I was having lunch with my friend
Jerome today and we were having a talk
About the future for us as trainers and
For the fitness industry as a whole.
Love the guy, but when he said let’s get some
Chinese food, I was like uh-oh,
Chinese food ALWAYS makes me sleepy
I don’t know if it’s something about the food
But I always get really tired and then when I
Wake up from the inevitable nap, I end up
Hungrier than before I even ate.
I thought, there’s gotta be a deeper reason than
Tryptophan or MSG as to why I’m tired after
Scarfing some General Tso’s so I had to
Investigate this wonton wonder.
Why do I get sleepy when I eat certain meals
And feel more energized when I eat others???
Shouldn’t I just be able to just eat anything and
Simply will myself to stay awake?
I mean isn’t food energy??
Well turns out that it is, but it isn’t
I had to go freshman level biochemistry
On this one and do some real research
But I found something interesting
About our dreaded sweet and sour
Slumber inducer…
You’ve heard of MSG right? You know
That stuff that people said was bad so
Now they have to tell you when they
Add it to your shrimp fried rice?
Well turns out monosodium glutamate
(MSG) has this thing called glutamate
And although it’s naturally found in
Some foods (e.g. tomatoes, mushrooms),
An unnatural additive amount can lead
To headaches, nauseousness, and
Of course, drowsiness.
That’s because glutamate excites the
Neurons like a 14 year old that just found
His uncle’s stash of…er…umm…artistic analog
Renditions of 1970-1980’s women.
So when you have too much stimulation
Your neurons eventually die off and
Stop firing altogether.
I never knew until today, why I would
Get so tired with Chinese food, but now
I know, it’s because I need to go for a
Run to burn off all that energy, but
Who wants to go for a run with a belly
Full of shrimp fried rice and
Wonton soup sloshing around?
I think I’ll just take a nap over here…
Jerry “zzzzzzzz” Washington
P.S. Before I literally fall asleep here
I’ve got another fun fact for you.
There is overwhelming evidence that depression
Is linked to elevated levels of MSG and glutamate.
I guess your body gets sad seeing all those cells
Unnecessarily die. So get moving 😉
Learn more fun facts and join the conversation
With a few people, that like you
Think that there is more to life than
Doing what everyone else is doing.
Project SELFFY. The name pretty much
Says it all. Talk soon…
