Post created by Kenneth and Christian
The article "Why Does Asparagus Make Your Pee Smell Funny?" by Ashley P. Taylor walks through the science behind why asparagus has an effect on the odor of urine. Taylor says that the odor is due to the metabolism of asparagusic acid which breaks down into sulfur-containing compounds that produce the "funny" smell in urine after consumption. What is crazy is that not everybody can actually smell this difference in their urine. A factor that affects whether you can smell it or not is the sequence of genes on Chromosome 1. Those who have a "G/G" pair on the chromosome find it more difficult to detect the smell in their urine than those who have a "G/A" or "A/A" which is easier to pick up. There is actually a 15% difference in the ability to detect this asparagus/urine combination! We thought this was fascinating because everybody knows that there is a weird odor that asparagus gives off in your urine, but most people don't know why. It is really interesting how the things that we consume can affect the smell of our urine...what else could have an effect similar to this?
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