So many people just want to nap on Thanksgiving, and a few say turkey could also be to blame. So does turkey make you sleepy, or is it one thing else? Turkey has the makings of a pure sedative, an amino acid known as tryptophan. How Much Tryptophan Is in Turkey? Tryptophan is an essential amino acid the body makes use of 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 also plays a vital position in sleep. So that you may think that for those who eat lots of turkey meat, your body would produce extra melatonin and serotonin, and you would really feel tired and need a nap. ­That was the conclusion that led many people to start taking a dietary supplement of tryptophan within the 1980s as a option to deal with insomnia, however the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned tryptophan supplements in 1990 due to an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia, a syndrome that causes muscle ache and even dying.

However, it's now believed that the sickness was attributable to contaminants within the manufacturing facility in Japan that made the supplements they usually are actually once again accessible in the U.S. How Much Tryptophan Is in Turkey? One pound (0.Forty five kilograms) of mild meat turkey comprises 410 milligrams L-tryptophan