Does eating turkey really make you sleepy?
by 
Answerbag Staff
ANSWERS: 7
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Roast turkey will. Turkey has some sort of sedative chemical in it, called "triptovan". High heat removes the chemical, but roasting is not effective enough to remove the triptovan.
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Turkey does contain tryptophan. This is an amino acid which helps your body produce seratonin which plays a role in sleep. So yes, turkey can make you sleepy. However, if you're eating a big thanksgiving dinner, because of all the other amino acids from other foods, only some of the tryptophan will actually make it to your brain, so it won't really affect you. The reason you might be sleepy after a thanksgiving dinner is because of all the carbohydrates in the other foods such as potatoes, bread, stuffing, and pie. For more detailed information try looking here: http://home.howstuffworks.com/question519.htm
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Much of the tryptophan (serotonin precursor) is actually cooked out leaving a slight amount in the rarer parts of the flesh that can induce drowsiness, just like milk, which is another source of tryptophan, but as stated before it's generally due to the high level of fatty foods, gravy, starches, etc. The amount of tryptophan in the flesh of raw turkey is incredibly high, which is apparently an evolutionary defense mechanism based on the turkey-flock social structure. There is so much tryptophan in raw turkey that a predator such as a lynx after killing and eating a bird will be basically rendered asleep for 24 hours or more, and unable to harass the remaining turkeys.
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It's actually not the turkey, it's the potatoes. Atleast, that's what my mom told me five minutes ago. :)
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L-tryptophan
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YES. its proven enzines in the turkey make you sleepy. if you dont believe me google it.
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YES it is from MARS.
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