Many, many years ago I had the “Deer Hunter” video game loaded onto my computer.  The object of the game was, of course, to bag a big buck from the comfort and convenience of one’s desk chair.  It was a game that even my children enjoyed playing.

A friend gifted me with the “Dear Hunter” parody game called “Deer Avenger.”  In that game, everything was turned catawampus.  In “Deer Avenger,” a vengeful deer hunted the hunters, and hung his quarries’ heads on the wall if successful!

In the same vein, do turkeys impart a bit of revenge following our Thanksgiving dinners?  Is tryptophan, that ingredient in turkey that makes us lazy and lethargic following our indulgence in turkey meat, the turkey’s revenge? 

Tryptophan has typically been regarded as a somewhat sinister, sleep-inducing chemical that takes its toll in the wake of a Thanksgiving meal. And indeed it does benefit our sleep!  Tryptophan enables our bodies to produce melatonin and serotonin.  Melatonin helps regulate a person’s sleep cycle; serotonin stabilizes one’s mood and assists with falling asleep.  Which definitely seems to support the idea of a turkey’s revenge!  We eat turkey; we inevitably slip into oblivion afterwards.

Which leads to an important question.  Like a nap after turkey, does spiritual lethargy tend to follow our Thanksgiving thankfulness?  We’ve done our duty on the day of giving thanks, and now we inevitably slide (back) into apathy afterwards?  

Becoming drowsy after our turkey dinner is acceptable; sleeping on our thankfulness to God is not!

As for tryptophan inducing nearly immediate naps, that’s actually a myth.  It does tend to produce drowsiness, but not until many hours (5!) later!  Rather, the drooping eyelids occur as a result of the multiple platefuls of carbs consumed.  It is the amount of food eaten that is actually the culprit.  Digestion is exhausting work!

In reality, Tryptophan happens to be extremely beneficial for our bodies.  Tryptophan is an essential amino acid.  Amino acids are fundamental building blocks of protein and are key ingredients in helping our bodies function properly.  The melatonin and serotonin that tryptophan enables our bodies to produce are great blessings!  In addition, tryptophan is used by our bodies to make niacin (vitamin B3), which helps regulate our metabolism and keeps our cells healthy.

Other sources of tryptophan are chicken, eggs, fish, milk, cheese, peanuts, pumpkin and sesame seeds, tofu and soy, and chocolate.  (Which means chocolate contains both tryptophan AND caffeine.  What a combination!)

So enjoy your turkey dinners, and embrace tryptophan.  It’s good for you!  And just as tryptophan is good for the body, so is continual, Gospel-induced thankfulness to our loving Lord good for the soul.  It changes our perspectives, positively affects our attitudes, sparks our motivation, and produces ongoing joy … both in us and in the people around us.

The psalmist has it right:  “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the LORD is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100).

Consequently, we are constantly thankful … not just because turkeys don’t take revenge, but because our merciful Lord is ever-gracious!