In Pure Spirit

For open minds

  • Brains
  • Peculiar
  • Beliefs
  • Places
  • Meanings
  • Gaia
  • About

It’s not the tryptophan turkey making you sleepy

December 26, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

For many people, the end of December is a festive occasion with gatherings, gifts and feasts. Turkey dinners are a family challenge; once everyone has eaten, you may find people yawning and feeling sleepy.

Is there a particular reason why Christmas dinners make people feel so sleepy? You might have been told about turkey being rich in an amino acid called tryptophan.

This is not a medical article, but let’s look at the Turkey meat and drowsiness hypothesis.

[AI rendered] Christmas turkey dinner

Turkey meat and drowsiness hypothesis

The hypothesis that eating turkey meat causes drowsiness is commonly known as the “tryptophan turkey meat and drowsiness hypothesis”. It is based on the idea that the chemical tryptophan, found in turkey meat, is responsible for drowsiness.

The drowsiness experienced after eating turkey meat is caused by tryptophan being converted into serotonin in the human body. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and thus can induce sleepiness.

However, studies have shown that the amount of tryptophan found in turkey meat is insufficient to cause drowsiness. It is more likely that the tiredness experienced after eating turkey meat is due to the large amounts of carbohydrates consumed in combination with the turkey, which trigger a surge in insulin levels. This, in turn, causes the body to absorb more tryptophan, increasing serotonin levels and drowsiness.

Which other foods have Tryptophan

According to Wikipedia, the top 5 foods for tryptophan to food weight are;

  1. Egg white, dried
  2. Spirulina, dried
  3. Cod, Atlantic, dried
  4. Soybeans, raw
  5. Cheese, Parmesan

Some foods have a higher tryptophan/protein ratio, though, such as;

  1. Chia seeds, dried (2.64)
  2. Milk (2.34)
  3. Sesame seed (2.17)

Why do we eat turkeys for Christmas?

The tradition of eating turkey for Christmas originated in England during the 16th century. At the time, turkey was a relatively inexpensive meat, so it was a popular choice for large family dinners. As the tradition of eating turkey on Christmas spread throughout Europe, it eventually made its way to America.

Turkeys are a large bird, and they can feed many people with one bird. Additionally, their flavour is suitable for a variety of accompaniments. From the classic roast potatoes and stuffing to cranberry sauce and vegetables, the turkey is the perfect centrepiece for a festive feast.

It is thought that in America, the tradition of eating turkey for Christmas was further popularized by Charles Dickens in his novella, A Christmas Carol. In the story, the Cratchit family feast on a turkey on Christmas Day.

From there, the tradition was firmly established and continues to this day.
So, there you have it – why do we eat turkey for Christmas? Turkey is a relatively inexpensive meat, it feeds a lot of people, and it is versatile enough to pair with a variety of sides. As Charles Dickens said, “What could be more pleasant than to expect a good dinner on Christmas Day?”

Where are Turkeys from originally?

In one last twist, Turkeys are not native to the UK.

Turkeys are native to North America and were first domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mexico centuries ago. Over time, they were brought to Europe by Spanish explorers, and eventually, they made their way to the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.

In Pure Spirit

What’s your favourite family-sized feast?

Healthy food for your little superheroes

February 23, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Looking for a way to encourage your family to eat healthy food? There’s plenty of superhero action on the cinema screen, TV and Netflix these days so perhaps these superheroes could help out?

Fish is the Dish, a site from the Sea Fish Industry Authority, is here to help. They’ve put together some superhero sea food recipes. Here’s a few of their ideas.

Gotham City fish finger skyline

Gotham skyline

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

400g skinless sustainable white fish, sliced into 12 strips
1 egg, beaten
85g white breadcrumbs, made from day-old or toasted bread
2 tsp olive oil
1 sheet of nori (seaweed), found in the sushi section of the supermarket
Salt and pepper to season

Method

1.       Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Crack the egg into a shallow dish and beat.

2.       Tip the breadcrumbs onto a plate and mix in some salt and pepper.

3.       Cut fish into 12 strips of different lengths and widths. The more unique the sizes and shapes, the more like a skyline your fish fingers will look.

4.       Brush a non-stick baking sheet with oil.

5.       Dip the fish strips into the egg, then roll them in the breadcrumbs. Transfer to the baking sheet.

6.       Bake for 20 minutes until golden.

7.       If you want to get really creative, whilst fish fingers are baking, cut small squares out of the nori using scissors. Place the squares onto the fish fingers once out of the oven to look like windows.

Superman stuffed red pepper cape

supes-cape

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 red peppers
2 cups of cous cous (1/2 cup per person)
1 small onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
½ red chilli, deseeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 fillets of smoked haddock
1 vegetable stock cube
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter

Method

1.       Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Slice the red peppers into halves lengthwise (from stock to base). Remove the stock, insides and all seeds, lay on a baking tray and place in middle of the oven for 20 minutes. If you want to be extra creative, cut some ‘S’ shapes out of an additional red pepper and place them in the oven.

2.       Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the finely diced red chilli and garlic. Simmer for 1 minute. Add the yellow pepper and onion. Leave to simmer until soft – this should take around 5-7 minutes.

3.       Boil the kettle and dissolve the vegetable stock cube in one cup of boiling water. Pour the cous cous into a large bowl, pour the stock over and cover the bowl to keep the heat in.

4.       Remove the vegetables from the pan and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the smoked haddock and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat.

5.       Flake the haddock into the cous cous. Add the vegetables and stir.

6.       Remove the peppers from the oven. They should now be softened. Spoon the mixture into the peppers, filling them to the top.

7.       Serve – with the superman ‘S’ on top of the cous cous.

In Pure Spirit

Which techniques and tactics do you recommend to help encourage young ones to eat wisely?

Are Parabens bad for you?

February 12, 2016 by Geist Escrigui Leave a Comment

640px-Johnson's_Baby_Product_Shelves_at_KrogerParabens are chemicals found in natural foods like beans, carrots and cucumbers, and man-made parabens have been used to preserve everyday products from toothpaste to cosmetics for more than six decades. However, some believe paraben preservatives could pose health risks – whilst the cosmetic industry deny there is cause for concern, governments decline to ban them, and regulatory bodies continue to sanction their use.

So is this just another peripheral debate among the ‘worried well’, or breaking news of a fresh health scandal? Perhaps it’s time to examine the facts …

The paraben family

Parabens are derived from para-hydroxy-benzoic acid, a compound which occurs in blackberries and raspberries. Their most-prized attribute is an ability to inhibit the growth of moulds and bacteria, which makes them ultra-effective preservatives. Synthetic manufactured versions of natural-world parabens are the most commercially viable, and in this form they are extensively used by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries to keep products fresh for longer, on the shelf and in the home. The most frequently used paraben compounds are butylparaben, ethylparaben, heptylparaben, methylparaben and propylparaben.

Most family bathrooms contain paraben-treated products such as shampoos, skin-care creams and lotions, tanning preparations, shaving products, make-ups and much more. In addition, anti-bacterial parabens are used to prolong the effective life of medicines, and also as food additives.

Research perspectives

As far back as 2004, Philippa Darbre’s research team detected parabens among cancer cells in 90 per cent of the breast tumour tissue samples they examined. Though researchers carefully avoided labelling these as carcinogenic, the popular perception was that parabens might still be ‘in the frame’. Despite widespread interest in these findings, this research has been criticised by sceptics in the scientific community for not taking the logical step of also testing a comparative sample of normal tissue. Faced with no real evidence of a harmful connection, those concerned about parabens could only say the outcome warranted more investigation.

Another strand of the paraben debate notes that animal testing has demonstrated parabens have a ‘weak ability to mimic oestrogens’, which are themselves implicated in the development of breast cancer. However, checking the data reveals the paraben quantity tested was 25,000 times greater than the tiny amounts used as preservatives. Likewise, the observed paraben effect was 100,000 times weaker than the action of estradiol, a natural hormone responsible for the creation of female reproductive tissue.

Public safety verdicts

Whilst labs have replicated Dabre’s results, no study has shown parabens have adverse health effects. Even so, some suspicions remain and paraben-free alternative products are now available for those still nervous or exposed to much greater risk. Summarising recent work, a 2013 study led by Gerhard concluded: ‘Despite 20 years of research a human health risk from exposure to low concentrations of exogenous chemical substances with weak hormone-like activities remains an unproven and unlikely hypothesis.’

Such conclusions, plus their own tests, have been enough to convince supervisory health watchdogs in the USA, Canada, the EU and elsewhere that parabens are safe in their present forms of low-level use.

Risk assessment

It’s not always easy to stay level-headed where risk is concerned. However, looking at the theoretical ‘paraben risk’ in comparative terms can be helpful and informative. For example, the Golden, Gandy & Vollmer review, published in 2005, concluded that even ‘worst-case daily exposure to parabens would present substantially less risk [than] naturally occurring endocrine-active chemicals in the diet.’

Nevertheless, the greatest independent source of informed and reasoned reassurance is likely to be your family GP who knows your medical history. Not only can you air your own concerns, you can also enquire whether your doctor would recommend you adopt a paraben-free lifestyle, and indeed whether he/she personally does the same.

In Pure Spirit

Are you reassured about parabens or still concerned?

Image credit: ParentingPatch

Do you really care? Ethical Valentine’s Day gifts

February 4, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Valentines Day 2016Is it easy buying someone a Valentine’s Day gift? You may well be very nervous.

There’s quite a bit to think about. If you buy something too expensive then you risk embarrassing them or coming on too strong. If you buy something too cheap then you look cheap. You might also want to avoid buying something commercial and mainstream. How much thought would have gone into that?

When it comes to Valentine’s Day you’ll certainly want to avoid any gifts that are associated with cruelty, wars or exploitation. That’s tough, right? How many shops do you know who absolutely stick to 100% ethical items? Many chain stores these days don’t even know where their clothes or food comes from.

It may well be worth checking out the Valentine’s Day collection at the Ethical Superstore. There are over 100 products here, a range of prices, and lots of good ideas. You can browse jewellery, skin care, scented candles and even organic wine.

Valentine’s Day gift ideas

iq-superfood-chocolateHere’s some suggestions to help begin your research.

  • iQ Superfood Chocolate; dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, vegan, nut free and organic! Bring it!
  • Hand poured soy candle; Egyptian fig scented candle, looks like a lovely owl and handmade
  • Green People Body Care; buying this helps support a charity, no animal testing, fair trade, vegan safe and organic. Oh yeah!
  • Burts Bees Essentials; vegetarian safe, free from Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Paraben free.
  • Wilby Drayton handbag; Made in the UK, vegan safe and with eco-friendly delivery.

Think of all that karma! Not to mention finding a great Valentine’s Day gift.

In Pure Spirit

What tips do you have for finding a good, thoughtful, Valentine’s Day present?

A cute Loch Ness monster for your kitchen

January 27, 2015 by Andrew Leave a Comment

nessie-spoon-kitchen
Product Page

This is a rather cute Nessie is no monster. This Nessie is actually a ladle that would be happy swimming around in your stews, soups and perhaps even a batch or chilli or not.

You can see how the two might get confused. Here’s the side by side comparison of the two.

nessie-spoon-compare

This Lessie is designed by OTOTO and can be bought from Animi Causa. Just click I need this Nessie Ladle.

In Pure Spirit

Are you tempted to add Nessie to your kitchen collection? Perhaps it would amuse your own little monsters?

Competition: The Breaking Bad Cookbook

November 3, 2014 by Andrew 56 Comments

Breaking Bad Cook Book

The Breaking Bad Cookbook

Do you like cooking all sorts of … wait, let me rephrase that; do you like cooking and do you like the TV series Breaking Bad?

Imagine if someone was cheeky enough to put together a completely unofficial cookbook based on the series? We’re talking about goodies like the mouth-watering Heisenburger and Gus Fring’s Los Pollos Hermanos fried chicken.

Good news! This is what Chris Mitchell has done. It’s possible to pop over to Amazon and buy your own The Breaking Bad Cookbook. You’ll get an illustrated book filled with tips on how to cook like New Mexico’s most resourceful.

Why buy something when you can win it? Here’s your chance. To enter log in to the widget via email or Facebook (so I can contact the winner) and complete the missions pressing the buttons reveal. Missions earn you points. Points earn you a chance of success.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deal of the Day: Shef Professional pancake maker

February 28, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

This Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday. It’s Pankcake Day!

Are you prepared or has this one snuck up on you? If it’s a pancake ambush then this 59% sale at Amazon.co.uk is for you. It ships via Amazon Prime so you can order it any time up to Monday and probably get it on Monday.

Pancake Maker

Cost: Reduced from £84.99 to only £34.99. Product Page: Shef Professional High Quality Electric Crepe and Pancake Maker + FREE Batter Spreader, Oil Brush, Wooden Spatula & Ladle

In Pure Spirit

What are you going to do this Pancake Day?

Last minute chocolate Valentine’s Day gift ideas

February 6, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is sneaking up. Whether you identify with it or not, whether you think it’s an evil that leads to hand holding and free sex or a commerical invention it may still be a good excuse to do something for your partner.

I happen to know that Cadbury’s has a direct gift website which offers next day delivery as an option. It’s Cadbury so expect chocolate but their Valentine’s Day range mixes and matches with roses and champagne. Handy!

Love chocolate & 24 roses

Love-Chocolate-24-Roses

More info here. £45 for this gift but cheaper options available.

Love Milk Tray with a bottle of Moet Chandon

Love-Milk-Tray-Gift

More info here. £43 for this gift but cheaper options available.

Valentine Heart Gift

Valentine-Heart-Gift

More info here. £8 for this gift and other options available.

Valentine Mini Treasure

Valentine-Mini-Treasure

More info here. £8.50 for this gift and other options available.

In Pure Spirit

Do you think you might grab any of these? Do you hope someone might order them for you?

Or are you not a fan? Why not make alternative suggestions in the comments below?

Is there really pink goop in Chicken McNuggets?

February 2, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

It’s a little weird by McDonald’s Canada has this brutally honest vibe going on. They’ve already shown all the careful lighting and cooking that goes into making the photo shoots for their burgers. It does explain why the meal from the restaurant looks nothing like the photograph, doesn’t help improve the mean from the restaurant but kinda shows it is all the same food.

In this video McDonald’s Canada address the infamous “pink goop” photograph that apparently shows what goes into a Chicken McNugget. McDonald’s denies this and shows us what really goes into the McNuggets. Yup. They take us into a chicken processing plant.

This video isn’t suitable for sensitive vegetarians but the rest of us might find it interesting. I think the approach by McDonald’s Canada is a good one. Transparency is needed today. With sites like Just Eat and Hungry House that enable local, family run restaurant, to hook into the internet and deliver food to households the drivethru and fast food business has a new threat. The last time I ordered burgers they came from a local American deli.

In Pure Spirit

Would you ever eat at McDonald’s? Has this video improved your perception of them or put you off?

The science of chocolate might surprise you

January 14, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

What’s the difference between chocolate, cocoa and cacao? The latter is appearing more often on the ingredients list of “chocolate bars”, after all.

In this video the SciShow digs into the truth of chocolate and you might be surprised. Cacao and cocoa, once the same, are now different. Can you believe some people thought cocaine in some types of chocolate snack?

In Pure Spirit

Are you surprised? Or did you know everything the SciShow managed to unearth?

Next Page »

Search

Trending

The meaning of itches and their omens
A list of standing stones in Wales
The Mill Pond Wizard of Easton Conservation
The meanings of the days of the week

Join us

Join us

In Pure Spirit via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,005 other subscribers.

Disclosure

This blog discusses ideas and causes. Urban myth, science and faith combine here. So do editorials and technology; In Pure Spirit uses affiliate marketing and some links might earn us money. You can read more about that here.

Policies

  • Contact us
  • Privacy
  • How we earn money
  • Writing about belief

Member of The Internet Defence League

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...