The People Vs. Turkey: In Defense of Innocent Fowl

In case anyone out there in the blogosphere is still getting their health info from Seinfeld reruns, biodrux.org would like to remind you that even Cramer gets it wrong occasionally.

For years now turkey has gotten the bad rap of being the culprit of post Thanksgiving sleepiness, a claim turned into science with the buzz word “tryptophan.” The truth? Tryptophan is a chemical found in turkey, and a chemical linked to sleepiness, but making that into a cause and effect relationship is like saying the moving of plate tectonics is responsible for strained foreign relations because we’re getting uncomfortably close to Russia.

turkey has gotten the bad rap of being the culprit of post Thanksgiving sleepiness, a claim turned into science with the buzz word “tryptophan.”

In order to actually have an effect on you, tryptophan must be taken on an empty stomach without other amino acids to cancel it out. Turkey (not to mention the million other things of the table) contains enough amino acids to knock out the tryptophan, giving the turkey an airtight alibi against groggy accusations. Not to mention the fact that tryptophan is found in chicken, pork, and cheese in equal portions, and no one ever complains about needing to nap after the Annual French Cheese Festival.

In light of the tryptophan hoax, most people attribute the post-dinner-family-nap-time to overeating, which is certainly a huge part of it.

Digestion takes more effort than we like to admit, and eating too much will take a lot out of you.

A second perpetrator in this network of organized crime is fat. Fat slows down the digestive system and

A second perpetrator in this network of organized crime is fat. Fat slows down the digestive system and takes more energy to digest, leaving the gravy boat and Aunt Gina’s “Butter Beans” with more of the blame.

And last but not least? The Godfather himself is alcohol. Everyone knows alcohol is a depressant, and everyone knows that drinking too much can slow you down to the point of passing out on a city bus. But people tend to forget about that fact come Turkey Day. One reason might be lines like “this is family time” and “it’s just wine” or other nonsense phrases designed to convince you that because you’re not doing jello shots off a stripper you’re not really getting drunk. But consider a glass or two before dinner, one with the meal, another afterwards…things start to add up. Not to mention that all that food is toning down your buzz, making it easy to forget alcohol does anything at all.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, the turkey might have to live in infamy, suffering under the weight of false accusations and dirty rumors. Sorry turkey, but the same thing happened to the OJ.

FCC Disclosure – JBNI.us produces this blog AND 33+Naturaceuticals including the all natural A.Balm Appetite Suppressant Lip Balm. Hint, Hint. Nudge.

For more info, check out these sciencey articles:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidaysseasons/a/tiredturkey.htm

http://www.livescience.com/health/071120-bad-turkey-sleep.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-does-turkey-make-you-sleepy

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