Around the Yard - Turkey - Giveaway

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends! I'm assuming that by now, some of you are at the computer checking out blogs, and some are asleep on the couch, due to that unbelievable dinner you ate a couple hours ago.

From About.com:

"Unless a microwave dinner is your idea of a Thanksgiving feast, you probably have had firsthand experience with the after-dinner fatigue that sets in after the meal. Why do you want a nap? To escape the dishes? Perhaps, but the meal itself plays a big part in the way you feel...

The turkey is often cited as the culprit in after dinner lethargy, but the truth is that you could omit the bird altogether and still feel the effects of the feast. Turkey does contain L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect.

L-tryptophan is used in the body to produce the B-vitamin, niacin. Tryptophan also can be metabolized into serotonin and melatonin, neurotransmitters that exert a calming effect and regulate sleep. 

However, L-tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acids or protein in order to make you drowsy. There's lots of protein in a serving of turkey and it's probably not the only food on the table. 

 

It's worth noting that other foods contain as much or more tryptophan than turkey (0.333 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), including chicken (0.292 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), pork, and cheese. As with turkey, other amino acids are present in these foods besides tryptophan, so they don't make you sleepy. 

L-tryptophan may be found in turkey and other dietary proteins, but it's actually a carbohydrate-rich (as opposed to protein-rich) meal that increases the level of this amino acid in the brain and leads to serotonin synthesis. Carbohydrates stimulate the pancreas to secrete insulin. When this occurs, some amino acids that compete with tryptophan leave the bloodstream and enter muscle cells. This causes an increase in the relative concentration of tryptophan in the bloodstream. Serotonin is synthesized and you feel that familiar sleepy feeling."

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For some of you, it may be obvious what is pictured in the photo above. For others, maybe not. It's fun for me when the beauty of ordinary, everyday objects jumps out at me. That's what happened on the day I took this photo.

So, do you know what it is? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

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And one more thing for which I'm thankful: That my husband, who does not love our dogs and cat quite as much as I do, does not call a divorce lawyer when the cat throws up on his side of the bed - as Tuppence did this morning. :-((((...................I did not say he was happy about it, however.

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Don't miss the HomemadeSoapnSuch GIVEAWAY Ends tonight at Midnight!


Be sure to enter - HERE 

Christmas 2012
Handcrafted, Vegan, Luxury Soaps