‘Why Does My Pee Smell Like Bacon?’ — Ask Dr. Harry Fisch

Why does my urine smell like the food I eat sometimes? This morning it smelled like bacon. -- Drew, 31, Biloxi, MS

Some foods contain substances such as sulfur or ammonia-like compounds, that produce a noticeable odor when they’re eliminated in urine. Other body fluids may be affected as well, such as sweat or semen.

A common culprit is asparagus, which will give urine a distinctive smell only 30 minutes after you eat it. Other foods or substances (i.e. alcohol or cigarette smoke) generally change the odor of urine or other body fluids to a less noticeable degree, unless the food or substance is consumed in unusual quantities.

Dr. Harry Fisch is a board certified urologist. He’s here to answer reader questions in an effort to get guys to “man up about health.”