It’s that time of year when the delicate stalks of delicious asparagus make it to dinner tables everywhere. We love it grilled, steamed, stir-fried, in soups, with a squeeze of lemon, and many other ways. It’s the ultimate springtime vegetable.
But if you’re an avid eater of this vernal delicacy, you’ve probably have noticed something a little … um… smelly … after you’ve consumed it. There’s no reason for alarm: it’s perfectly normal, and you’re not alone.
Even Benjamin Franklin stated in a 1781 letter, that “a few stems of asparagus eaten, shall give our urine a disagreeable odour.”
Why The Funny Smell?
Science has an explanation for why asparagus can make your pee smell funny. And it all trickles down to one chemical compound: asparagusic acid, which can only be found in asparagus. This is why no other vegetable seems to cause such a stinky curiosity.
When our body digests the vegetable, it breaks it down and creates volatile sulfur-containing compounds. This results in the unpleasant odor that may catch you off guard. And in most cases, it can happen in as quickly as 15 minutes after consuming it, whether it’s eaten raw or cooked.
But interestingly, not everyone suffers from this fetid phenomenon. Scientists have also discovered that nearly 40% of the population either can’t or aren’t able to detect anything unusual in their urine after eating asparagus. Or, that their bodies don’t manufacture the sulfur compounds. A British study from 2010 suggested that “differences existed between individuals in both the production and detection of the scent.” So whether participants simply couldn’t smell it, or didn’t produce the compounds, wasn’t entirely clear. This only further deepens the asparagus mystery.
Still A Healthy Option
But aside from having asparagus make your pee smell, asparagus is loaded with vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants, making it an important vegetable to keep in your diet.
Thinking about adding asparagus to your garden this spring? Check out these tips on growing asparagus.
