From a great Seinfeld episode, The Merv Griffin Set:
[Celia�s apartment]
GEORGE: More wine and turkey? [Pours Celia more wine]
JERRY: So when I saw George on the street with an 18 pound turkey and a giant box of wine, I thought: ... What a coincidence. We�re just about to eat.
CELIA: What is that stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy?
JERRY and GEORGE: Triptaphen.
JERRY: ... I think. Have some more wine.
CELIA: What video did you get?
JERRY: Oh, George brought home movies of his boyhood trip to Michigan.
GEORGE: Four hours.
JERRY: More heavy gravy?
[Celia is sleeping]
GEORGE: [playing with toys] Yes! Touch down! Your turn, Jerry.
For those of you who cannot (or don�t want to) picture it, that�s George and Jerry trying to get a woman named Celia to fall asleep so that they could play with her toy collection � which included a white, handheld electronic football game which we used to have. That brings me to my point: what is it about turkey that makes you sleepy?
Here�s an unoffcial explanation from Ask Yahoo:
We�d always heard that post-turkey lethargy was a result of a natural chemical found in turkey, the same one that makes a glass of warm milk such a touted sleep aid.We were surprised when we found a page of turkey tidbits at the University of Illinois Extension site that asserted, �Eating turkey does not cause you to feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. Carbohydrates in your Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness.�
Not willing to write this off as a culinary urban myth, we moved on. Dr. Weil, a popular health guru, seemed to confirm our long-held belief, at least intially. He affirmed that the amino acid L-tryptophan found in turkey skin is a natural sedative. But, the good doctor points out that this probably isn�t the cause of post-turkey sleepiness:
L-tryptophan doesn�t act on the brain unless you take it on an empty stomach with no protein present. So I don�t think the amino acid is to blame for the sudden lethargy that hits just about when it�s time to do dishes. That�s more likely due to drinking alcohol and overeating... [Guilty as charged!]
So, this Thanksgiving, moderate your alcohol and side-dish intake rather than passing on seconds of the bird. Have a happy holiday!
I second that, along with Jill and Hale: Have a happy holiday!
