Many people are currently eating asparagus. The vegetable consists largely of water, has hardly any calories and contains high amounts of healthy vitamins and minerals. But after eating it, urine can have a bad smell. FOCUS Online explains why this is the case.
Whether white or green: Asparagus is very popular with Germans. There is a reason for this: in addition to its great taste, asparagus is also good for our health. Just 500 grams cover our daily requirement of vitamins C and E. It also contains high amounts of folic acid and the mineral potassium, which has a positive effect on water balance and the heart, among other things.
You can read here what happens in your body when you eat asparagus frequently.
But after eating it, it can be unpleasant to go to the toilet if you notice the smell. Asparagus actually changes the urine. The culprit is the asparagusic acid it contains.
When this natural sulphur compound is metabolised by the human body, waste products remain. These are then excreted when going to the toilet and develop their penetrating smell – the typical asparagus urine smell is created. The nasty stench is therefore not a sign of illness or poisoning, but a completely normal consequence of eating asparagus.
Asparagus can be detected in urine as early as 15 minutes after eating. Asparagus has a diuretic effect, you will be surprised by the smell sooner rather than later. To prevent the unpleasant smell, it helps to drink a lot while eating. This dilutes the urine.
However, not everyone’s urine smells after eating asparagus: some people are genetically lacking the enzyme responsible for breaking down asparagusic acid.
Curiously, some people simply cannot smell the typical smell of urine. This phenomenon is also said to be genetic, as a study from the USA has suggested. A report from the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE) that strawberries help against the bad smell of urine after eating asparagus turned out to be an April Fool’s joke by the authorities. For those who still don’t want to give up asparagus, the rule is: hold your nose and get on with it.