Tofurkey, tryptophan and Thanksgiving Torpor
Channel: Risk Bites
Date: 2012-11-20

http://youtube.com/riskbites

There's a common belief that the tryptophan in turkey is responsible for post-thanksgiving dinner lethargy.  But how about the the vegetarian tofurkey?  Risk Bites takes on tofurky and the Thanksgiving tryptophan myth.

For more information on the thanksgiving tryptophan myth, check out Matt Shipman's article at http://web.ncsu.edu/abstract/science/turkey-day/

Further food nutrition information from the UDSA can be found at http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list

The tryptophan content of different foods according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology can be found at http://wholefoodcatalog.info/nutrient/tryptophan/foods/

Added 11/21/12 - this paper looks at the effect on the onset of "orthodox" sleep of administering 5 - 10 g of tryptophan just before going to bed: http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.112.485.391

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