect the odor of your urine.
The kidneys produce urine in our bodies. The urinary system helps the human body to dispose of wastes and regulate the volume and composition of blood in the body. If a person’s urine begins to smell like coffee, the most common reason would be simply drinking too much coffee in a short time.
In our article, we’ll look at why this occurs. We’ll also describe other possible reasons, how dangerous this condition is, and finally, how to avoid such occurrences.
- Reasons Behind Having Coffee Odor In Your Urine
- Urine Smelling Like Coffee: Is It A Danger?
- Syndromes Caused By Drinking Too Much Caffeine
- Can You Prevent Urine From Smelling Like Coffee?
- How Much Caffeine Do You Need Per Day?
- FAQs
- Does The Coffee-Smelling Urine Happen With Decaf?
- What Does Diabetic Urine Smell Like?
- How Much Caffeine You Can Have When Pregnant?
- Why Does My Pee Smell Like Coffee? – Final Thoughts
Reasons Behind Having Coffee Odor In Your Urine
You’re Simply Drinking Way Too Much Coffee
Yes, the main cause of someone’s urine smelling like coffee is exactly as simple as that! Coffee has several beneficial compounds. Polyphenol compounds such as Hydroxycinnamic acids.
These acids give coffee its signature smell and health benefits. When these compounds get broken down inside our bodies they turn into waste products called metabolites. Some of which do get released in our urine. Metabolites from these compounds in regular coffee do cause your urine to smell like coffee.
Caffeine Is Also Responsible
Caffeine is considered to be a weak diuretic. Meaning that caffeine can make you urinate more than regular.
In turn, it can also make drinking large amounts of caffeine dehydrating in some of us coffee drinkers.
When you become dehydrated like this, the urine will turn more concentrated. This will make the smell of metabolites more noticeable than usual when urinating.
Sign Of Addiction
If your urine smells like coffee and it’s happening too frequently, this is a sign of coffee addiction.
After all, caffeine produces a small rise in our dopamine. But it does not cause any significant surge to create an unbalance in our brain’s reward circuits (necessary for an addiction)
So even though it’s not a scientifically approved “addiction”, it does make you drink more frequently for the caffeine punch!
Urine Smelling Like Coffee: Is It A Danger?
Most of the time urine that smells like coffee is harmless. Rather it’s direct a sign that you’ve been drinking too much caffeine. In addition, caffeine causes dehydration in large amounts. This, in turn, enhances the effect of Dopamine in our body and reduces the effect of Adenosine too.
As a result, this will make you a sleepyhead at the end of the day. Because caffeine will start blocking adenosine by binding to adenosine receptors in that situation.
Being a stimulant, caffeine can also make it hard for you to fall asleep. To prevent this, you have to stop drinking coffee within 6 hours of your bedtime.
Syndromes Caused By Drinking Too Much Caffeine
Drinking too much caffeine can/will produce some symptoms as well. Symptoms such as:
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Headaches
- Excitement
- Restlessness
- Rapid heart rate
You can also possibly get to overdose on caffeine. Seek immediate professional medical treatment if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned below after drinking coffee or any other caffeinated drinks.
- Vomiting
- Confusion
- Chest pain
- Convulsions
- Hallucinations
Can You Prevent Urine From Smelling Like Coffee?
- Drinking less coffee is the most obvious way to prevent your urine from smelling like coffee. But it’s not as easy as it may sound. Thanks to caffeine’s addictive properties you’ll need a strong commitment to do that
- Switching to black or green teas should also help you in this case. Because these beverages contain less caffeine than the majority of caffeine drinks
- When you drink coffee, always make sure to drink plenty of water before and after as well. You can also go for more diluted versions of coffee drinks every now and then
- To avoid excessive urination and other negative health effects brought by drinking too much coffee, it’s better you limit yourself to drinking only 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. That’s roughly equal to about 4 cups of coffee brew. If you really have to drink more than that, then make sure you also drink extra water to avoid dehydration
- Whether you drink coffee or any kind of tea, try waiting at least 30 – 60 minutes between your morning wake-up time and your 1st-morning caffeinated drink. Because, once you get up in the morning, your body will naturally release the Cortisol hormone. It is thought to help wake you up and your bodily systems. So, in this way, you may need a lot of caffeine anyway
- If you aren’t sure about the smell or even after following these steps the smell is not going away, contact your doctor.
How Much Caffeine Do You Need Per Day?
As already mentioned, it’s up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. For most healthy adults this measurement appears to be safest. It’s the same as having 4 cups of brewed coffee or 10 cans of cola or 2 standard energy drinks.
FAQs
Does The Coffee-Smelling Urine Happen With Decaf?
Yes, it can happen with decaf too. It is the compounds of coffee that are responsible for the smell. However, the benefit of taking decaf is that it won’t have the diuretic effect of caffeine. So you may not have to urinate as much.
What Does Diabetic Urine Smell Like?
If your pee smells or suddenly starts to smell sweet or fruity-like, you should take note of this because this is one of the symptoms of diabetes. Something like this happens because your body is trying to get rid of that extra blood sugar. Thus it disposes of the glucose through your urine.
How Much Caffeine You Can Have When Pregnant?
If you are going through pregnancy, you should limit your caffeine intake amount to 200 milligrams each day. This is about the amount in 1½ coffee cups that can hold 8 ounces of coffee or 1 medium 12-ounce sized cup of coffee. If you’re breastfeeding, then limit the caffeine intake to 2 cups only per day.
Why Does My Pee Smell Like Coffee? – Final Thoughts
Having your urine smells like coffee at first can be alarming. But most of the time, it usually means that you’ve had too much coffee lately. Try to cut back on your daily caffeine consumption and drink more water. If your urine continues to have the smell of coffee or any other unusual smell, talk to your doctor as soon as possible.
Enjoy Your Coffee!