It's just a myth! Tryptophan in your Thanksgiving turkey doesn't really make you drowsy
Does the tryptophan in your Thanksgiving turkey really make you drowsy?
The persistent myth of the 'tryptophan coma' due to turkey is just that — a myth. In fact, other foods on your Thanksgiving table may have more of the sleep-inducing amino acid than the bird.
You are getting very sleepy ... but it's probably not because of your Thanksgiving turkey, which contains less tryptophan than many other common foods, some of which may also be on your holiday table.
You might want to sit down for this, preferably at the dinner table, because everything you thought you knew about your Thanksgiving feast is a lie.
Well, not everything, but definitely the part about tryptophan.
Tryptophan, an amino acid, has long been blamed for the sluggish, sleepy feeling that befalls many Americans after their holiday meal because of its presence in turkey. The myth is a popular and persistent one, but it's just not true, scientists have been trying to tell us for years.
Tryptophan does play a role in making us drowsy because the body uses it to make both seratonin and melatonin, two happy-sleepy hormones. Like its cousin melatonin, L-tryptophan is marketed as a natural sleep supplement.
The combination of carbohydrates and tryptophan-containing proteins is likely what makes us drowsy after a big meal, scientific evidence suggests.
Johner/Getty Images
The combination of carbohydrates and tryptophan-containing proteins is likely what makes us drowsy after a big meal, scientific evidence suggests.
The body doesn't make its own tryptophan, so humans must get it from food and turkey is among the many foods that contain it. But turkey contains no more tryptophan than chicken or beef — about 350 mg per 115 g, according to scientists writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Other proteins such as pork, egg whites, soybeans and cod have more tryptophan than turkey. Cheese also has more.
The typical Thanksgiving table is packed with carbohydrates — think stuffing, breads and rolls, and all that pie — and carbs play a role in making tryptophan available to the brain, according to the National Sleep Foundation, which recommends eating a snack of carbs and protein before bedtime for that very reason.
RELATED: LINDSAY LOHAN SHARES PHOTOS OF HER COOKING THANKSGIVING TREATS
In short, it’s the combination and quantity of foods on your table that make you want to sack out on the couch instead of helping with the dishes.
"Any large solid meal (such as turkey, sausages, stuffing and assorted vegetables followed by Christmas pudding and brandy butter) can induce sleepiness because blood flow and oxygenation to the brain decreases, and meals either high in protein or carbohydrate may cause drowsiness," researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regerstreif Institute wrote in the 2007 BMJ article, entitled "Medical Myths."
"Accompanying wine may also play a role," they helpfully add.
So go ahead and take that Thanksgiving nap — but don't bother to blame the turkey.
tmiller@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...tophan-drowsy-article-1.1531108#ixzz2ltDoYzKf
Does the tryptophan in your Thanksgiving turkey really make you drowsy?
The persistent myth of the 'tryptophan coma' due to turkey is just that — a myth. In fact, other foods on your Thanksgiving table may have more of the sleep-inducing amino acid than the bird.
You are getting very sleepy ... but it's probably not because of your Thanksgiving turkey, which contains less tryptophan than many other common foods, some of which may also be on your holiday table.
You might want to sit down for this, preferably at the dinner table, because everything you thought you knew about your Thanksgiving feast is a lie.
Well, not everything, but definitely the part about tryptophan.
Tryptophan, an amino acid, has long been blamed for the sluggish, sleepy feeling that befalls many Americans after their holiday meal because of its presence in turkey. The myth is a popular and persistent one, but it's just not true, scientists have been trying to tell us for years.
Tryptophan does play a role in making us drowsy because the body uses it to make both seratonin and melatonin, two happy-sleepy hormones. Like its cousin melatonin, L-tryptophan is marketed as a natural sleep supplement.
The combination of carbohydrates and tryptophan-containing proteins is likely what makes us drowsy after a big meal, scientific evidence suggests.
Johner/Getty Images
The combination of carbohydrates and tryptophan-containing proteins is likely what makes us drowsy after a big meal, scientific evidence suggests.
The body doesn't make its own tryptophan, so humans must get it from food and turkey is among the many foods that contain it. But turkey contains no more tryptophan than chicken or beef — about 350 mg per 115 g, according to scientists writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Other proteins such as pork, egg whites, soybeans and cod have more tryptophan than turkey. Cheese also has more.
The typical Thanksgiving table is packed with carbohydrates — think stuffing, breads and rolls, and all that pie — and carbs play a role in making tryptophan available to the brain, according to the National Sleep Foundation, which recommends eating a snack of carbs and protein before bedtime for that very reason.
RELATED: LINDSAY LOHAN SHARES PHOTOS OF HER COOKING THANKSGIVING TREATS
In short, it’s the combination and quantity of foods on your table that make you want to sack out on the couch instead of helping with the dishes.
"Any large solid meal (such as turkey, sausages, stuffing and assorted vegetables followed by Christmas pudding and brandy butter) can induce sleepiness because blood flow and oxygenation to the brain decreases, and meals either high in protein or carbohydrate may cause drowsiness," researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regerstreif Institute wrote in the 2007 BMJ article, entitled "Medical Myths."
"Accompanying wine may also play a role," they helpfully add.
So go ahead and take that Thanksgiving nap — but don't bother to blame the turkey.
tmiller@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...tophan-drowsy-article-1.1531108#ixzz2ltDoYzKf
