Asparagus, Stinky Urine and St Luke

Quite a while back I posted here about how asparagus makes urine smell really bad. We had some asparagus last week and sure enough, it smelled like my kidneys were rotting away when I went to the bathroom. So I sent an email to my brother asking him if he could smell anything odd after eating asparagus. He called me back and told me that many people create a sulfur dioxide compound after eating asparagus.

He also said that our family has the gene for smelling that compound according to the DNA/genealogy reports he gets from those ancestry tracking sites. How odd that they would know which gene causes that was my reaction, but apparently they ask a lot of questions and that can help determine what genes do certain things. Hmmm... I thought.

Anyway, another thing he told me was that we are descendants of St. Luke. Hmmm… I thought again. My brother is not some yokel, he is a retired surgeon and anesthesiologist and was in the U.S. Army for 12 years. He actually tried to reenlist at age 63 though after he completed his work at the hospital in Denver. He was high up on the team that designed and oversaw construction of a new hospital. But he couldn’t work out a satisfactory deal with the Army as to where he would be stationed, plus, even after extensive training he still couldn’t do the 19 push-ups required for him to reenlist. So that is just to tell you he is not some easily fooled bumpkin.

I’m no expert on DNA, but saying we are descendants of one of the guys who wrote one of gospels seems pretty dubious to me. What’s to say St Luke’s mother had two kids and one becomes St. Luke and the other is the tree my brother and I are in? Wouldn’t our DNA be close enough that 2,000 years later these testing services can’t tell them apart? And if that’s correct, then what if we back it up to the grandmother. Still close enough genetically? Then how about 10 generations back? Or how about 100? Just call me a Doubting Thomas. Then again, maybe I’m related to him too!

You think your #1 stinks.... You should try my wife's meatloaf and tell me about your #2... lols

Toothless said:

You think your #1 stinks.... You should try my wife's meatloaf and tell me about your #2... lols

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Or bean burritos.

I am the 15th great grandson of Henry VII and the 10th grand nephew in law of Pocahontas.

I haven't eaten asparagus in 30 years.

From Google

Why does asparagus make urine smell? ... Asparagus contains a sulphurous compound called mercaptan (which is also found in rotten eggs, onions and garlic). When your digestive system breaks down mercaptan, by-products are released that cause the strange smell.

Mr Rocket said:

From Google

Why does asparagus make urine smell? ... Asparagus contains a sulphurous compound called mercaptan (which is also found in rotten eggs, onions and garlic). When your digestive system breaks down mercaptan, by-products are released that cause the strange smell.

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Sort of. It is actually a very small group of compounds. Eating asparagus changes the odor of everyone's urine, but some of us have a more subtle change. Methanethiol and S-methyl thioesters are produced by the break down of asparagus in your gut. The methanethiol causes halitosis and flatus. The thioesters are the ones that we urinate and causes the urine smell.

Ah yes the distinct odor of "asparagus pee", I guess my wife and I have the gene as well.

Zeus-cat said:

we are descendants of St. Luke.

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The answer to this is quite clear. They have saved remains of St. Luke's pee after he ate some asparagus, and all stinky asparagus pee people are genetically related to him. Problem solved!

djs said:

The answer to this is quite clear. They have saved remains of St. Luke's pee after he ate some asparagus, and all stinky asparagus pee people are genetically related to him. Problem solved!

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That assumes that there is no other sources for the gene mutation. That is a big assumption in 7-8 billion people.

djs said:

The answer to this is quite clear. They have saved remains of St. Luke's pee after he ate some asparagus, and all stinky asparagus pee people are genetically related to him. Problem solved!

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Well I feel like an idiot now, the answer was so freaking obvious!

Dimethyl sulfoxide is another compound that can induce odd-smelling urine. It is used a lot by biologists who do tissue culture and need to freeze cell and biological samples for preservation. DMSO has the unusual property of inhibiting the formation of water crystals in freezing cells, and so it prevents the damage that growing crystals cause. The DMSO is slightly toxic, so you need to dilute out the chemical after a quick-thaw, and replace the cell culture medium. Before I retired, I went through several projects where I did a lot of cell culture and once accidentally spilled some on my hands. Within 10 seconds of the spill I could taste the strong taste of asparagus in my mouth, and noticed a distinct asparagus smell on my next trip to the loo. Chuck, would DMSO be classified as an S-methyl thioester?

Alan Whitmore

Alan Whitmore said:

Chuck, would DMSO be classified as an S-methyl thioester?

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DMSO:


Thioester:


They are similar. It is likely the sulfur properties that are similar and create the smell/taste. As an undergrad / graduate student in biology and biochemistry, I assisted in some research on mercaptan and thioesters. DMSO, mercaptans, and thioesters all have similar properties.

DMSO was also rumored as being used by various spy agencies as a means of carrying toxins into a victims body without an injection point.
It also used to be sold at truck stops as an analgesic.

Steve Shannon said:

DMSO was also rumored as being used by various spy agencies as a means of carrying toxins into a victims body without an injection point.
It also used to be sold at truck stops as an analgesic.

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I'll vouch for DMSO being good for arthritis and lower back pain. It's used by vets on lame livestock and sometimes pets. I buy mine at Tractor Supply. For people it's only approved by the FDA to dissolve some kind of bladder crystals. Some doctors will advise their parents buy it to help heal cemo burns. In most of the rest of the world it's prescription only arthritis medicine. Only one documented death has been caused by it in Australia. It was FDA tested on prisoners my injecting large them with large quantities with no ill effects, but couldn't do a double blind placebo test because it causes garlic breath. And as Jello Biafra sang, mix it with lemon juice, touch your finger tips and you'll taste the lemon.

James Harechmak said:

I'll vouch for DMSO being good for arthritis and lower back pain. It's used by vets on lame livestock and sometimes pets. I buy mine at Tractor Supply. For people it's only approved by the FDA to dissolve some kind of bladder crystals. Some doctors will advise their parents buy it to help heal cemo burns. In most of the rest of the world it's prescription only arthritis medicine. Only one documented death has been caused by it in Australia. It was FDA tested on prisoners my injecting large them with large quantities with no ill effects, but couldn't do a double blind placebo test because it causes garlic breath. And as Jello Biafra sang, mix it with lemon juice, touch your finger tips and you'll taste the lemon.

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The legend was that the property of transferring substances into a person’s body was first discovered when someone touched ketchup and then DMSO and within a short time tasted ketchup. I’ve never had an opportunity to try it.

I see the title of this and think of the asparagus I ate last evening and left overs today for lunch. And I wont' say if I can tell of any differences.

Angie said:

I see the title of this and think of the asparagus I ate last evening and left overs today for lunch. And I wont' say if I can tell of any differences.

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Then you don't have the gene. Trust me, it is obvious if you do. There is nothin subtle about the odor. My brother said the compound is similar to that found in skunk spray.

@Zeus-cat I think that is one gene I can do without.

I can smell it, my wife can't. Hmm, next time I'll ask my kids.

Hmmm funny that nobody's mentioned that weird alien neon greenish yellow color that it turns your pee into. Not that I'm speaking from experience. Or am I?

I am not sure what colors the urine. That might be my multivitamin.

Bat-mite said:

I can smell it, my wife can't. Hmm, next time I'll ask my kids.

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Hmm, smell it. That is all kinds of wrong.

cwbullet said:

I am not sure what colors the urine. That might be my multivitamin.

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I have also observed that odd greenish hue. "Alien green" works for me.

See, now we have loosely tied rocketry to the thread.

Zeus-cat said:

saying we are descendants of one of the guys who wrote one of gospels seems pretty dubious to me.

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It's called Luke, but there's no reason to think that the book of Luke was actually written by anyone contemporary to Jesus. It's believed by many that the book was written centuries after Jesus died.

But still cool if you can actually show that you're a descendant from anyone that far back in history!!! It does raise the question, I wonder how they were able to say it was Luke? They have any of his DNA to compare to?

There is another genetic foible that makes coriander herb taste like soap. I love Asian food and luckily I don't have that gene. About one in five people do unfortunately . I guess that predisposed them towards pub food more.

No relation to any Saints, although I do have some Danish pirate heritage. I do support The Saints football team!

Never noticed the color. I'll check that next time. All out of asparagus at the moment though.

Mushtang said:

It's called Luke, but there's no reason to think that the book of Luke was actually written by anyone contemporary to Jesus. It's believed by many that the book was written centuries after Jesus died.

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The first paragraph of Luke's gospel states, "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught."

The beginning of the Acts of the Apostles states, "In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God."

So, the same person wrote Luke and Acts, and wrote them as a letter to someone named Theophilus. Starting in Acts 16:11, the author switches from the third person plural (they, them) to the first person plural (we, us) when referring to Paul's missionary journeys. So somewhere between Acts 15 and Acts 16:11, the author became a traveling companion of Paul and Silas.

It is known that Paul had health issues (Galatians 4:13, 6:11, 2 Corinthians 12:7), and Luke is referred to in Colossians 4:14 as "the beloved physician."

It is likely that Luke, a physician, became a traveling companion of Paul to tend to his health, and while traveling, wrote a concise history of the lives of Jesus and Paul, and sent them to his friend Theophilus, whoever that may be.

Those are the reasons to think that Luke (and Acts) was written by someone contemporary to Jesus, or at least Paul (who dies circa AD 68). I think the onus is on dissenting scholars to prove that it was not written by this companion of Paul.

Mushtang said:

But still cool if you can actually show that you're a descendant from anyone that far back in history!!! It does raise the question, I wonder how they were able to say it was Luke? They have any of his DNA to compare to?

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That is a very good question, and I would love to see what they are claiming is evidence of that. Like you said, regardless of what you believe about the time when Luke's gospel was written, we don't have Luke's DNA. History records that he was Greek and is believed to be the only Gentile writer of scripture. Beyond that, we know nothing of him -- where he was from, whom he married, when/where he died, etc.

Bat-mite said:

Those are the reasons to think that Luke (and Acts) was written by someone contemporary to Jesus, or at least Paul (who dies circa AD 68). I think the onus is on dissenting scholars to prove that it was not written by this companion of Paul..

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Well that's just using the bible to back up the bible as truth. It's a bit like claiming the book Hunger Games is factual because it opens with, "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold". And the other two books in the series are also are told the same way, so they all must have been written by someone named Katniss.

What I meant by "no reason to think that the book of Luke was actually written by anyone contemporary to Jesus" is that there's nothing outside of the bible story to help support the bible story that it was Luke who wrote the books of Luke and Acts.

I could write the book of Mushtang about myself which discusses all kinds of things that I did, such as walk on the moon, or fly on the back of a dragon, and yet none of these stories would be backed up by any other writings of this time. People thousands of years from now would have no reason to believe that I actually walked on the moon. Anyone in that future who believed I did would have no other evidence to back up that claim, other than the book which cites other parts of the book to show how it's a true story.

The burden of proof is always on those that make a claim, never on those that don't accept that the claim is the truth.

Steve Shannon said:

The legend was that the property of transferring substances into a person’s body was first discovered when someone touched ketchup and then DMSO and within a short time tasted ketchup. I’ve never had an opportunity to try it.

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This property was well known in the 1980's, when my wife and I raised at least 6 Great Danes. These are very heavy dogs, who develop fairly thick calluses on their "elbows". Occasionally these calluses would get infected, and we would mix a mild antiseptic with antibiotics in DMSO and paint them on the calluses. It worked very well, usually clearing up the infection within 1 or 2 weeks. I forget where we learned that trick, but we were working in a university mammalian genetics research lab, and had a lot of contact with lab animal vets, so it was probably one of them.

Alan

...all night long after a dinner at which I had partaken of them, they played (lyrical and coarse in their jesting as the fairies in Shakespeare's Dream) at transforming my humble chamber into a bower of aromatic perfume."

-Marcel Proust