So many of us just need to nap on Thanksgiving, and some say turkey may be to blame. So does turkey make you sleepy, or is it one thing else? Turkey has the makings of a natural sedative, an amino acid called tryptophan. How Much Tryptophan Is in Turkey? Tryptophan is a necessary amino acid the physique uses produce to supply melatonin, serotonin and the B vitamin niacin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle, and serotonin is a neurotransmitter that additionally plays a crucial function in sleep. So you may suppose that if you happen to eat lots of turkey meat, your body would produce more melatonin and serotonin, and you would really feel drained 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 method to treat insomnia, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned tryptophan supplements in 1990 because of an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia, memory and focus supplement a syndrome that causes muscle ache and even dying.

However, it is now believed that the sickness was brought on by contaminants within the factory in Japan that made the supplements and they are actually as soon as again obtainable within the U.S. How Much Tryptophan Is in Turkey? One pound (0.45 kilograms) of mild meat turkey incorporates 410 milligrams L-tryptophan