by Together with many other delicacies, spring brings the start of the asparagus defense season. Regardless of whether you prefer the green, purple or white variety, asparagus offers an extensive source of vitamins and minerals, and its consumption as part of a healthy diet can reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Despite the nutritional advantages of asparagus, many are the vegetables against the vegetables due to its sharp aftermath. As Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1781: “A few stems of the asparagus eaten will give our urine a desperible smell.” This smell has become so well known that the urine is now often referred to as a “asparagus pee” after consumption.
Scientists believe that the smell in question is due to two chemicals: methanethiol and s-methyl thioester. If enzymes reduce the savings nose acid in the human digestive tract, which of course is available in the vegetables, these fleeting connections are generated. When they become freely out of the body, they become a foul-smelling gas and blew out of their asparagus piss.
And just because you don’t smell does not mean that you don’t do it. Two studies have shown that people who cannot smell the smell in their own urine do not recognize it in the urine of well -known producers. Yes, volunteers sniff samples of other people’s asparagus pee. Although most probably produce the fragrance to a certain extent, it seems that the noses of all noses do not cover.
A study that my colleagues and I conducted in 2017 showed that only 40 percent of those surveyed gave the smell in their urine. A lower proportion of women was able to recognize the smell compared to men, although women are assumed to have a sharp sense of smell.
We asked almost 7,000 participants from two large cohort studies to react to the request. “After eating asparagus, they notice a strong characteristic smell in their urine.” By linking the questionnaire data with genetic data, we were able to show that the ability to smell or not smell depends on the genetic make -up of a person. Hundreds of variants in the DNA sequence over several genes that are involved in the sense of smell are strongly associated with the ability to demonstrate asparagus metabolites in the urine.
Asparagus is not the only food that has genetically contained controversial or taste effects. Some people avoid eating coriander because they claim that it has a “soap” decomposition. A study using data from almost 30,000 users of 23 and 23Andme resulted in genetic variants in olfactory receptors that were connected by humans with the perception of this negative taste.
Perhaps you can carry out your own survey at the next family meal, which includes an asparagus plate – or soon afterwards.
This article will be released from the conversation, a non -profit, independent news organization that brings you facts and trustworthy analyzes to help you understand our complex world. It was written by: Sarah Coso Markt, Harvard University
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Sarah Coso Markt receives funds from the National Institutes of Health.
