Can eating turkey really make you tired?

Answer 1

Yes it can, as can many other foods that contain tryptophan < (correct spelling )
Tryptophan is a common enzyme found in many foods, so as [common sense] stated, if you eat too much of any food, it will make you tired. It's just that many folks gorge themselves on Turkey etc on Thanksgiving which leads to a lot of sofa slouching.

Answer 2

No, that is a myth that's been around for quite some time.
What really makes you tired is most of time we eat turkey on the holidays.
What makes you sleepy if the fact you spend most of the day preparing the meal, you eat a LARGE amount of food, usually have something alcoholic to drink with it and by the end of the meal ALL those factors make you tired. Not just the turkey.

I've had turkey sandwiches many times throughout the year and have not yet had one make me sleepy.
It's one of those old wives tales that have been around for years.

Answer 3

Turkey does have the makings of a natural sedative in it, an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning that the body cannot manufacture it. The body has to get tryptophan and other essential amino acids from food. Tryptophan helps the body produce the B-vitamin niacin, which, in turn, helps the body produce serotonin, a remarkable chemical that acts as a calming agent in the brain and plays a role in sleep. So you might think that if you eat a lot of turkey, your body would produce more serotonin and you would feel calm and want a nap.

That was the conclusion that led many people to begin taking a dietary supplement of tryptophan in the 1980s as a way to treat insomnia, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned tryptophan supplements in 1990 because of an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia, a syndrome that causes muscle pain and even death. The FDA said contaminated tryptophan supplements caused the outbreak.

But nutritionists and other experts say that the tryptophan in turkey probably won't trigger the body to produce more serotonin because tryptophan works best on an empty stomach. The tryptophan in a Thanksgiving turkey has to vie with all the other amino acids that the body is trying to use. So only part of the tryptophan makes it to the brain to help produce serotonin.

It is the whole traditional Thanksgiving meal that can produce that after-dinner lethargy. The meal is quite often heavy and high in carbohydrates -- from mashed potatoes, bread, stuffing and pie -- and your body is working hard to digest that food. Also, if you drink alcohol with your dinner, you will likely feel its sedative effect, too.

There is a way to take advantage of the tryptophan in turkey. If you have trouble getting to sleep one night while there is still leftover turkey in the refrigerator, you could have a late snack of turkey and that, nutritionists say, might be the right amount of tryptophan on an empty stomach to help produce some serotonin.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can eating turkey really make you tired?

Answer 5

I felt like sleeping every time i've had a turkey dinner. But, turkey sandwiches don't have that effect on me.

Answer 6

Natural chemical in poultry that effects you & makes you tired. Why chicken soup helps when your ill & why you drag yourself about after a turkey dinner.

Answer 7

Yes because turkey releases triptophan, an amino acid that causes drowsiness.

Answer 8

well yes and if u get too sleepy u miss the fooball game on Thanksgiving so be careful. have some Coca Cola with that turkey dinner

Answer 9

I don,t think it,s the turkey as much as is being with >Some< Family and friends that give you this effect !!

Answer 10

That is what they say...but I think it is the massive amount most eat on turkey day!