Short answer why does turkey make u tired:
Turkey contains high levels of tryptophan, an amino acid that helps produce serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep and mood, which can result in feeling tired after eating turkey. However, other foods also contain tryptophan at similar or higher levels. The overall explanation for post-meal drowsiness may be due to the large amount of food consumed during holiday meals, including carbohydrates and fats, which requires energy for digestion.
Breaking Down the Chemical Composition of Turkey: A Step-by-Step Explanation of Why It Makes You Sleepy
When Thanksgiving approaches every year, everyone’s anticipating the feast that comes with it. One of the highlights of this holiday is undoubtedly turkey – a bird so beloved it even has its own national day! But have you ever wondered why turkey makes you feel so sleepy after consumption? In this blog post, we’ll break down the chemical composition of turkey and give you a step-by-step explanation of what exactly happens in your body when consuming this delicious bird.
Firstly, let’s talk about tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid found in small amounts in many kinds of food including poultry like turkey. It’s also a critical component for producing serotonin which regulates mood and melatonin which controls sleep-wake cycles. When consumed alongside carbohydrates (which are abundant in stuffing and mashed potatoes), insulin levels increase leading to more tryptophan getting into your brain. Once there, it breaks down further into serotonin – making its way towards becoming melatonin used by your body when sleeping.
As much as we love everything else on our plates during Thanksgiving dinner, some research suggests that only 3% to 4% percent of available tryptophan ends up being converted into serotonin or melatonin through normal metabolic processes^1.(This statistic is similar to other foods; bananas and cheeses have similar proportions). So while tryptophan may be partially responsible for post-dinner drowsiness felt after over-consuming great meals – especially those combined with low physical activity levels- fatigue could very well come from something else entirely!
Secondly, amino acids interact differently depending on whether they’re taken alone or part of complex proteins such as meat itself helping induce feelings associated with digestion signals received by the nervous system.Receptors located within almost all organs -including various parts’ intestines wall muscles- activate specific neural pathways upon ingestion encouraging blood supply changes redirecting energy away from daytime activities production thus leading us feeling groggy eventually.^2
Finally, an explanation that might not be pretty but simply makes sense – it’s overeating… You are probably chowing down on a bigger meal than you’re used to. That leads to increased blood sugar levels which require more insulin being produced by your pancreas, leading to fatigue as it copes with the workload of distributing glucose efficiently throughout your body.
In conclusion, tryptophan in turkey does contribute towards post-Thanksgiving dinner drowsiness. However, there’s much more at play including carbohydrate and fat content,a lack of physical activity due to digestion needs,receptors’ interaction changes(like during other food intake)and lastly over-consumption typical combine Thanksgiving-day meals allwhich could lead towards us feeling exhausted after our hearty feast.But overall who said napping was a bad thing? It just means you’ve enjoyed every bite of the bird!
References:
1.The Allegheny County Medical Society;
2.”Gut reactions: How digestion shapes nutrition and mind”.
Frequently Asked Questions About Why Turkey Makes You Feel Sleepy (and Our Expert Answers!)
If you’re like many people, you may have noticed that after indulging in a Thanksgiving dinner or enjoying some leftover turkey sandwiches, you feel sleepy. While it’s a common belief that tryptophan – an amino acid found in turkey – is the culprit behind this post-meal drowsiness, there are other factors at play as well.
To help clear up any confusion about why turkey makes you feel sleepy, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions and expert answers:
Q: Is it really the tryptophan in Turkey that makes us feel sleepy?
A: While tryptophan can promote feelings of relaxation and sleepiness when consumed on its own, research suggests that it’s not solely responsible for making us feel tired after eating turkey. In fact, proteins from other high-protein foods such as chicken and beef also contain comparable levels of tryptophan. Rather than being caused by a single component of the meal itself (like Tryptophan), feeling tired may arise due to overeating rich foods or consuming alcohol with your meal.
Q: Why does our body respond to these components like Tryptophan differently? Isn’t it broken down into Serotonin?
A: Yes! When tryptophan enters our bodies through food intake instead of supplements entirely on its own, enzymes called decarboxylases break certain compounds apart to make serotonin–our all-mighty neurotransmitter which regulates mood + happiness responses primarily. But because we don’t only eat proteins (which provide breakfasts-lunches) rather carbs predominantly during dinners/dessert occasions–, our insulin sensitivity declines by evening time meals-Due partly to consumption patterns –Tryptophans take longer times to affect our overall hormones.
Q: How much Turkey would someone have to consume for Tryptophan’s sleep inducing qualities kick-in?
A; A person would need large amounts (like those taken in during tryptophan supplements) to feel the calming effects of Tryptophan. Consuming lower amounts through food consumption is not likely going to trigger a substantial enough effect solely with turkey alone.
Q: What about other meal components such as Wine/Mashed Potatoes/Fat? Do they also contribute, and how?
A; Muscle protein metabolism breaks down ingested proteins into smaller building blocks (such as amino acids). Eating too large a portion size of high-calorie foods–like mash potatoes or overload on sweet desserts can slow our digestive system pace making us weary. Fat for instance has twice higher calories by weight compared to carbohydrates or proteins — eating too much fat-rich/sticky/sugary dessert will have not only upset digestion but may lead you in an uncomfortable slumber.
And although wine is typically associated with relaxation, consuming alcohol with your Thanksgiving dinner could potentially disrupt nocturnal sleep patterns due to its diuretic nature – leading one to fumbling throughout night’s duration.
In short….
It’s clear that there are many factors at play when it comes to why we feel sleepy after eating turkey. While tryptophan might play a role, overeating rich foods, alcohol intake combined notably alongside hormones regulation disruptions caused mainly by carbohydrate/sugar reaching havoc onto bloodstream- so do keep an eye out on those mashed potatoes & gravy servings!
Remember a healthy mind-body starts within! Moderation is key even during Turkey seasons festivities !
Enjoy yourself -Yet Be mindful ; ) !
Top 5 Surprising Facts About How and Why Turkey Causes Drowsiness After Your Thanksgiving Feast
Thanksgiving is a holiday synonymous with turkey, football and family. However, for many of us the day also means feeling sluggish and ready to nap after consuming our plates piled high with roasted turkey, sweet potatoes and pies. We all have heard that the reason behind this sudden drowsiness is due to tryptophan in turkey meat, but there are more surprising facts that add up to this phenomenon.
So let’s explore the top 5 reasons why Turkey causes drowsiness after your Thanksgiving feast:
1) Tryptophan Content
Tryptophan is an amino acid found in most protein-rich foods like chicken, beef, pork etc which helps build proteins within our body and generates niacin from vitamin B3 leading towards serotonin production(chemical responsible for pleasureable feelings), as it passes through brain barrier resulting relaxation or sleep effects depending particularly on induvidual body chemistry.
2) Postprandial Fatigue
Now we can’t just completely blame tryptophan because every time you eat large amounts of food during thanksgiving meal , most of blood flow floods toward digestive system while leaving less reserves for other parts so digestion process may induce sleep triggers hence usually known as ‘Postprandial fatigue’.
3) Heavy Carbohydrate Consumption
It’s not just about eating too much food; participants who consumed two types of carbohydrates (High glycemic index & Low Glycemic Index ) exibited increased levels glucose entrance into insulin receptors facilitating energy consumption causing sharp drop = slump! Yet again these heavry meals cause chemical reactions throughout entire body carrying feedback messages to alert brain saying : take rest .
4) Pairings Of Side Dishes
Accompaniments served with turkey include breads,potatoes,mashed avocado sauces,glycemix desserts dipping side dishes coated onto packed sandwiches adding spicey herbs containing heavy amount MSG potentially exaggerating sense of tiredness by sending false links causing hypothalamus to fuse and slow down information influxes.
5) Alcohol Consumption
As alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, it interacts with hormones like melatonin & GABA (Gaba amino butyric acid) thus chronic consumption of alcoholic beverages becomes rapidly absorbed which increases break in communication between neurones leading your body into state where signals are unable to travel properly triggering unwanted drowsiness due to mixed chemical compounds reactions. Quite often we enjoy few glassfuls of fermented grape juices on thanksgiving day adding more sugar into our diets than usual forming into infamous ‘food coma‘.
There you have it folks- the top 5 reasons why turkey causes drowsiness after your Thanksgiving feast! However let’s not forget that there really isn’t anything wrong with taking a post-feast nap as it’s quite normal for human beings to need occasional rests even if food may be factor inducing fatigue. Just enjoy your food wisely and don’t overdo any one component dietwise while always staying hydrated along with good times 😉
