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Reducing One Amino Acid Could Increase Lifespan
John Bryson writes "Eating less of one amino acid might lengthen your life. There have been lots of previous studies showing that many species live long on highly restricted calories, but a lot of this benefit may be possible by only restricting one amino acid. Amino acids that have shown this have been tryptophan and methionine. A recent study, published online December 2 in Nature, a highly respected journal, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets."
RTFA indeed, if you read as far as the third paragraph you'd know that it was also proven on mice, dogs, and baboons. That makes this pretty likely to apply to humans as well. Though I'm confused as to why the summary says that tryptophan also has this property, as the article doesn't even use the word. I couldn't find the original Nature article, but the linked one certainly said nothing about it.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.
True, to get sleepy from the tryptophan in turkey, one would have to figure out how to eat that turkey without eating the other amino acids present... it only promotes sleepiness when consumed on its own.
However, there is still a twisted nugget of almost truth if you follow one of the current theories on postprandial sedation. The whole chain goes something like this:
Eating large amounts of starchy food -> increased blood sugar levels.
elevated blood sugar -> insulin release
elevated insulin levels -> increased absorption of long chain amino acids into muscle tissue
increased absorption of long chain amino acids -> decreased blood serum levels of long chain amino acids
decreased serum long chain amino acid levels -> increased serum ratio of short chain/long chain amino acids
tryptophan is a short chain amino acid, and higher serum ratios of tryptophan lead to increased production of seratonin and melatonin, leading to sleepiness.
So yes, there is some tryptophan in turkey. And tryptophan supplements can induce sleepiness, but they need to be taken on an empty stomach to do so. That is because digesting pure tryptophan will also increase the serum ration of tryptophan to other amino acids. However in a traidional thankgsiving feast, it's the massive overload of carbs in the stuffing, corn, bread, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry marshmallow fluff, pie, whipped cream and even gravy (it's thickened with starch) that lead to the sleep inducing increased serum ratio of tryptophan. Some of the sleepiness can also be blamed on redirecting a good portion of blood flow to the digestive system to tackle the huge meal just consumed. A glass of wine or two can provide enough alcohol for the final KO providing the need to sleep.
I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
It's not politicians that would attempt to prevent the general availability of a longevity drug. It's much more probable that the drug company that held the patent would restrict it's use by keeping the price artificially high.
Look at the case of ulcer drugs. At one time, anti-ulcer medications were the top money-makers for drug companies. Even long after research showed that ulcers were caused by bacteria, and could be easily cured by cheap generic antibiotics, drug companies tried to suppress that research in order to maintain their profits. Even after it was widely known and accepted by health providers, drug companies spent tens of millions trying to convince doctors that this simple fix was somehow not in their patients' best interest. It's one example of how a profit motive does not favor the public good.
Currently, drug companies only fund research that is guaranteed to develop drugs that can be patented, ignoring completely commonly available substances that could be beneficial.
You are welcome on my lawn.