After eating asparagus, many people not only remember the tender spears and the delicious hollandaise, but also the strong smell of urine. Where does he come from?
This is why your urine smells after you eat asparagus
According to the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE), asparagusic acid, which occurs naturally in asparagus, is responsible for this. It is broken down in the body, producing sulfur-containing compounds. These are excreted in the urine.
But: This doesn’t happen to everyone. While some asparagus lovers turn up their noses when they go to the toilet, others don’t smell the noble vegetable.
According to BZfE, the cause lies in the enzyme that breaks down aspartic acid in the body. Only about every second person has it in their genetic makeup. If you don’t have it, you don’t have to deal with asparagus urine.
Strawberries versus asparagus urine: That’s what’s behind it
However, the phenomenon has not been completely scientifically clarified. According to BZfE, there is also the theory that some people are simply less sensitive to the smell of their own urine.
But there is also evidence that the strong smell of asparagus in urine can be alleviated – by diligently snacking on strawberries.
The BZfE refers to a Norwegian study that accidentally showed that asparagus urine can then smell less strongly and even slightly of strawberries.
The reason: A chemical reaction between secondary plant substances from strawberries and protein fragments from asparagus. This inhibits the formation of sulfur-containing compounds.
Even if not all the detailed questions have been clarified yet: a large portion of strawberries with dessert or before the asparagus menu can’t hurt.