Tryptophan in Turkey

November 26, 2008 · Filed Under Health

Well it’s true - there really is a chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy.

I know a lot of us like to believe that it is the boring family conversation that makes us sleepy on thanksgiving, but the turkey is really to blame.

Turkey contains tryptophan. This is an amino acid that helps build up protein.

This means that the healthier turkeys, the wild ones, actually make you sleepier. This is because they contain less fat and more protein, so more tryptophan.

Also the dark meat of the turkey contains more protein than the white meat, so it also has more tryptophan.

However there are plenty of other foods that contain tryptophan, for example soybeans and bananas, and these don’t make you sleepy. So maybe it is really the family conversation…

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