You have just scarfed down several pounds of turkey, six scoops of yams, a terrine full of mashed potatoes, eight ounces of tangy cranberry sauce, half a green been casserole, and several large hunks of pumpkin pie. And you wonder why you just fell asleep on the couch with the Dallas Cowboys pummeling their hapless opponent by forty-three points, as your uncle Howard drones on soporifically yet again about his chance encounter with Milton Berle on a Florida golf course five decades ago.
It’s very common for people to report drowsiness after eating the traditional Thanksgiving meal. And it’s equally common for the armchair expert in the family to blame it on the turkey and the tryptophan. L-tryptophan is an amino acid that helps the body produce the B vitamin niacin, which promotes the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that acts as a calming agent in your brain.
L-tryptophan is naturally found in turkey protein, but a typical serving of turkey contains a similar amount of L-tryptophan as found in an average serving of chicken and ground meat. So it’s probably not the turkey.
It’s most likely that the enormity of the meal itself is precipitating that postprandial prostration. Thanksgiving gluttony causes a variety of digestive substances to jump into action and ultimately leads to increased blood flow and metabolic rate for digestion.
By Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg
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"Why does turkey make you sleepy?" was posted on Saturday, September 8th, 2007 at 11:28 pm.