After the Thanksgiving meal, are you feeling sleepy? Not just the turkey is the problem.
Discover the unexpected science underlying the notorious “food coma” and why tryptophan alone isn’t the only factor contributing to post-feast exhaustion; it’s also influenced by your meal size, wine, and digestion.
Thanksgiving dinner, with its succulent turkey, buttery sides, and maybe a glass or two of wine, is the height of decadence. But is the turkey truly to blame when that typical post-dinner lethargy sets in ?
Tryptophan, an amino acid included in turkey, has long been blamed for our post-feast tiredness.
The brain uses tryptophan to produce the chemicals serotonin and melatonin, which encourage rest and sleep. But according to experts, turkey’s tryptophan content isn’t strong enough to make you unconscious.
“Turkey does contain tryptophan, but so do many other foods like cheese, fish, and seeds,” says Melanie Betz, who founded The Kidney dietician and is a qualified dietician for the company.
In actuality, some foods contain more tryptophan than turkey, like cheddar cheese and pumpkin seeds. Why, then, are you so sleepy?
Betz thinks that the sheer amount of food consumed during the feast is the real issue. Your body shifts blood flow from the brain to your digestive system after you eat a big meal, which makes you feel lethargic and heavy.
You have the makings of post-meal drowsiness when you add alcohol, which has sedative properties.
Therefore, the joyous excess of the holiday itself is the true cause of Thanksgiving weariness, even though the turkey may have a minor impact. The next time, think about taking it slow or accept the nap as a custom.
