|
..........................................................................
 First things first - Happy Thanksgiving.
Second things second - one of my favorite nutrition myths seems to rear its
head about this time every year:
"Everyone's going to eat too much turkey at dinner tonight and get
sleepy."
The tryptophan in the turkey meat is usually blamed for the bout of
sleepiness, as it causes a release of serotonin (a neurotransmitter
that calms the body and regulates sleep).
However, many different foods contain the same
or higher amounts of tryptophan - per a 200 calorie serving, spinach
contains more than twice the amount of tryptophan (1052 mg vs. 509.4 mg)!
Seafood, duck, eggs, even sesame seeds contain
a higher concentration of tryptophan than an equivalent 200 calorie serving
of turkey.
What if you go by food weight as opposed to calories?
Well, Swiss cheese and pork loin both top
turkey. Comparing a 100 gram serving of each, the cheese and the pork
contain 401 mg and 341 mg of tryptophan, respectively, where turkey only
contains 333 mg.
What truly causes the post-Thanksgiving dinner induced delirium is
three-fold:
1) An over consumption of
alcohol:
Can't forget that
most
people drink beer or wine (or both) in generous quantities during
holiday dinners.
2) An over consumption of
food:
Perhaps the biggest factor, overeating causes a tremendous shift in blood
distribution in the body, shunting blood away from the periphery and
concentrating it around the gastrointestinal organs, where it is required to
provide energy for the digestion of the food.
The fact that most people tend to
consume an excess of carbohydrates may also contribute to sleepiness
as these foods cause an increase in insulin secretion.
The insulin spike causes amino acids other
than tryptophan to be ferried into muscle cells for cellular repair, leaving
a higher concentration of tryptophan in the blood stream. This causes a
greater serotonin release, resulting in a sleepier you.
3) The high caloric
concentration of the foods consumed:
The higher calorie, fattier foods slow down digestion, requiring more energy
to process. This, in turn, reduces how energetic you may feel.
In closing, turkey does not make you
sleepy - by itself. Which bodes well for me, since I'll be munching on a
turkey sandwich on my way back from Thanksgiving Dinner.
P.S. It may be a good idea to get our
Black Book of Secrets now to
reduce or avoid the damage from all the holiday meals. It contains exactly
what you should be eating, and the exact exercise plan you need to keep your
body fat in check. It's instantly downloadable and comes with a few cool
bonus tools to keep track of everything.
Check it out here
P.P.S. If you're a first time reader of
MCNewsletters, sign up for our weekly newsletter below... or
read
more about it here.
 
|
Interested in Becoming
Certified as a Personal Trainer?
