As children, our moms emphasized the importance of eating vegetables. They are great for our health. We don’t deny that fact, but some of them have very strange side effects and maybe we should avoid eating too much of them. The following five vegetables hold the fascinating power to change how your urine looks and smells and they can also tint your skin.
Carrots are among other vegetables that contain carotenoids. They form an important part of our diet because they prevent our skins from getting burned by the sun and contribute to the natural tone of our skin.
If taken in excess however, they turn your skin orangey and make you look like you have a fake tan or one that went horribly wrong. This condition is called carotenemia. It occurs mostly in young children who eat mashed up orange veggies a lot and people who eat carrots, squashes and oranges in huge amounts. The skin tends to go back to normal even after we eat carotene-rich foods in small quantities but in very rare cases, the liver will lack the correct enzyme to turn the carotene to Vitamin A. In such a case, the skin remains orange for long and the immune system weakens.(source)
Beetroots are not a popular vegetable but if you eat them in excess, your urine turns red. This condition is known as beeturia and is brought about by a pigment known as betalain. When betalain becomes too much in your system, your body gets rid of it through your pee. Luckily, this only happens to about 10 to 14 percent of humans after eating beetroot. But just in case your urine has taken that color and you haven’t eaten any beetroot, see a doctor for check-up.(1,2)
Tomatoes turn the skin into a lovely orange shade. This is due to a pigment known as lycopene. For this to happen though, you have to be really taking lots of it. Like 4 pints of tomato juice per day for a long time. If you consume tomatoes in large quantities, chances are that you will overdose on Vitamin C. The body processes a maximum of 2,000 mg per day (the healthy recommended amount should be 80mg). Binging on tomatoes or foods that have Vitamin C like peppers and oranges, could also cause nausea.(source)
Asparagus are the weirdest because they change how your pee smells. Yes, really. Just 15 minutes after you eat them, your pee will smell uniquely pungent. This is due to a compound known as methanethiol. During the process of processing asparagus, our bodies release stinky sulfurous amino acids. When you are peeing, these airborne chemicals waft into your nose.
I know you’re wondering why you’ve never noticed the smell. Well, it’s not that your body is not breaking down the methanethiol, no. It’s just that you do not have the proper genes needed to detect the smell. Those that can smell the asparagus-perfumed pee are only 25 to 50 percent of the population. How special!(source)
5. Butternut squash
Cutting raw butternut squash could lead to Cucurbita moschata dermatitis. The scientific name for butternut squash is Cucurbita moschata. Cucurbita moschata dermatitis on the other hand, is the side effect caused on some people, after they cut up butternut squash. The skin on their hands dries and becomes rough and tight. It then cracks and peels off later on.
This is caused by the sap. To some people, it acts as a skin irritant which causes dermatitis. Daisies, corn squash and spurge have similar skin damaging chemicals. When cutting these veggies, have some gloves on and if affected apply some cortisone cream.(1,2)
Yeah, eating too much healthy could also be dangerous!