Frozen Pizza Sundays: March 2009

Monday, March 9, 2009

Asparagus

News you can use:
"Asparagus, a green vegetable belonging to the lily family, has one notorious side effect for some diners who eat enough of it. Within a half-hour of asparagus consumption, some people notice their urine has acquired a very pungent odor, often compared to rotting cabbage, ammonia or rotten eggs. The effects of asparagus on urine are generally fleeting and harmless, but it's not necessarily the consumer's finest hour, bodily excretion-wise.

"The good news is that asparagus does not affect everyone. Studies conducted on the "asparagus urine" phenomenon (aren't you glad you didn't volunteer!) indicate that roughly 40 to 50 percent of those tested developed the distinctive odor. Surprisingly enough, there is also a segment of the population who cannot smell the sulphurous fumes of asparagus-laced urine. It is believed that both the generation of the odoriferous urine and the ability to smell it are based on genetics. Only those with a certain gene can break down the chemicals inside the asparagus into their smelly components, and only those with the proper gene can smell the results of that chemical breakdown."

OK all you relatives, there is a genetic component to this problem...you should know that Dad is in the 40-50% of people that has this symptom (and also can detect the odor).

It was weird. I bought some fresh asparagus Friday and we steamed it and ate it for dinner. Sure enough, within an hour my urine smelled like I had eaten my VISA card. I thought it was diabetes or liver failure. Freaky feeling. I had experienced it before but never made the connection to asparagus.

So, it's no big deal. In fact, it proves that the kidneys are working.

For any microbiologists with the initials REM, here's a paper with all the $3 words that no one can pronounce:

http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/4/539

PS- This information in no way explains Joe.