Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Hi Jen, Yes, I've heard the same, but I believe it works better if the protein contains good amounts of tryptophan, ie. turkey. You know, Thanksgiving Day sleepies. Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Hi, I've read the same thing. There is a paperback book out called " Potatoes not Prozac " which says that if you have a baked potato or some other complex carb at bedtime, it helps with serotonin. Here is a description of the book and there are some useful reviews on it, there is a good critical review as well. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/- /0684850141/qid=1048789003/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8024451-1540859? v=glance & s=books Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 The excessive carbs would certainly do the trick, but turkey is high in tryptophan and it is the amino acid precursor to seratonin. The trick to eating a complex carb approximately two hours after eating a high tyrptophan protein allows the tryptophan to be more easily absorbed. Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Theresa-- We discussed the " turkey sleepies " on this list back in Nov. and I think we concluded that it is the huge amount of carbs we eat (stuffing, potatoes, biscuits, pie) that make the traditional nod happen. ----- Original Message ----- From: Polyclean@... Cc: Polyclean@... Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 2:50 PM Subject: Re: seritonin Hi Jen, Yes, I've heard the same, but I believe it works better if the protein contains good amounts of tryptophan, ie. turkey. You know, Thanksgiving Day sleepies. Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Hi Joy, The seratonin is more of a " feel good " hormone, but does have positive effects on sleep. I am quoting from Nutrition Almanac by Kirschmann that " vitamin B6 and vitamin C are necessary for the conversion of tryptophan to seratonin. " Also, " the trytophan in complex carbohydrates is more readily accepted by the brain for the use of sleepiness, as amino acids in other animal protein foods compete for the same receptor sites. " So maybe a handful of pre-soaked and dried pumpkin seeds before bed would help. Although it sounds like maybe there is some nutritional concerns that may be causing the insomnia. Are you taking any supplements? Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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