Does anyone know the name of the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy??

Answer 1

It's an amino acid called L-tryptophan

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

Tryptophan and turkey
According to popular belief, eating tryptophan in turkey meat causes drowsiness. Turkey does contain tryptophan, which does have a documented sleep-inducing effect as it is readily converted into serotonin by the body. However, tryptophan is effective only when taken on its own as a dietary supplement.[citation needed] Tryptophan in turkey is found as part of a protein, and, in small enough amounts, this mechanism seems unlikely.[11]

A more-likely hypothesis is that the ingestion of large quantities of food, such as at a Thanksgiving feast, means that large quantities of both carbohydrates and branched-chain amino acids are consumed. Like carbohydrates, branched-chain amino acids require insulin to be transduced through the myocyte membranes, which, after a large meal, creates a competition among the amino acids and glucose for insulin, while simultaneously creating tryptophan's reduced competition with other amino acids for the Large Neutral Amino Acid Transporter protein for transduction across the blood-brain barrier. The result is a greater availability of tryptophan, via the Large Neutral Amino Acid Transporter, for conversion into serotonin by the raphe nuclei, which is then available for conversion into melatonin by the pineal gland. Drowsiness is the result.

Alcoholic beverage consumption at holiday feasts is likely to compound the effect.

On average, a full grown male must consume some 45 pounds of turkey to have any narcoleptic effect.

Answer 4

Tryptophan- unsure if that is the correct answer and actually I just learned not too long ago that there really isn't enough of this in the average serving you would typically eat. What is making most people so sleepy is the amount of foo they are eating!

Answer 5

Try eating turkey and doing something active,increasing heart rate.If you are not exausted,you should be fine.Any chemicals in turkey would be nill.Next time you have a big party or date you are looking foward to,try eating turkey before you go.Feel sleepy?Urban myth unless you eat twenty five pounds a setting.

Answer 6

It's actually a myth

Eating turkey does not cause you to feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. Carbohydrates in your Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness.

Check out the link below.

Answer 7

Tryptophan

Answer 8

Tryptophan

Answer 9

Tryptothan

Answer 10

Tryptophan, found as a component of dietary protein, is particularly plentiful in oats, bananas, dried dates, milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. It is found in turkey at a level typical of poultry in general.