Every year, I I promised myself I wouldn’t eat myself into a food coma: I would eat responsibly, load my stomach with salad, and go easy on turkey and gravy. Instead, I wake up three hours after Thanksgiving dinner, curled up like Robinson Crusoe in the living room under a pile of my nephews’ toys. My shirt is covered in light brown stains, and greasy handprints stain my jeans.
What is it about Thanksgiving that sends me—and millions of other Americans—into digestive oblivion? Are we all happy to get out of the turkey, or is there another reason Thanksgiving is a holiday for the sloth?
You’ve probably heard that turkey meat is dripping with a sleep-inducing chemical called tryptophan. And while it’s true that things play a role in sending your brain to sleep, saying that yourself is like Neil Armstrong jumping on the moon alone.
First, turkey is not very rich in tryptophan. Ounce for ounce, fried chicken, grilled steak, or rack of pork spareribs are all comparably priced. Dried tofu has about twice the amount of tryptophan as turkey, and I doubt you’ll hear your cousin from southern California complaining about how he sleeps after eating fake meat.
Carbs are the real problem behind Thanksgiving sleepies. Cast your heavy-lidded eyes over the side dishes. Mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie are rich in carbohydrates and load your blood with glucose, a sugar. To control the amount of glucose entering your muscles, your body releases insulin, which regulates a number of amino acids to help with the work. Tryptophan is also an amino acid, but it is not useful for glucose control. Instead, it is mainly used by the body to make hormones that regulate mood.
Normally, tryptophan has limited access to your brain, as it is blocked by other amino acids. However, when called upon to help control glucose, tryptophan stands out. In the brain, it is converted to serotonin, then to melatonin—known to induce drowsiness.
Turkey is no exception. Any meal with a small amount of tryptophan followed by about 30 grams of carbs (a medium plate of spaghetti) will disrupt your other amino acids long enough to cause that brain-fog feeling. But the tryptophan/carb combo is part of the reason for your torpor. Another thing to blame is that he eats. So. Wow. More.
Source link
