Don’t Blame the Turkey
Posted by DDOCS in Food, tags: debunking, Entertainment, Family, Food, Health, holidays
Turkey gets a bad reputation as the cause of post-Thanksgiving “food comas.” This is where you’re so sleepy that you can barely function once the last bite of pumpkin pie has been swallowed. A myth has long been perpetrated about tryptophan, an enzyme in turkey, as being the cause for sleepiness. Well, that is just plain wrong.
Yes, tryptophan can cause sleepiness. But, here’s how it does it.
Tryptophan also can be metabolized into serotonin and melatonin, neurotransmitters that exert a calming effect and regulates sleep. However, L-tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acids or protein in order to make you drowsy. There’s lots of protein in a serving of turkey and it’s probably not the only food on the table.
Also, the concentration of tryptophan in turkey is the same as the amount found in beef and chicken, and even more tryptophan is contained in cheese and pork.
So, why are you so sleepy after all that turkey dinner?
Overeating is the culprit in this myth. Ingesting an excess of food can slow blood flow and oxygenation, which makes you feel tired. Many people are led to believe it’s the turkey that specifically makes them long for their pillow, but in reality, it’s just the quantity of dinner.
Don’t blame the turkey if you have to go to bed early tonight.
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