Asparagus pee is not a serious problem that affects your overall health. Urine helps your body get rid of waste. Your diet and intake levels of fluid can have a direct impact on urine appearance and smell. Some food items like asparagus can influence the smell of your urine. The nutritious vegetable can provide several benefits to your body. But, it can also lead to an unusually strong odor. It can cause embarrassment as people can comment on the way the strong odor.
What Is Urine?
Your body has toxic accumulation and other waste products. The kidneys filter the waste particles from the blood. The waste products are accumulated as urine in your urinary bladder. Depending on various factors, the urine color ranges from pale yellow to deep amber. The urine color depends on the following factors:
- The proportion of waste products to the water content (Concentration)
- Your fluid consumption levels
You may have observed light color to the urine. It comes from the substance known as urochrome. It is generated by hemoglobin (it is the oxygen-carrying protein present in your blood cells). The color can help determine the health problems in your body.
Factors Affecting Urine Color And Smell
You can produce six and a half cups of urine per day. You tend to visit the toilet at least four to eight times. It is a common ritual that everyone performs each day. So, you may not notice the color of the urine. Unless you happen to smell something different, you may not feel any problem with your urine. The difference in color and smell can depend on various factors. In most cases, the temporary color or smell change occurs due to the consumption of certain food or nutritional supplements. Certain medications or drinking less water can lead to the changes in color, appearance, and smell of urine
Underlying health problems can also change urine color and smell. The problems can range from simple infections like (Urinary tract infection) to serious complications (bladder or kidney cancer). If you observe changes in your urine for more than seven days, then you need to get advice from your doctor. Getting it tested can provide you peace of mind.
What Is Asparagus Pee?
Asparagus is a popular vegetable that is available in different colors. The vegetable contains essential vitamins, minerals as well as antioxidants. The vegetable comes in different colors like green, purple, and white. You can use in different dishes from around the globe. The versatile vegetable is opted by many people due to its low calories. So, people who want to lose weight include the vegetable in their diet. Unfortunately, the vegetable has a drawback. Eating it can lead to urine with a greenish tinge along with a distinctive smell. It is referred to as asparagus pee.
Now you may wonder how the vegetable emits the strong odor. The smell comes from asparagusic acid. The acid itself does not smell. But, when you consume asparagus, the digestive enzymes in your body break the acid down. So, it breaks down into sulfur-containing compounds. The sulfur, which is also found in skunk spray and garlic can lead to a stinky smell. Therefore, when you pee after eating the nutritious vegetable, your urine can emit a foul smell.
Myths Surrounding Asparagus Pee
The phenomenon was first noted a long time back by Scottish doctor and mathematician, John Arbuthnot. He has specified the pungent properties of asparagus in 1731. According to the doctor, eating asparagus resulted in pungent urine smell. Not everyone has described asparagus pee as unpleasant. Marcel Proust describes the result of eating asparagus as transforming his chamber pot into alluring aromatic perfume.
Earlier people blamed the strong smell of the urine after consuming the vegetable on the fertilizers users on it. But, no record exists of the vegetable triggering the smell after the introduction of fertilizers. It is a myth that many people still consider true. Unfortunately, consuming organic vegetable (without the use of any fertilizers) can result in strong-smelling urine. Some think that only certain people can experience asparagus pee after eating the vegetable. It is not true. Asparagus contains a unique compound that gives your urine unique smell after metabolizing. So, everyone who consumes the vegetable can have strong-smelling urine. But, only some people can smell it.
What Causes Asparagus Pee?
Food items you consume can have a direct influence on the appearance and odor of your urine. Therefore, eating asparagus can have a direct result on your urine. It is due to the fact that it contains mercaptan. It is the compound you can find in other items like onion, garlic, and rotten eggs. The mercaptan is broken down by your digestive system into several by-products. These by-products can emit a strange and pungent smell. It is a quick process, which can reflect in the smell of your urine. So, within fifteen to thirty minutes of eating asparagus, your urine can develop a distinctive smell. People with a specific genetic makeup can smell the urine better compared to others. Therefore, everyone may not smell asparagus pee. It does not mean only some people have strong urine smell after consuming the vegetable.
Some people are producers as well as detectors. So, they can smell their own strong-smelling urine. Some are just detectors, meaning they can smell the urine of other people. Read ahead to know-how only a percentage of people can detect strong-smelling urine.
Can Everyone Smell Asparagus Pee?
The super smelling powers of certain people have always held the attention of researchers. Several studies conducted by the scientist try to understand why some people can smell their odor. People who can smell the foul smell of urine after eating asparagus have a single gene different from others. According to a study carried out by 23andMe, a DNA sequencing company, a specific genetic component leads to the super smelling power. The investigation held in 2010 revealed that people who smell asparagus pee can detect the odor due to the DNA sequence variations. The mutation does not cause any other health problems or other issues. The single gene mutation only enhances your smelling power. So, it makes certain people have the ability to smell the asparagus odor in urine.
Now you may wonder how many people possess such super smelling powers. Only 25% of the population has a unique DNA sequence. It does not cause any harm as the mutation never triggers any other complications. So, if you belong to the rare group of people who can smell asparagus people, then you can feel proud about your super nose.
Can Women Smell Asparagus Pee?
Women have better smelling ability compared to men. They have the ability to identify and correctly detect various smells. It makes women super smellers. But, only a few women can smell their own asparagus pee. Researches have suggested that women can smell the foul-smelling of urine by others, but cannot smell their own. It is not sure if the data collected can offer better insight on the topic. Some women can lie about their urine smell due to embarrassment or modesty.
How Long Does Strong Smell Of Asparagus Pee Lasts?
People who value their health consume asparagus irrespective of the olfactory pain. In such cases, you may wonder how long the smell can last. When you consume the vegetable, the urine starts to smell foul after fifteen to thirty minutes. It can last for a few hours. Some people may not produce the smell due to their digestive enzymes. While avoiding asparagus altogether is not an ideal solution, you can limit the foul smell. Drinking water can overcome the problem to an extent.
Diagnosis Of Asparagus Pee
The majority of people (60%-80%) can experience the strong odor of asparagus after consuming the vegetable. The temporary smell may go away on its own. You can wait for a week for the odor to clear. But, if you suspect some other issue, then see your doctor. You need to see your doctor when you experience other signs like:
- Cloudy urine
- Pain while urinating
- Presence of blood in the urine
- Back pain or pelvic pain
In such cases, your doctor can perform tests to detect the actual problem troubling you. The following tests can help come to a positive conclusion:
Physical Assessment
The doctor performs a physical assessment to check for any problems. You need to confide in your doctor about the food items you have consumed. In most cases, consuming food other than asparagus like garlic, alcohol, coffee or others can lead to a strong odor. You need to provide information on the supplements you take. Some nutritional supplements like vitamin capsules, fish oil tablets, etc. can lead to asparagus pee.
Urine Test
Your doctor also checks for signs of dehydration. For making an accurate analysis, the technicians test the sample of your urine in the lab. The high concentration of urine indicates dehydration. It can lead to a strong odor. So, you can experience asparagus pee in the morning when you consume fewer fluids at night.
Urinalysis
Your doctor can suggest urinalysis to get comprehensive information about your health. The test can detect a wide range of problems, like diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections. It also tests for content of your urine, its concentration, and the visual appearance. So, using the test, your doctor can conclude is the asparagus pee indicates some other health problem.
Treatment To Overcome Asparagus Pee
When your doctor rules out the presence of a serious health condition, you can relax. It means you require only home treatment to overcome the strong odor. The following options can help relieve the foul smell from your urine.
Drink Water
You need to drink fluids to dilute the concentration of your urine. Many people drink less water due to the fear of leakage or frequent bathroom trips. Dehydration is one of the main cause of strong smell urine apart from consuming asparagus. Therefore, you need to drink enough water every day. It will dilute the urine concentration. Diluted urine has a weak smell.
Deodorizing Tablets
If you are embarrassed to go to the public bathroom after eating asparagus, then you can take deodorizing tablets. The internal deodorizing tablets can reduce the pungent smell of your urine by neutralizing it. Vitamin C tablets can do the trick. But, if you take other medication for your health problems, check with your doctor before consuming it. The tablets can interfere with the working of other medications and cause complication.
If you think about substituting Vitamin C tablets for citrus fruits and/or juices, then it can bring more trouble. The fruits and juices are acidic in nature. So, it can only increase the odor as well as irritation.
Preventing Asparagus Pee
You can prevent the strong smelling urine by taking some precaution. So, follow the pointers to prevent the embarrassment when you go out.
Drink Water
Drinking water is the most important step to prevent strong-smelling urine including asparagus pee. When you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water, it dilutes your urine concentration and weakens the urine smell. You can avoid dehydration by drinking more water. Dehydration can make the foul smell of urine worse. So, you need to drink water after eating asparagus to avoid foul-smelling urine.
Choosing Asparagus Of Low Concentration
You read it right. The high concentration of asparagus can lead to stronger smelling urine. So, you can opt for asparagus that contains low concentrations of the compound responsible for the strong odor. How is it possible? Young asparagus contains a higher concentration of the odor-inducing compound. So, steer clear from it to avoid asparagus pee. As the vegetable is highly nutritious, you must never skip eating it. So, opt for mature asparagus as it contains less concentration of the odor emitting component.
Use Air Freshener
If you still feel embarrassed to pee in a public toilet after eating asparagus, then carry a small bottle of perfume or air freshener. After peeing, you can spray the perfume or air freshener to overcome the foul smell. It will help you overcome the strong smell in public places.
Conclusion
Asparagus pee can occur due to simple reasons like consuming the vegetable or dehydration. It can cause no serious consequences to your health. Therefore, you never have to worry about complications. If the smell does not go away after seven days, you can contact a doctor. But, simple steps at home like drinking more water can solve the problem. Never skip the vegetable from your diet for the fear of stinking pee. Eating the nutritious vegetable only offers you great benefits. Therefore, try to find ways to include it without suffering from stinking pee.
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