Why does asparagus pee smell so bad?

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Just 15 minutes after the last bite of the pale end of a buttery-fresh asparagus, it starts to smell horribly!

Where does the bad smell after eating asparagus come from?

In Switzerland, 1.5 kilos of asparagus is eaten per person per year. This is why many people wonder why their urine smells like this, whether they’ve eaten green or pale asparagus.

“The odor is harmless and not a sign of illness or poisoning,” says Stefan Lorkowski, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Jena.

Two pounds of asparagus for science

However, the vegetable isn’t just wrinkling the noses of consumers: scientists have so far debated why asparagus urine smells bad. In 1891, Polish chemist Marceli Nencki fed four men two pounds of asparagus, collected their urine, and found a single molecule as the foul odor.

But since then, researchers have identified twenty other substances. All contain at least one sulfur atom. What is certain is that asparagus contains the so-called asparagus acid, which is broken down during metabolism. In this process, chemical compounds similar to those found in skunk secretions are formed.

No enzymes, no odor

The most recent study comes from the US: 38 men and women urinate after eating asparagus. They then had to sniff different urine samples from the test subjects. The two had no sense of smell, lacking a genetically determined sense of smell. However, three people had never switched to stincurine. They lack the enzyme that breaks down aspartic acid, which is also genetic.

What can you do about it?

And now? Until science knows more, the following applies to all “asparagus stinks”: drink lots of water after a meal to remove the sulfur faster. After all, vegetables contain B vitamins such as folic acid (vitamin B9) as they are 98 percent water and contain almost no calories.

Source : Blick