You've probably heard it many times: There's a natural chemical in turkey called tryptophan that makes you sleepy after the Thanksgiving meal. First of all, what is tryptophan? It's an amino acid--one of the building blocks of proteins. The body also uses tryptophan in a multi-step process to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter (a chemical involved in brain cell communication) in the brain that helps regulate sleep. But the notion that the turkey is responsible for the Thanksgiving evening sleepiness is a myth:
For tryptophan to have a sedative effect, it must be taken on an empty stomach. After a "modest" Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing, vegetables, sweet potatoes, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream, you aren't going to experience any sedative effects of tryptophan in the turkey.
Also, tryptophan is present in ALL meats. And cheddar cheese, gram for gram, has even more. No one seems to connect them with sleep, right? Turkey gets singled out for no other reason than being eaten during the biggest meal of the year.
By the way, the first group to come to America to escape religious persecution were the French, not the Pilgrims.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posts
