The only ones still awake within an hour of Thanksgiving dinner were me and the dog. The dog sat hopefully underneath the table, waiting for the weight of the food to bring the whole mess crashing down to her. I sat on the back porch and watched my family sprawled across the living room like the aftermath of an inquest. "It's the trip...tripophen...tripto something," my mom had murmured drowsily right before spreading lengthwise in front of the fire. "It makes you fall asleep. I saw it on the news."It sounds a little suspicious to me to blame the turkey with the contagious fatigue that wipes out the family right before it's time to do the dishes. After all, I eat turkey sandwiches a few times a week and I haven't felt the need to settle down for a nap in the dining hall. Still, I thought, surveying my comatose family, there must be something to this turkey thing. And I'd eaten the ham, so I was still awake enough to dig up the truth. As my family slept and my dog stared down the leftovers, I learned the truth about tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, one of the building blocks of protein. It is termed essential because the body cannot manufacture it on its own. When tryptophan enters the body in the presence of pyridoxine (B6), it is converted into 5-Hydroxy L-Tryptophan, or 5-HTP. This, in turn, converts into seratonin, a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are extremely important at the neurochemical and physiological level, as they carry impulses between nerve cells. Seratonin can be converted into melatonin, which regulates the sleep wake cycle. Elevated levels of seratonin are credited with relief of depression, reduced pain sensitivity, lessened anxiety and stress and a feeling of calm and sleepiness. Seratonin deficiencies are blamed for depression and insomnia. I recognized that name from the new sleep supplements out there. Hence, I thought to myself, the whole drowsy thing. Proponents of tryptophan claim it c...
