BTW - if you drink the pee, it delays dementia. Pubmed it if you care.

*Everyone* makes stinky urine after eating asparagus - only a few can detect the odor.

I've had a pint of asparagus soup one day and I almost passed out in the toilet.

Thank you for educating me on the smell of pee after eating asparagus. I honestly believed that my kidneys were going to fail. I feel better now.

With fresh asparagus in season, we have eaten a lot. My 5 yr old *loves* it and had about 10 stalks tonight. When he used the bathroom before his bath, he said "ooooohhhh Mommy something stinks in here!" I laughed because I knew he had smelly urine from the asparagus. (me too). Glad to hear it is soo common. I thought we were the only ones and didn't really want to ask.

I feel special, I have both genes...lol. I thought it happened to everyone.

In the Mike Myers movie, Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery, Austin Powers is urinating while pretending to be a fountain, while doing this he goes undetected until he eats some asparagus. After eating the asparagus the other guy in the room starts crinkling his nose as if to smell something offensive.

I, too, have both genes. I remember my mother telling me that asparagus would do this when I was a teen, but at that time I didn't eat asparagus because I thought it looked slimy and gross. As an adult, my tastes had changed, and I ate a whole bunch of it. The next time I went to the bathroom - forgetting what mom had told me - I thought something was seriously wrong with me and was relieved when I was reminded of what I'd forgotten.

I have also noticed, fresh asparagus produces a stronger odor than the frozen asparagus.

Indeed, even Ben Franklin was intrigued with how asparagus made his pee smell. Here is a quote from his writings: ".........Certain it is also that we have the Power of changing by slight Means the Smell of another Discharge, that of our Water. A few Stems of Asparagus eaten, shall give our Urine a disagreeable Odour; and a Pill of Turpentine no bigger than a Pea, shall bestow on it the pleasing Smell of Violets......" Do a search for urine, asparagus, and Ben Franklin and you will find he did some interesting writing about bodily functions.

Must read!

Alas you may hate the smell, please note that the asparagus is fighting infections and removing harmful salts and wastes in your digestive track/kidneys. This may have something to do with the odor some experience after ingesting asparagus.

Optional story to read:

My dad after being catheterized got a urinary tract infection, so we made him have some asparagus(steamed) and he feels so relieved & it's a great help. Please eat some asparagus you'll feel so detoxified after!

Both my husband and I, and our two children produce what we have always called "aspara-pee". My 7th grader who is studying genetics informs us that it is a dominant gene in our family. We all seem to be super sensitive to asparagus, because if there are just two small pieces in a dish, we still get aspara-pee! But we do love asparagus!

I too have the smelly asparagus pee, but in my research I've found my urine less smelly after eating Trader Joe's frozen asparagus spears vs the more aromatic fresh vegetable. My smell is more earthy, like wet dirt. I don't mind it so much but I feel bad for the woman who uses the stall right after me, but hot darn it I loves me some asparagus!

There is a book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez called "Love In the Time of Cholera" wherein one of the secondary characters, a doctor by the way, eats asparagus daily for the very purpose of producing fragrant urine. If I hadn't read that book years ago I would indeed have been worried.

I'm curious if there was any correlation between the people who produce the odor and the people who can smell it. I guess if you can't smell it, you wouldn't know you have the "condition"!

I wonder if this gene that allows us to break asparagus down into its smelly compartments is linked in any way to the gene I inherited that causes my blood to clot? The blood disorder is called Factor V Leiden, and I had a TIA when I turned 30 due to being on the Pill and having this disorder (unbeknownst until the TIA). Now, I take a regular aspirin daily to keep my blood thin, and wonder if I should even be eating asparagus due to the high amount of Vitamin K?

I would like to note that I am currently in Catalonia enjoying one of the best wild asparagus harvests of recent times. Checked this page because getting the pee smell good and strong in close proximity to the several doses of asparagus cooked in various local styles we have enjoyed over the last few days. I can positively guarantee my friends land that this asparagus came off has not been fertilised in living memory if ever, in conclusion fertilised or not the effect is the same - or even I suspect greater for the wild and therefore unfertilised variety.

bookworm says: "these fertilizers were used for other vegetable too, so why does only asparagus have this unique characteristic?"

Your question answers itself: It's the asparagus, not the fertilizers.

I imagine there were no recorded comments about the smell before the 1800's because there was no internet then. :-)

Seriously, I thought there was something seriously wrong with me until I did a simple search here. Apparently I have the gene for producing the smell, and the gene for smelling it too. Lucky.

bookworm, one more thing, your idea that maybe it is the fertilizers can be easily checked. Grow organic asparagus, feed it to alleged odor-producers, smell the results.

we have a family of five and all have the post- asparagus consumption funny smelling pee syndrome. we all think it smells like burning rubber. i am amazed how quickly it happens, it ate asparagus 40 minutes ago and when i peed it was there loud and clear. smells like a tire retread factory to me. is asparagus possibly a natural diuretic....

Sitting reading this with my good wife, both of us experience smelly pee, and always blamed asparagus but never were sure. Having a laugh now, this post is very true. Good to know that it is a good sign.

Great article. Paul & Sheena

A friend and I recently had lunch at a posh restaurant in downtown Atlanta. I ordered grilled salmon with asparagus. About 4 to 5 hours later (by this time I was off of work) I noticed a foul odor while urinating. Later that evening my husband and I took my daughter to see a play and needless to say we both had to use the bathroom. I kept smelling this sulfuric acid smell and thought it was because I was taking probiotics. I also take flax seed oil and a multivitamin. I'm also experiencing signs of a yeast infection and believe that to be a side effect of the probiotics. It's very interesting to read all of the comments regarding asparagus causing the odiferous smelling urine - I never knew the chemical compounds contained in this wonderfully tasting green vegetable could be causing such an uproar (smile) - but to be on the safe side, I will have my primary care physician or gyn do a thorough urinalysis - my health is everything and I'd rather be safe than regretfully sorry in the end...the comments on this blog are great!! :)

For those of you subject to random (urine) drug testing- think of this as a great way to mess with people. While I was still in the National Guard, we were subject to random drug testing. Each night before and during drill, I would eat as much asparagus as I possibly could. My apologies to the poor chump who had to open those bottles at the lab!

I had fresh asparagus last night, and got the smelly pee. I don't remember this happening before, but maybe the out of season asparagus imported here is different from the local in-season variety? The odor was quite strong, but did not really smell sulferous, rubbery or skunky to me. It smelled like stale pee that had been in a unflushed toilet for a few days.

One interesting fact I came across regarding the odor in asparagus is that historical references to the smell date only to the time when fertilizers containing sulfur started to be used in agriculture, which was sometimes in the 18th century. Even though references to asparagus date as far back as a few millennia, no references to the odor can be found.

That still leaves one question though, these fertilizers were used for other vegetable too, so why does only asparagus have this unique characteristic?

Funny that some say it makes their smelly pee smell good. Mine smells like death. Anyone who has ever smelt a dead cancerous body knows that awful smell - it's terrible. And I've added more vegetables to my diet and was thinking this strange stinky smell was the asparagus, and alas it was. I thought something was rotting inside me!

Neither methyl mercaptan, thiol esters nor asparagusic acid are amino acids. To be an amino acid a compound must contain both an amine group "-NH2" AND a carboxylic acid group "-COOH". Methyl mercaptan is another name for methanethiol, which is similar to methanol but with a sulphur atom in place of the oxygen atom, it contains the thiol group "-SH" (formula: CH3SH).

Thiol esters are made from the reaction between a thiol and a carboxylic acid - no amine group present.

Finally, asparagusic acid has a pentagon shaped structure with 2 sulphur atoms in the bottom 2 corners of the pentagon and 3 carbon atoms in the other corners, and a carboxylic acid group (-COOH) attached to the central carbon (sticking up from the pentagon shape). Again, no amine group.

The enzymes involved in digesting the asparagus to produce the smelly chemicals are made from proteins, the building blocks of which are amino acids.

I had sauerkraut about 4 days and I had asparagus about an hour ago. I just noticed my vaginal secretions (after sex, poor husband) smelled exactly like sauerkraut, and my pee smelled really strong. Im in a gross way. Im glad I found this site, or I would be going crazy.

Thanks to the person who reported urine smelling of asparagus after taking alpha-lipoic acid supplements. I seriously thought my kidneys were playing up as I had not eaten any asparagus and yet there was that smell!

I have written to the manufacturers of this product, in my case, Bioceuticals Lipoec 200, to ask them to include on the label "Do not be alarmed if urine smells of asparagus when taking this supplement, this is normal and nothing to worry about".

I hope they take this seriously. I would never have tweaked except for this website - thanks a lot!

Some years ago I attended an auction whereby the house contents were to be auctioned first, followed by the house itself. As we were moving from one room to another, the auctioneer said that anyone caught stealing anything that was up for auction would be placed in the village stocks at the height of the asparagus season. I immediately burst out laughing while other people gave the auctioneer and I some rather funny looks. It was priceless!

Think about it. Ugh!

There once was a man from Algiers

Who ingested asparagus spears.

Soon his urine did reek

So he rushed to wisegeek.

Where discussion allayed all his fears.

Well, this is very interesting. I had asparagus for lunch today and not long later went to the toilet before going for a walk. I thought 'ewww the toilet needs cleaning' and wondered whether the pipes were playing up again.

On the walk I mentioned what I had eaten for lunch to my friend who asked me if it made my pee smell. I replied "no". Anyway, I have just been to the toilet again and sure enough there was that smell again. Now the toilet didn't smell when I went in so it has to be me! Guess I do get asparagus wee. I find this all very interesting, can't wait to ask hubby if he gets it, hehe.

I find that alpha-lipoic acid makes my urine smell the same way asparagus makes my urine smell.

My guess is is that asparagus and ala both have Glutathione and maybe that is what makes the pee smell.

Very interesting blog' I also searched for smelly urine to find this blog. I have a quite different twist on this one; my urine smells just like asparagus when it is cooking. I have had this happen every time I eat the stuff; I was thinking that I was a little strange; well I guess my condition is different. It makes me laugh every time that I urinate after eating it, it smells like dinner is served all over again....Ha ha...

Wow I'm really happy that it was nothing bad. I happened to start smelling the foul pee last week and finally got around to looking it up only to discover that asparagus can cause a foul smell in urine. When I read that a light went on in my head. Last week I started eating asparagus at least twice a day at meals. Well I'm glade that not everyone can smell it. YAY!

I have been a huge fan of asparagus since a child. We grew it in our garden. I am almost 50 and recently I ate some for the first time in quite a while. That evening I noticed the rotten smell when urinating. I also noticed a different 'effect' later that evening. Seems it also works well for me as an E.D. product. I have tried many E.D. products, all with little or no success but always with headaches the day after. I have discovered that asparagus works better with no other side effects other than the urinary smell. I have tested this theory several times to make sure the asparagus was the culprit. It seems to be and boy am I happy about that. That was what I was trying to look up when I came across this. Has anyone else experienced this effect?

This has been a topic of discussion in my house over the last year. I produce the smell and can detect it. It doesn't smell like rubber to me. If you've ever cut PVC tubing with a hacksaw, however, it is exactly the same smell. My wife had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it to her, so she either can't smell it or doesn't produce it, or both.

Poster anon 12712 asks: "Also I'm a woman does that make a difference?" Yes. You can bear children.

Does anyone else notice a similar smell after eating sauerkraut? We had reuben sandwiches last night -- and soon after, smelly pee.

Glad to know what the answer finally is!!!! I've been wondering about this for years! My pee smells like the goldfish bowl water I used to change every other day when I was a child and had a goldfish for a pet. lol

This byproduct is nearly a miracle. I learned that adding some of the smell to my exterior latex paint is a good way to repel boll weevils and australian fire ants from my cottage. Remember that next time you paint your siding. But then again, living this far north I might never encounter those pests. And I hear it works best on pastel colours. However, marking your property lines does keep the wild animals away, but might be dangerous in mating season.

I love the smell! Every May I look forward to fresh, local asparagus. I'll eat the stuff for 5 days straight and go on a peeing spree. I'll mark my own property lines and if the occasion allows, I'll get some of the neighbor's too. Totally throws off their spaniels. It's day 4 of the 1st May harvest and I have concocted a nutty aroma that is not unlike a can of salted pecans. These are the moments worth living for!

good to know that am normal, and that it's something quite common :)

I also feel different smell of my urine after eating asparagus, but that smell is not disgusting or displeasing at all, that is even pleasurable like some exotic ointment extracted e.g. from rose or else.

I have only recently become a fan of asparagus, and I too produce the 'rubber' smell, as does my partner - I can smell it but he cant!! A lady at work told me about it and I had to test it out!! ha ha!

I like asparagus raw sometimes...and I smell like something sweet like a yeast/wine sort of smell. It's not offensive just strange. I keep thinking there's something wrong with me?

Well...I feel weird. I love asparagus and sometimes I eat it raw. I just recently (in the last month) noticed a different smell from my urine. But it smells kind of sweet. Like wine or sweet/yeasty smell. Is there something wrong with me? It definitely doesn't smell offensive just weird. Also I'm a woman does that make a difference?

The human sense of smell is dependent on many genes I think... and none of them are necessarily connected to genes that affect specific enzymes in the digestive tract or later stages of metabolism.

There are people who can't smell specific chemicals but yet produce them in their metabolism, which other people may find repulsive. IE, while others may not be bothered by garlic breath at all, even if they don't eat garlic themselves, there apparently are people who will not develop garlic breath even if they eat a lot of it. BTW this is also due to a sulfuric compound... perhaps related somehow?

Some metabolites form in the digestive tract but aren't absorbed in the gut. They can be sensed in the feces but not urine, breath, or skin secretions.

Gut-absorbed metabolites that are readily in a form where the body will secrete them, can be detected in urine, breath, and/or skin secretions, but less in the feces.

If the digestive metabolites are absorbed but not readily secreted, they may accumulate into the body (mainly liver) or they are further metabolised to other substances that may be secreted through one or other path.

If the asparagus P smell isn't found in other secretions than urine, it is, by this rough categorization, either formed in the blood stream or absorbed entirely in the gut (not found in feces), and further it is best secreted by the kidneys, while some bloodstream metabolites mostly end up in the feces, and some are almost exclusive to sweat or breath.

Yeah, I'm not the only one!!!

I too was very concerned when I started smelling my urine a few weeks ago when my Wife cooked asparagus for the first time in 15 years of marriage. Funny thing was the next morning at work I got some very odd looks and my urinal neighbor leaned as far away from me as possible. I'm guessing he has the smell gene for sure.

I've had the same awful smelling pee!!!! for years. Now that I know what causes it and that I'm a special person. I'm not afraid to eat it anymore. I couldn't for years figure out why my pee smelled. I've even asked my doctor about what could cause my pee to smell. They would look at my like I was Nuts! I love asparagus, I will still eat it, even though I know what to expect in less then an hour later. It only lasts about 15hrs with me. I just make sure I drink plenty of water while I'm eating it and then well after I'm done with my meal so it will go out of system faster. But I would never pee in the shower after eating the asparagus! Yuk! It's bad enough to have to endure the smell while on the toilet. I try to flush also while I'm peeing, it seems to help, with having to endure the smell while I pee. I will have to check into the skin burning feel when I pee next time after eating asparagus. I'm just glad to know I have healthy Kidneys.

I often eat asparagus, and always have the sulphur smelling wee wee just half hour after. I actually don't dislike it! Having read this, and now knowing it proves healthy kidneys, I will like it even more!

I am Type 1 diabetic btw, so even cooler knowing my kidneys are in full working order after 21 years of having the condition! Kidney problems are common with diabetes.

I have just prepared a cashew nut risotto for tonight's dinner, and plenty of fresh asparagus added!!! Yummy!

Glad to know it's all normal. Thanks!

I figured out years ago, it probably was a digestive reaction. I was surprised that not everyone experiences it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who experiences the asparagus/pee phenomenon. For me, the smell reminds me of grape juice.

I am just glad it's not something serious!

My husband always says that his urine smells after eating asparagus, but I have never noticed an odor. Tonight we had asparagus and I had him smell my pee, and he could smell the odor, so I make the smell but I cannot smell it! I suppose I just have one of the two genes. :)

There's a Tom Robbins novel, I believe it's "Half asleep in Frog Pajamas" where the protagonist suffers the indignation of asparagus pee. That's when I began to wonder why....

My first experience was after eating about 20 stalks !!! I stir fried them and they were delicious. Anyway I ate late that night, and the next morning I decided to take a shower. Well the hot water relaxed me so I urinated in the shower and OMG!!!! The smell was unlike anything I've ever smelled. It is probably the strongest odor I have ever smelled in my life! Not the most offensive, but definitely the strongest! I thought there was something seriously wrong with me, but then I did a little research and found that it was nothing to be concerned about. It still is the strongest most overpowering thing I have ever smelled though.

the last three evenings my last pee of the day smelled horrid. so i googled and now discovered it was the asparagus i've eaten the past three days. this is the first time i've ever noticed this and i've eaten the asparagus in the past. i'm very relieved this is nothing serious as it sure smelled nasty.

There's a visual gag in one of the Austin Powers films based on the eating asparagus/smelly pee thing, but I guess only 40-50% of people will get the joke!

I used to have it every time. Last night, I noticed it was missing when my husband commented on his. Does that mean my kidneys are malfunctioning, or could it be the result of gall bladder surgery several months ago?

yep, smells like old rubber tires to me too, the fresh picked asparagus. The canned asparagus looses about everything, the brand I had anyways- the main effects, flavor and the pee-you side effect, but the stuff is definitely low on the calorie count!

To the Anonymous responder who signed off as "Endlessly curious......": A few months ago, I was half-listening to the TV when words penetrated my consciousness: a vague reference to the cause of the asparagus urine smell. I'd long been curious about the phenomenon. "What did they say caused it?" I asked my daughter, who gave me a quizzical look that indicated she didn't understand the reference. Apparently, though I do have the gene, she does not. Perhaps her father also hasn't the gene. I did not, however, supply my daughter (or anyone else, for that matter) with a sample. And I'm thinking that friend must be a really good friend.

The gene giving you the ability to produce and smell the smelly pee are dominant. It is a basic principle of genetics that traits that are caused by a functioning protein, which in this case are an enzyme and chemoreceptor found in the nose, are dominant traits. You only need one of two functional genes for either trait.

I've always loved that distinct smell... but not to the point that I collected it in a jar and asked my neighbors to take a sniff... I bet you got an odd look for that one.

Is the gene giving you the ability to produce and smell the smelly pee a dominant or recessive gene?

Thank you for this very helpful explanation of the asparagus/urine phenomenon. I thought something was wrong with me. After eating canned asparagus for dinner last night my pee smelled terribly pungent. I have never smelled anything like it. It seemed to go away and then today I had some leftover asparagus and almost immediately my pee smelled like that again. Searching for answers I found this. Thank god nothing else is wrong with me!! I too could feel the vapors of this stinky odor. weird!!!!

I knew my urine smelled due to asparagus for years but never knew why 'til now. However, my wife does not have smelly urine when she eats it, further supporting the 40-50 percentage finding. I do wonder if there is any correlation between producing the smell and any other health or physical factor.

-zman

A very helpful explanation of the potential asparagus urine smell.

I'm partial to the idea that the unique urine smell is due to two components; 1) a gene that breaks down the sulfur-containing amino acids 2) a gene that smells the specific compounds formed in the digestion of asparagus.

My thoughts..........

- I too smell a unique smell post ingesting asparagus

- 45 minutes after ingesting 10 spears of asparagus, I collected my urine specimen in a jar

- I asked my brother, wife, two children, and a friend to smell the liquid

- My brother, wife, children and friend all smelled the unique smell

Has anyone been able to create the unique smelling urine and find an individual who does not smell the unique smell of the urine?

Thank you.

Endlessly curious......

".. extremely healthy, with a super immune system.. " .. you say... I weigh in at an extremely obese 135 Kg..and am extremely unfit.. filled with a daily dose of cholesterol and blood pressure lowering tablets.... and I too experience a pungent P odour after eating deliciously prepared asparagus.

(viz. crisp marinated)... and the odour reminds me of the smell of "rubber".. eg. rubber tyres.. which is very distinct... anybody have their asparagus a special way giving a "specific" pungent odour like mine...

Initially I just HAD TO ask my GP who assured me there was nothing to worry about.. and.. after reading the thousands of references to asparagus "stuff"... I too am somewhat relieved there is nothing else medically wrong inside my body... c'est la vie... !!!!!

How long does the smell last....I ate 7 or 8 stalks of asparagus last night, and almost 24 hours later my urine still smells. ??

I was so intrigued by the phenomena that I did an impromtu survey. I wondered what health repercussions those of us who experience the smell enjoy/suffer.

For me and for at least one other person I surveyed there is another result. THE VAPORS CAN BE FELT ON THE SKIN even without inhaling. Have you noticed?

My asparagus P is not stinky, but does have a distinctive scent. But as the article indicates, it's good news -- the kidneys are just working like they should. It's a 'special' enzyme for special people.

PS -- I am extremely healthy, with a super immune system, so it's no surprise on the smelly P (phenomenon)

I thought I had some strange thing happening because my urine smelled so rotten. I looked it up and low and behold I too had eaten asparagus tonight for dinner. How odd this is what causes it.

I am glad it wasn't something more serious!!!

I have the asparagus smell as well. I have also noticed the same effect when I drink espresso or cappacuino's. Is this due to a similiar situation as the asparagus?

I guess it made me feel a bit better just to know I wasn't the only person out there wondering about this strange phenomenon. The gene theory makes sense because both my sons have complained about the same issue. We now just refer to it as "asparagus pee" but we love to eat it anyway. It is amazing how quickly it reacts in our bodies too. I was hoping we were getting some wonderful benefit from suffering this affliction.

Hello, I got on the web to find out why my urine smelled skunky. I did have asparugus for lunch today, so I guess I found my answer! I must have both genes since I can smell it in my own urine. I have always been told I have a nose like a dog!!