Medical myths, eating turkey makes people drowsy

I have always heard that eating a ton of turkey would make me sleepy, but is it true? (I don’t like turkey, therefore it does not matter, but thanksgiving=turkey, so…)

Tryptophan is present in turkey, because it is an amino acid existing in a lot foods. Scientific evidence has revealed that the amino acid is involved in sleep and mood regulation, and can cause drowsiness. L-tryptophan is even advertised as a sleep aid.

However, turkey does not contain a large amount of the amino acid. Turkey, chicken, and ground beef contain almost equal quantities of the amino acid, approximately 350 milligrams per 115 grams. Pork and cheese are comprised of a greater quantity of the amino acid per gram than turkey. Plus with all of the other food eaten with turkey at Thanksgiving, would limit its absorption because it is suggested for maximum absorption, an empty stomach is necessary. The drowsiness after eating turkey can be explained by the large meals eaten during Thanksgiving with lots of carbohydrates, because blood flow and oxygenation to the brain are lowered.

Voila! The turkey mystery has been debunked with a little biology! Super cool!

Here are some Thanksgiving fun facts!

·         The first thanksgiving was thought of as the one that occurred in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, but there are twelve claims that the first Thanksgiving happened in places in Texas, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

·         The turkeys in images on thanksgiving are not the same turkeys people actually eat. Domestic turkeys are too large to fly and weigh twice as much as non-domestic turkeys.

·         People eat 535 million pound of turkey on Thanksgiving.

·         There is an Unthanksgiving day. It occurs on the island of Alcatraz to honor of the survival of Native Americans after the influx of the Europeans.

·         The first Thanksgiving football game was in 1876 in which Princeton played Yale.

·         Only male turkeys gobble.

·         The Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving actually lasted three days, and included fifty pilgrims and ninety Wampanoag Indians. There menu was different from the modern Thanksgiving feast, and included berries, shellfish, boiled pumpkin, and deer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2151163/

http://facts.randomhistory.com/thanksgiving-facts.html

Have you ever wondered why the leaves change color in the fall? Well, it is such a simple question, and many people believe the leaves are just dying, but what is the science behind it?

Leaves contain three main pigments or molecules: chlorophyll, carotene, xanthophylls, and anthocyanins. Chlorophyll acquires the sun’s energy to generate food for the plant, and is the molecule for the leaves green color. Carotenes cause yellow colors and are found in carrot roots, while xanthophylls cause corn to be yellow, and anthocyanins cause beets to be red and eggplants to have their purple color.

In the latter part of the summer season, shorter days and chillier nights halt the manufacturing of fresh chlorophyll, and promote its breakdown. The other pigments in the leaves are not broken down, and are no longer disguised by the chlorophyll molecules, therefore becoming apparent. Different species, then based on different conditions, produce different hues of color. If anything stops the production of auxin, like the changing autumn weather, the stem and leaf stalk becomes structurally weaker, and allows for the leaf to break off in the wind.

During the growing season, auxin, a plant hormone, is also produced. This molecule controls a group of cells at the bottom of each leaf stem, also known as the abscission layer. If anything stops the production of auxin, like the changing autumn weather, the stem and leaf stalk becomes structurally weaker, and allows for the leaf to break off in the wind.

These reasons would have been so cool to learn as a child, not just in botany. I have also noticed that leaves have become less bright in the last ten years, specifically in my hometown, and I wonder the reason for that.  Pollution? Acid Rain? Research!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012104737.htm

http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/autumn_leaf_colors.htm

So I was thinking (thanks to Mr. Truver) of what I could possible write about pertaining to fall or thanksgiving….well, the answer is pumpkins. Pumpkins are good for pie (if you like that disgusting crap), lattes, libido, jack o’ lanterns, and pumpkin spice everything, but did you know pumpkins show anticancer activity?

The recent study, “Characterization of anticancer, DNase and antifungal activity of pumpkin 2S albumin,” discussed how pumpkin is one of the most extensively used vegetables, and its seeds are a great basis of minerals and protein. The seeds have a therapeutic prospect about them, specifically the 2S albumin in the seeds. The 2S albumin is a class of low-molecular weight seed storage proteins made up of cysteines forming four disulfide bridges and structure comprised of five α-helices. The proteins have translational inhibitory properties, antimicrobial and serine proteinase inhibitory properties, as well as RNA hydrolytic activity, which is not conveyed in any other member of the family. The DNase and antifungal activities of pumpkin 2S albumin displayed strong anticancer activity toward breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer, as well as, hepatocellular carcinoma. The cytotoxic effect of pumpkin 2S albumin is induced through apoptosis. The only other protein that has the same potential is the lunasin peptide taken from the soybean 2S albumin.

I think that with more studies that protein 2S albumin would have great potential for cancer research and cancer cures. It is also helpful because pumpkin is eaten in many countries and could be readily available. Perhaps pumpkins are the key to a possible cure for cancer!

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X14008298