Why do i smell ammonia when i work out

A complication of diabetes is a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis DKA. DKA develops when the body burns fat for energy if there is not enough insulin to use glucose in the cells. When the body burns fat for energy, it produces ketones. If the level of ketones becomes too high, the blood can become too acidic, which can be life-threatening.

According to the American Diabetes Association , DKA is rare in people with type 2 diabetes, but it can still develop in anyone. Trichomycosis is a bacterial infection that affects the hair in the underarms. According to a study , it can affect pubic hair in rare cases. The bacteria Corynebacterium causes trichomycosis and produces yellow, black, or red nodules that stick to the hairs. Odor was a symptom of trichomycosis in Trimethylaminuria is a rare condition.

Increased levels of the compound trimethylamine TMA in the body cause trimethylaminuria. TMA has a fish-like smell. The body releases TMA through the urine, sweat, or breath. Bacteria in the gut produces TMA. According to the National Institutes of Health , a person with trimethylaminuria may have inherited a faulty gene that means the body cannot break down TMA properly.

Treatment can include taking activated charcoal supplements to help remove excess TMA from the body. B12 supplements, antibiotics, and probiotics may also help. Dietary choices may affect body odor, including whether people eat meat or not. An older study from found that participants on a meat diet had body odor which others perceived as less attractive than the body odor of participants on a non-meat diet.

This is because dairy products produce trimethylamine when the body digests them, which has a strong, fishy smell. A study found that trimethylamine-N-oxide TMAO levels increased after the participants ate dairy products.

Trimethylamine produces TMAO. Although trimethylamine-N-oxide is odorless, if a person cannot digest trimethylamine properly, the body may release it through sweat and cause body odor. This is because they can create sulfur-like compounds when digested, which can react with sweat and cause odor. A person may sweat due to stress. The International Hyperhidrosis Society states that the apocrine glands are responsible for producing stress-related sweat. Sweat from the apocrine glands is thicker and contains more proteins and lipids.

When this type of sweat sits on the skin and mixes with bacteria, it can create a smell. Decreasing estrogen levels during menopause may cause sweating, which can increase odor if it mixes with bacteria on the skin. To prevent the body from using protein as energy after exercise, which may cause their sweat to smell like ammonia, a person can increase the amount of carbohydrates in their diet.

Whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans are healthy sources of carbohydrates. Additionally, if a person notices that certain foods, such as fish or dairy, make their sweat smell like ammonia, they can reduce their intake of those foods or remove them from their diet.

Increased water intake can dilute sweat and make its odor less noticeable. When you consume enough carbohydrate sources, your body is less likely to use amino acids from protein to create energy, reducing the amount of nitrogen produced in your body. Fitness Workouts Exercises and Workouts. Aubrey Bailey is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with an additional degree in psychology and board certification in hand therapy. Bailey is also an Anatomy and Physiology professor.

Chris Sherwood. Chris Sherwood is a professional journalist who after years in the health administration field and writing health and wellness articles turned towards organic sustainable gardening and food education. He now owns and operates an organic-method small farm focusing his research and writing on both organic gardening methods and hydroponics.

Sweat also creates odor based off of a wide range of variables from what you eat to the presence of bacteria on your skin. Video of the Day. Why You Sweat. When you exercise, your body uses different energy sources including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Which energy source your body uses depends on a variety of factors including exercise intensity and the availability of these sources when exercising.

Under certain circumstances, such as a low carbohydrate supply or low fat stores, the body will burn more protein as a fuel source. One of the byproducts of using protein as a fuel source is ammonia. When protein is the primary source of fuel, this ammonia will accumulate and can be secreted in sweat. This can lead to the smell of ammonia when exercising. To ensure you are not using protein as your primary energy source, eat a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

What your body is telling you is your muscles are being directly broken down, metabolized, and used for energy during your exercise.

Not ideal! The way to prevent this is to fuel with a higher carbohydrate intake before and during exercise. Running an all-out m or doing a hard second anaerobic effort on a bike might get you there, because of the high intensity.

While probably not harmful overall, what you are really tasting is the contents of your damaged blood cells—so definitely not something to strive for. Imagine being in a haunted house and getting scared so much you jumped and your skin tingled. The strongest of those hormones is epinephrine. If you sense hunger during prolonged exercise, it means your hunger signals are so overwhelmingly strong that they have overpowered the extraordinarily strong hunger-inhibiting effect of epinephrine.

This only happens when you are lightyears behind on intra-workout fueling.