Why after a hard ride do I smell ammonia when I breath in....especially when I'm in the shower. Does it mean I'm really out of shape?
Steve
Steve
Why Smell Ammonia?
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hawker12
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It means your body ran out of carbs and started to burn some protein.hawker12 said:
Don't worry, I smell it all the time, and I eat PLENTY of carbs. Sometimes I smell it on my easy days.
I don't think it has anything to do with being out of shape, because I've smelled it more this year than I did last year... and I'm in much better shape.
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Oddly, while I agree with everything posted here, I've yet to find any scientific data to support this. Has this NOT been researched? There are all sorts of anecdotal info on bodybuilding and running sites, but that is about it.
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I believe if you look up Ketosis you might find something. I never notice it too much with exercise, but I certainly notice it if I'm trying to lose weight and I am going hungry.filtersweep said:
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Right, as I understand it the ammonia smell is a by-product of accelerated protein metabolism. I'm not sure if that defines Ketosis per se, but it is one of it's characteristics.vonteity said:That would make sense. If you're cutting calories, your body will break down fat and protein for energy, causing ketosis.
Sweat glands as little kidneys
Physiologically and anatomically, sweat glands are somewhat similar to filtration tubules in kidneys. There are often minute amounts of urea, the final breakdown product of protein metabolism, in sweat. With profuse amounts of sweating, there is enough urea in sweat to make you and your clothes smell like used baby diapers. This is totally normal and not a matter for concern. The crude little kidneys ( sweat glands ) in your skin are simply doing their job.
Physiologically and anatomically, sweat glands are somewhat similar to filtration tubules in kidneys. There are often minute amounts of urea, the final breakdown product of protein metabolism, in sweat. With profuse amounts of sweating, there is enough urea in sweat to make you and your clothes smell like used baby diapers. This is totally normal and not a matter for concern. The crude little kidneys ( sweat glands ) in your skin are simply doing their job.
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I had my smells mixed up, I meant that acetone smell is what I experience when I am going hungry, not ammonia.nwilkes said:
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Here's the story on ketosis, for those who care:Dwayne Barry said:
Fat metabolism produced acetyl-coA, which normally enters the citric acid cycle by combinding with oxaloacetate to form citrate, and off the cycle goes. However, oxaloacetate is synthesized from pyruvate, a product of carbohydrate metabolism, so if you're not eating carbs, no oxaloacetate is formed. Furthermore, if you're really fasting, what oxaloacetate there is gets consumed to produce glucose to keep your brain working, via the glucogenic pathway (the brain pretty much runs only on glucose). The upshot is that all that all that acetyl-coA has no place to go, so the body turns it into acetoacetate and acetone, also known as ketone bodies, which can be smelled on the breath of people fasting or eating much more fat than carb.
I have me doubts that this is what you smell following exercise, as you have to be pretty damned starving to activate this pathway. I do, however, have a PhD in biochemistry, so it gratifies my fragile ego to spew out otherwise useless information with little prompting.
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Interesting stuff, that.
Now I'm not fasting and I'm also not eating more fat than carbs, but I am trying to cut calories to lose weight. I'm not sure if it's ammonia I smell or acetone, but I smell something funky, almost metallic. It's not on my clothes or on my skin, so it's not sweat. The smell is actually IN my nose, not on something... if that makes sense. If I inhale deeply after a ride or if I haven't eaten enough that day, I smell it. It almost burns my nose a little.
Not sure if that's what the other poster was referring to (I assumed it was), or if that makes a difference. It's definitely related to being down on calories, if not carbs.
Now I'm not fasting and I'm also not eating more fat than carbs, but I am trying to cut calories to lose weight. I'm not sure if it's ammonia I smell or acetone, but I smell something funky, almost metallic. It's not on my clothes or on my skin, so it's not sweat. The smell is actually IN my nose, not on something... if that makes sense. If I inhale deeply after a ride or if I haven't eaten enough that day, I smell it. It almost burns my nose a little.
Not sure if that's what the other poster was referring to (I assumed it was), or if that makes a difference. It's definitely related to being down on calories, if not carbs.
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The only time I noticed that smell was during ultra-hard efforts when I was dieting, doing lots of strength training and eating more protein than carbs. I believe smelling this should be a sign that you need more carbs and/or water in your diet.vonteity said:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ammonia.htm
that sort of makes sense. the acetone bubbles out of the blood and exits as gas in the lungs. Ask someone else to smell your breath for you if you are concerned (no kidding)?vonteity said:
it is an adaptation to starvation - you may not be getting enough carbohydrate for your activity level, so when you run out the liver makes more glucose to feed the brain, the rest of the body gets to eat ketones. although this seems kind of acute for ketosis, i think it occurs on the orders of days to weeks. vigorous excercise could be different or i could just be wrong.
keep in mind that i am not a doctor and don't know if there are any diseases that mimic this.
the north american anectdote is that if you go into a room full of models and close the door the whole place will reek of nail polish remover in a few minutes. my apologies to all of the models who don't smell.
ketosis
it does sound like ketosis. however it should not be confused with diabetic ketosis or ketoacidosis. we diabetics have to deal with variations of this stuff all the time. i suggest if you have concerns do a google search for 'diabetic ketosis' or check with your physician.
it does sound like ketosis. however it should not be confused with diabetic ketosis or ketoacidosis. we diabetics have to deal with variations of this stuff all the time. i suggest if you have concerns do a google search for 'diabetic ketosis' or check with your physician.
you said "almost metallic"... I don't think ammonia or acetone smell metallic at all. HOWEVER, I frequently smell something metallic on my skin while exercising, and I TASTE it, too. Someone here sent me to this website, and altho it's about horses, it seems to me the same science could apply to humans. I haven't found any info anywhere about EIPH in humans. The metallic taste/smell could be from the iron in your blood...
http://www.equinehospital.net/EIPH.htm
http://www.equinehospital.net/EIPH.htm
helpful article
here is a very helpful article i found concerning this ammonia smell which i too get from time to time. be sure to read the entire article as the conclusions are a bit different than most of those posted in this thread.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=326
here is a very helpful article i found concerning this ammonia smell which i too get from time to time. be sure to read the entire article as the conclusions are a bit different than most of those posted in this thread.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=326
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