For many a generation full Americans have found themselves drowsy and ready for a nap after stuffing themselves at the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner. This puzzling behavior has long been blamed on the amino acid tryptophan. Unfortunately this is just a myth, as described by Dr. Aaron Carroll and Dr. Rachel Vreeman in their book Don’t Swallow Your Gum!
| The truth is. turkey is not to blame for your sleepiness. Chicken and ground beef contain almost the same amount of tryptophan as turkey – about 350 milligrams per 4-ounce serving. … Swiss cheese and pork actually contain more tryptophan per gram than turkey… |
Those 350 milligrams are far less than the 500-1000 milligrams often prescribed to help people sleep.
via Jelene on Flickr
Tryptophan is an essential amino acids, as in our bodies can not produce them and must be ingested with our diet. I can’t really tell you much about tryptophan other than the Wikipedia article is filled with complicated sciency words. Don’t let anyone blame their post-dinner laziness on this poor defenseless molecule. Most scientists blame your desire for some shuteye to other aspects of the meal or even the combined experiance.
