What Is Asparagus? Benefits, How To Cook, And Why It Makes Your Pee Smell

This has made it an obvious candidate for being the origin of the peculiar effect that asparagus has on urine. It has been suggested by recent studies that it could be metabolised in the body to produce the volatile compounds found in the urine after consuming the vegetable. Just before the onset of the summer, produce heads can be found scouring their local farm stands for the young, delicate stalks of the asparagus plant. Unfortunately, for some, the joys of eating asparagus tend to continue long after the last bite.

Reasons Your Pee Smells Weird

One is that only certain people’s digestive systems work in such a way that breaks down the asparagusic acid to release the sulfurous compounds. Therefore, certain people simply do not have the metabolic ability to create asparagus urine. Weirdly, some people experience an aroma to their urine after eating puffed wheat cereal; they claim that their pee smells like . It’s not quite clear why and little research has been done investigating the phenomenon to see if it’s real or just in people’s heads. Less commonly, persistently smelly urine can be a sign of type 2 diabetes, kidney stones or liver failure. If you’ve ever caught a whiff of your pee after you eat asparagus, you know that sometimes it can smell—well, a little off.

That Distinctive Springtime Smell: Asparagus Pee

We speak to a urologist about the most common causes of urine smell. The same hormones that gestate a baby are also at work during your regular cycle, albeit on a smaller scale. Which means that you may be more aware of the scent of your own pee once you’re ovulating. Yeast infections come with a distinctive “yeasty” smell, thanks to the imbalance of vaginal bacteria, says Dr Ross. While, yes, yeast infections are technically in your vagina, because your urethra is so close, your urine can pick up the scent as well. Unfortunately, there may not be too much you can do to prevent kidney stones in the first place, as infections and family history of kidney stones are one cause.

It’s particularly high in insoluble fiber, which helps to ensure you have regular bowel movements. But it also contains soluble fiber, which supports maeng da kratom plants for sale friendly bacteria in the gut, like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus. It’s worth noting that vitamin K also plays a vital role in bone health.

Why Asparagus Makes Your Urine Smell And Onions Make You Cry

It was first thought that some people broke down the vegetable in a way that released a smelly chemical in the urine. In the UK, data suggested about half of the population were so-called “excretors” in this way. This led to a theory that the characteristic was carried by a dominant gene that only needed to be inherited from one parent. Unless you’re on your period, you’ve eaten beets — or maybe blackberries or rhubarb — lately, you probably want to call your health care provider.

When Should I See A Doctor?

No one really knows the real reason why pineapples are the magical cure-all to a sweet smelling vagina, but what has been proven and tested should never be questioned, right? Make sure to add pineapple to your daily diet, and you’ll never have to worry about turning your guy off the next time he’s down to go down. We’re not talking about frozen yogurt thats loaded with refined sugar.

It is full of interesting information about common foods, and it is both thorough with its scientific explanations and also relatively easy to understand. It also has some helpful and appealing info-graphics that compliment the text. In the case of either theory, unfortunately, some of you will always be plagued with the strong smell of sulfur whenever you treat yourselves to a couple of raw, cooked or even pickled spears. That being said, there truly is no way of preventing the smell, except maybe a nose-plug or a well-ventilated restroom. Our food scientist Jared Levan has solved the mysteries of brain freeze, the emotions caused by chopping raw onions and beans—the magical fruit.

Strong smelling urine that is dark and cloudy can be confused with symptoms of a urinary tract infection or so-called Asymptomatic Bacteriuria . The problem is that there aren’t actually that many studies of this phenomenon and most of those that have been carried out are small so evidence is limited. This means it’s hard to say whether “asparagus pee” is an ability to produce the compounds or smell them, or a bit of both. Interestingly there have also been reports that women who are “non-excretors” can produce the odorous urine when pregnant. This suggested that any asparagus compound responsible for the smell could pass through the placenta and be converted to the smelly compound by the foetus that inherited the gene from their father.

Sometimes long-distance runners also experience blood in their urine. If your urine is red, you should contact your doctor immediately. Check to make sure that you’re not drinking too much water, as overhydration can sometimes lead to an imbalance of electrolytes in your blood.

Ashley studied biology at Oberlin College, worked in several labs and earned a master’s in journalism from New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. In addition to science, Ashley loves music, dance and language in all its wide possibilities. Also, differences in abilities to metabolize proteins in asparagus might relate to other, more consequential, health issues, Reed said. Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom.

If this sounds familiar, get yourself to the doctor for an X-ray—you could need surgery. Just as not taking in enough H20 can leave your pee extra yellow, it can also make it extra smelly, too. As to this specific resulting chemical compound that ends up causing the smell, it has long been thought that it is from methanethiol. Methanethiol is a colorless gas which smells a bit like rotting cabbage. It is composed primarily of sulfur, but also includes hydrogen and carbon.

Other health issues that can cause this odor require ongoing treatment. For example, a person with diabetes may need to switch medications or make certain lifestyle changes. A bad smell in the urine often goes away on its own, especially when dehydration or something in the diet causes it. When the diet is responsible for the smell, the doctor may be able to diagnose the problem based on symptoms alone.

Why Does Asparagus Make Your Pee Smell And Garlic Give You Bad Breath? How Food Affects Your Body Revealed

For example, asparagus causes the urine of some – but not all – people to smell and for 40 years scientists have tried to pinpoint the chemical compounds responsible. While there is no definite verdict, it is thought they are all compounds formed by the breakdown of asparagusic acid. Usually, you’ll notice that your urine smells like ammonia or fish. In the case of UTIs, the urine is often cloudy or bloody as well. Since the infections are usually caused by bacteria, an antibiotic from your doctor can wipe them out—and the resulting odor, although you may have a different smell in the meantime from the medication.

Besides genetics, how frequently a person eats asparagus also has an effect on their ability to detect the smell of sulfur compounds. The first scientist to turn their mind – or rather their nose – towards the problem was Polish chemist and doctor Marceli Nencki. He identified the source of the smell as a sulphur-containing chemical called methyl mercaptan – also known as methanethiol. Given that some people make the stinky chemicals after eating asparagus and others don’t, it was thought that this was the key deciding factor.

A yeasty smell can indicate bacteria from a potential yeast infection. Foul-smelling urine can be a sign of a sexually transmitted disease, such as chlamydiaor trichomoniasis. Hundreds of variants in the DNA sequence across multiple genes involved in sense of smell are strongly associated with the ability to detect asparagus metabolites in urine. When your digestive system breaks down asparagusic acid, it releases volatile odoriferous components that are the culprits of the strange smell associated with asparagus urine.

Your level of fluid intake, foods, medication, vitamins, and various medical conditions can all affect the color of your urine. If your urine smells fruity and you’ve been rushing to the bathroom more frequently, you may be at risk for type 2 diabetes. Asparagus—purple asparagus in particular—is full of anthocyanins, which give fruits and veggies their red, blue, and purple hues and have antioxidant effects that could help your body fight damaging free radicals.

Because an important component of the odor is from sweat, foods that make your sweat more odiferous, will likely do the same for your vag. “If you ingest foods with very strong odors like asparagus or garlic or curry, it’s possible that that can translate to a smell in your vaginal area,” said Lindsay. However, the evidence that yogurt can really stave off yeast infections is still inconclusive, said D.C.-based family physician, Djinge Lindsay, MD, MPH. (The FDA has not approved any health claims for foods with probiotics.) “A lot of the studies that have been done were with small groups of women,” and their infections weren’t all the same. “Some women were chronically infected, some women just got infections once in awhile. And the amount of lactobacillus,” she added, “varied widely across the studies.”

What Causes The Strange Smell?

Odor production and odor perception have an equal role in asparagus urine. While considering odor perception, one can divide the population into smellers and non-smellers. And it’s not just asparagus that these folk will notice has an affect on them – garlic could be a culprit too.

Asparagus Recipe Inspiration To Get You Started

People who have undiagnosed diabetes are “spilling out sugar into their urine,” Dr. Dutta says. That’s because they can’t process sugar the way most people can, meaning they have excess glucose in the blood, which the body tries to get rid of through the urine. “When you have that extra sugar in your urine, it’s going to give it a sweet, fruity smell,” she explains. People with uncontrolled diabetes will likely also have increased pee urgency or frequency, as the sugar irritates the bladder. See your doctor ASAP if you think you might have diabetes. One that actually makes your urine smell good is pineapple.

When shopping for fresh asparagus, you’ll generally want to look for spears that are more thick than thin with closed, firm stems, and stalks that don’t appear woody. You might be surprised to learn how versatile and easy to prepare it can be. Enjoy it it in any number of ways, whether as a side dish, in a salad, or as part of a main course. Read on for more delicious, healthy benefits of asparagus, plus some fabulous ways to cook with them. Asparagus is one of those vegetables that likely won’t incite much excitement if you’ve never had it prepared in a flavorful way.

Now when some of us eat asparagus, shortly afterwards our urine smells very stinky, something like rotten or boiled cabbage, or even ammonia. Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease that can affect people of any sex. People assigned male at birth often have no symptoms, but those assigned female can have a fishy-smelling vaginal discharge. While discharge is distinctly different than urine, that may be the scent you’re smelling when in the bathroom.

Effectively, they work like demons and use an enormous amount of energy when the conditions are right. On a sunny day, you can cut a spear from a plant in the morning and return to the same plant in late afternoon to find another spear has grown in its place. They can grow up to 10cm in one day, which demands a huge amount of energy. Not surprisingly, the plants can’t keep going for any great length of time.

Likewise, many of coffee’s chemical compounds that contribute to its aroma are also not metabolized, and, therefore, can change the odor of a drinker’s urine. While it can cause odd skin coloration, one thing eating large amounts of carrots won’t do is improve your eyesight, at least assuming you’re not malnourished. Specifically, if you aren’t getting enough Vitamin-A, eating carrots (because of the beta-carotene that your body converts to Vitamin-A as it needs it) can improve your eyesight and night vision. Sulfuric compounds are like the Adam Sandler of bad smells—the source of so many offensive releases. The culprit to the odor is a curious pair of chemicals, methanethiol and S-methyl thioesters.

Synthetic work has confirmed the relative ease of oxidation of asparagusic acid to yield S-oxides of the dithiolane ring. The rate of degradation appears highly variably between subjects; the typical half-life for odour disappearance is around 4 h with a between subject variability of 43.4%. You need to drink more fluids, get examined for possible infection, change your diet and take lots of fruits to deal with your smelly urine. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but it can happen, and it may mean that a foreign object has been left in your vagina, Sullivan says.

Why Does Asparagus Make Your Pee Smell So Bad?

However, if the smell in urine lasts for a long time and cannot be traced back to certain foods or medicines, and you are worried about symptoms, the cause should be investigated. If the colour of the urine has changed, if there is a pain when urinating or even blood in the urine, then a more thorough diagnosis is required. For people with diabetes and a blood glucose level that is too high, the kidneys pass excess sugar out through the urine. Other symptoms of high blood sugar are feeling very thirsty and urinating frequently.

When fiber travels to your colon, it reacts with bacteria to produce gas that we release. The difference with cruciferous vegetables is that they’re very high in sulfur-containing substances and these break down into hydrogen sulfide, which has a rotten egg kind of smell. Apocrine glands are found around the armpits, lower abdominal area and genitals, and they don’t sweat for cooling purposes, but to get rid of wastes, especially fats and proteins. The bacteria on your skin in these areas feed on the proteins in sweat and it is those bacteria that produce their own waste products that do smell.

For someone with diabetes or liver disease, a sweet smell or orange- or brown-tinged urine may indicate poor control of the disease process. It is well known that certain foods can cause a change in the urine’s smell , and medications such as penicillin also create a characteristic odor. And while the unexciting gases will make you feel bloated and sound like a deflating balloon, the volatile sulfur compounds will make you feel lonely.

But, they can also affect the smell and color of your urine. If you have a bad smell coming from your feminine area for a couple of months, you should talk to your gynecologist instead of using this treatment. They can tell you if you have a real problem or if it’s something normal.

Highly concentrated urine, caused by low fluid intake, is often strong-smelling. When urine is too concentrated, it also irritates the bladder lining. This can cause urge symptoms, which are characterized by a frequent need to go to the toilet. There are plenty of other diabetes symptoms to watch out for but sweet-smelling pee is one of them. For that reason, your urine probably smells strongest first thing in the morning, when you’ve gone eight hours without having a glass of water.

It’s a phenomenon that happens to everyone who eats the vegetable, man or woman, adult or child. Re the bit about your body getting rid of excess sugar in breakfast cereals through urination, this would only happen if you suffered from diabetes. In the non-diabetic person, all of the sugar, no matter how much you take in, is retained by the body (it’s still in caveman mode and doesn’t know when it’s going to get fed again!). This is why taking excess sugar makes you put on weight as the excess is converted into glycogen or fat.

Ideally, the spears will be about ½-inch thick at their thickest. Steer clear of those that are limp, wilted, or have a smell. Many spears will be white and woody at the base, which is fine because you’ll trim that part off, but you don’t want spears that are pale where to buy cbd oil in tulsa oklahoma and woody throughout — they’ll be too tough. Asparagus is a food that may also help alleviate hangovers, suggests one study. There are a few bits of folk wisdom about asparagus — it’s been said to help with everything from toothaches to reproductive issues.

Pills high in vitamin B6, including some multi-vitamins, heart, and pregnancy medications. It’s not particularly worrisome, says Ross, but be sure to mention it if you’re concerned about it, if it changes suddenly, or if you experience other negative side effects to go along with the smell. Others are immune—some to detecting the odor even when it’s there, and others to producing it in the first place. Whether simply grilled with olive oil, salt, and pepper or roasted in truffle oil and parmesan, asparagus is without a doubt one of the most elegant and versatile veggies around. As a side dish, it pairs just as well with steak as it does with seafood or vegan pilaf.

Dr Karl creates a stink about the bad and good aspects of this less-than-appealing smell. Some scientists think the cause of the odorous urine is due to a chemical reaction inside your stomach. For those who have experienced this “bouquet” of weirdness after a heart helping of asparagus, don’t get too worried … this phenomenon affects everyone who eats it! When we consume food, it enters our body as complex macromolecules, which must be broken down through digestion to be more usable and manageable by the body. Some patients who have UTIs actually describe the smell of their urine as sweet, Dr. Agarwal says.

A few people with the ability to excrete asparagusic acid and related compounds in their urine lack the ability to smell it. Some other people, who do not excrete asparagus urine, will be able to smell it in other people’s urine. After all, anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of people who eat asparagus 5 cbd oil uk know your olfactory pain, he says. For most people, the smell starts 15 to 30 minutes after their first bite and lasts for a few hours. It could be a matter of their bodies’ digestive enzymes, but some experts believe that they do still produce the scent and just have a poor sense of smell.

Ever settle into the restroom to do your business and, amid the calming sound of your yellow stream, notice an awful smell? Diabetes medications may change the smell of urine, and so too can the disease — especially if blood sugar levels go uncontrolled. “We were surprised to learn that some people don’t produce the odor, and so that was a new finding,” author of the study, Danielle Reed, told LiveScience. The gene variant was also confirmed to be associated with having the capacity to identify the asparagus odor. So why isn’t the other 50 percent to 78 percent of the population familiar with the acrid stench of asparagus pee?

However, excessive consumption of asparagus can increases the risk of flatulence. This side effect of asparagus is mainly due to the presence of carbohydrates like sugar in them. The dietary fibers present in the asparagus also contributes to the increased risk of flatulence. Dietary fibers absorb a lot of water from our system, and if you are taking too many dietary fibers and not drinking enough water, then it may also affect the digestion and may hinder the absorption of nutrients. Lack of water can also harden the stools, giving rise to problems like constipation, abdominal pain, cramps, etc. Although dietary fiber is good for our stomach, it is better to eat asparagus in moderation.