The recommendations for tryptophan supplements to help you sleep are 500 to 1,000 milligrams. The amount of tryptophan in a single 4-ounce serving of turkey (350 milligrams) is also lower than the amount typically used to induce sleep. Swiss cheese and pork actually contain more tryptophan per gram than turkey, and yet the American classic, a ham and cheese sandwich, somehow escapes blame. While you might have heard someone claim that turkey made them drowsy, you have probably never heard someone say that chicken, ground beef, or any other meat made them sleepy. Chicken and ground beef contain almost the same amount of tryptophan as turkey - about 350 milligrams per 4-ounce serving. The truth is, turkey is not to blame for your sleepiness. Carroll and Vreeman note in their book Don't Swallow Your Gum!: If tryptophan were truly the sandman's henchman, we'd all be falling asleep at the wheel on our way home from KFC or McDonald's. Milk, cheese, beef, chicken, pork, and beans are among the foodstuffs that house this amino acid, and experts say the average serving of chicken or ground beef contains about as much tryptophan as does a serving of turkey. Those who still feel wary of turkey's purported sleep-inducing properties should note that many other items we commonly eat contain tryptophan. This increase in blood flow and an increase in the metabolic rate for digestion can contribute to the "coma." The solid-food meal also causes a variety of substances to jump into action that ultimately leads to increased blood flow to the abdomen. Studies have shown that a solid-food meal resulted in faster fatigue onset than a liquid diet. Two other factors that contribute to the desire to sleep at the dinner table are meal composition and increased blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract. That lazy, lethargic feeling so many celebrants are overcome by at the conclusion of a festive seasonal meal is usually due not specifically to the turkey on the dinner menu, but to a combination of drinking alcohol and overeating a carbohydrate-rich repast (as well as some other factors): Turkey does contain tryptophan, an amino acid which is a natural sedative (to the extent that L-tryptophan has been marketed as a sleep aid) but to put an ordinarily awake person into a state of slumber it would generally have to be consumed on an empty stomach, in combination with little no other protein (which limits the absorption of tryptophan by the body), and in amounts larger than are typically gobbled even during a holiday feast. In this instance lore somewhat intersects with science, but not nearly to the extent claimed in popular belief.
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