Snorefest

Dear Yeti,

Why does turkey make me so sleepy?

The easy answer for this is that turkey contains tryptophan. According to wikipedia.com, tryptophan is "...one of 20 essential amino acids, which are building blocks of protein, and an essential amino acid in the human diet." People always say that this is the chemical in turkey that makes everyone want to take a nap. The Yeti says that's bullshit.


Tryptophan - boring, but doesn't make me sleepy

And Wikipedia agrees. "While turkey does include high levels of tryptophan, the amount is comparable to that contained in most other meats. Furthermore postprandinal Thanksgiving sedation may have more to do with what is consumed along with turkey, and in particular carbohydrates, rather than turkey itself."

Thanks Wikipedia, because you're saying what I've been thinking: WE ARE ALL FAT ASSES. Of course turkey makes us sleepy. That's because we're also shoving corn, green beans, sage dressing, dumplings, creamed corn, macaroni and cheese, oyster dressing, salad, yams covered with marshmallows, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate bars, biscuits, bread, corn bread, mixed vegetables, salami, cheese, pickles, potato chips, Cheetos, chocolate cream pie, banana cream pie, banana pudding, chicken wings, pork loin, cheesecake, rolls, barbecue ribs, ham, olives, potato salad, mashed potatoes, au gratin potaties, green bean and other odd casseroles, Jello molds and a turkey sandwich "snack" into our pie holes all in one day. On top of that, we load up a plate or three to take home with us just in case we get the munchies later that night.

That doesn't even begin to account for all of the beer, wine and bourbon you drink during the day. My friend Belle has a great recap of making this into a game in her recent blog entry (under My Peeps at the top of the page).

Damn, I think I would need a nap too. I'm just sayin. When it comes to tryptophan it's a classic case of don't hate the playa, hate the game.

Until next time,

The Yeti