![]() ![]() Is the drowsiness due to the level of tryptophan relative to the other amino acids kicking around in your bloodstream? Or is it due to the the level of tryptophan relative to how much is normally present in your bloodstream? Let's pull back a moment to get clear on the tryptophan theory of needing a nap between dinner and dessert. If all you ate were turkey, you'd have relatively low levels of tryptophan - and, if anything, you'd have some extra get-up-and-go, instead of all that extra lie-down-and-snooze. In fact, the article suggests that maybe you'll be even more sleepy if you don't eat your turkey:Īting protein has the opposite effect from eating carbohydrates - it raises the blood levels of all large amino acids. (We shouldn't forget, of course, that eating more than you're used to in a sitting - and giving your system more digestive work to do than it's used to - might account for a good bit of the fatigue.) Indeed, perhaps the sides alone would do the job (by clearing out the non-tryptophan amino acids) even if you missed out on the turkey. It seems that the turkey's tryptophan dose is amplified by the sweet and starchy sides. The upshot? You have relatively high levels of tryptophan in your blood, and in your brain that's converted into the neurotransmitter serotonin, and that can make you sleepy. When you eat carbohydrates, the pancreas releases insulin, and one effect of that is to lower the levels of all the large amino acids in your blood - except for tryptophan. Maybe the bread stuffing, the mashed potatoes, those candied yams: But there are lots of other large amino acids riding around in there too.įor the tryptophan in turkey to do its sleep-inducing work, it needs an accomplice. So eating turkey puts some tryptophan into your bloodstream. ![]() Turkey does contain a large amino acid called tryptophan. In any case, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, that appeared in time for Thanksgiving 2008, the real story may be more complicated than that: Let me note, before we go on, that for all its association with tryptophan, turkey doesn't even crack the top 50 in this list of tryptophan-rich foods. Trytophan, apparently, is the go-to amino acid for those who want to get sleepy. For years, you've heard the tremendous fatigue experienced after an American Thanksgiving dinner laid at the feet of the turkey - or more precisely, blamed upon the tryptophan in that turkey. ![]()
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