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Hoots : Ammonia in sweat from workout - Protein (Muscle) Loss? I workout early in the morning for about 1 hour. Recently, I've begun noticing ammonia like smell on my towel. I researched and found out that my body is burning amino - freshhoot.com

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Ammonia in sweat from workout - Protein (Muscle) Loss?
I workout early in the morning for about 1 hour. Recently, I've begun noticing ammonia like smell on my towel. I researched and found out that my body is burning amino acids to provide energy during workout. So, does this mean that whatever muscle I'm building, is getting burnt away during my workout?

What kind of food should I eat about half an hour before workout to alleviate the ammonia smell? That's as much time as I have in the morning.All advice welcome, thanks.


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Your research is probably leading you to sites with essays like this one. The answer is there as well:

Based on this explanation, it is clear that your sweat will smell like ammonia only if an excessive amount of amino acids are being used for energy, or you are not receiving adequate water. This helps us find a solution to the problem.

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Many people mistakenly believe that ammonia sweat means that their protein intake is not high enough. The body will only utilize protein for energy when it does not have a sufficient supply of fats and carbohydrates. Muscles can use glucose and fat for energy, but your brain requires glucose. Since there is no direct metabolic pathway from fat to glucose, your body will use amino acids instead. If your protein intake is high, there is a chance that the amino acids that supply energy will come from ingested food and not your hard-earned muscle tissue - but why take that chance?
Let's look at an oil lamp. If you fill that lamp with Citronella oil, it will have a distinct odor when you light it. To eliminate that odor, do you add more Citronella? No! That's just fanning the flames. You'd use a different type of oil instead. The same goes for the ammonia smell - this is just the smell of amino acids being "burned" in your body. You don't solve that by adding more amino acids. Instead, you need to supply the fuel that your body prefers - the fuel that can be easily broken down to glucose in order to supply energy to your muscles and your brain - carbohydrates!

TL;DR: No, this does not mean your muscles are being broken down, and carbohydrates and sufficient hydration are the keys to avoiding the ammonia smell.


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