Emergency Supplies: Why You Need Tryptophan

By Terrance Franklin


Everybody growing up in the US must be acquainted with that cozy experience that one experiences after a Thanksgiving meal. Some people refer to it as the turkey coma, but there is really a critical biochemical reason for it. Turkey is probably the one of the richest supplies of tryptophan, an amino acid which is critical to one of the more vital chemicals within the human brain and a lot of other vital functions. Should it be included with your emergency supplies?

Tryptophan and Brain Function

Tryptophan is the main natural material needed to create serotonin, which is probably one of the most necessary chemical compounds in the human brain. Serotonin is in charge of regulating mood, appetite and sleep. Melatonin, the hormonal agent that triggers sleepiness and also sustains sleep patterns, is even produced by serotonin. The chemical name for serotonin is in fact 5-hydroxytryptamine (or 5-HT) which derives from the word tryptophan.

There is a useful link between trytophan and Vitamin B. The amino acid can be changed into vitamin B3 within your body and depending on B3 levels a smaller quantity is usually transformed. Yet in conditions of B vitamin deficiency a larger amount will be used to prevent pellagra, the shortage of B3 which may lead to death if unattended.

The Risk of Insufficiency

Because of serotonin's significance in maintaining mood, low levels of dietary tryptophan are related to major depression. The bond in between tryptophan and mood has resulted in tryptophan and 5-HTP used as a treatment to reduce depression symptoms. Along with depression symptoms, deficiency of the amino acid is related to worry, irritability, inability to concentrate and impulsiveness. Due to its link with the hormone melatonin, the sleep quality has been observed in those people who are deficient.

The applications to this in a survival circumstance are far reaching. Any sort of tragedy is the definition of a traumatic event. In order to deal with what is happening, the well supplied brain could have trouble maintaining harmony. This is the reason that it is very important to prevent whatever might put you in a state to be of edginess already, that includes a deficit in tryptophan. The outcomes of irritability and impulsiveness can result in negative decisions regarding the leadership of a group or simply be difficult to handle.

One more major result to tryptophan reduction is that it produces the urge to binge eat carbs. Stemming actually from research on bulimics, it has been found to continue to other areas of the population too. I don?t need to make clear why this is an issue in a survival scenario.

Finding the right sources of tryptophan

The Thanksgiving dinner example that was mentioned earlier suggests that poultry is among the best sources of tryptophan available. Chicken seems to be simply as good as turkey in this way, some other great resources consist of fish and meat. Vegetarians or grain lovers may have a tougher time getting a hold of the amino acid; it's difficult to locate plant based proteins and soy is probably the only major source of this.




About the Author: