Can Eating Bananas Improve Insomnia? Nutritionists Reveal The Truth: 12 Kinds Of "tryptophan" Sleep Aids Are Disclosed

Banana is one of the representative fruits in Taiwan. Not only is it delicious, but some people say that "bananas are rich in tryptophan and can help sleep." However, the nutritionist actually checked the food ingredient database and found that the content of tryptophan in bananas In fact, very few!

Eat bananas to help you sleep? Dietitian: Tryptophan content is not high

Nutritionist Lu Mengfan shared on instagram that she often heard the statement that "bananas are rich in tryptophan can help sleep", but she believed it at that time until she checked American food The ingredient database found that the original content of tryptophan per 100 grams of raw bananas is only 9 mg, which is not high compared with other foods.

Ingestion of 1 gram of tryptophan can help sleep

Why does tryptophan help improve insomnia? Lu Mengfan pointed out that tryptophan is the raw material for the brain to synthesize melatonin. During the synthesis process, tryptophan will first form serotonin, and serotonin will synthesize melatonin after being catalyzed by enzymes, and the concentration of melatonin in the brain will increase. When we start to feel sleepy.

As early as the 1960s, studies have found that 1 gram of tryptophan can help sleep and shorten sleep latency; so when it comes to the relationship between diet and sleep, everyone thinks that tryptophan plays an important role Role.

Lv Mengfan explained that tryptophan is usually found in protein-rich foods, but bananas are fruits, and the content of tryptophan is naturally not high. Under the conversion, if you want to eat 1 gram of tryptophan, you must eat 11.111 kilograms of bananas, that is to say, you want to eat bananas to change sleep problems.The question, I am afraid it is not as easy as imagined!

Foods Rich in Tryptophan TOP 12

She lists 12 "true" foods rich in tryptophan, ranked as follows (tryptophan content per 100 grams of food):

1. Dried flat fish 921 mg 2. Dried small rolls 921mg 3. Big red bean 659mg 4. Dried small fish 540mg 5. Soybean 532mg 6. Shrimp 524mg 7. Turkey 491 mg 8. Leucorrhea 403 mg 9. Flaxseed 403 mg 10. Red meat salmon slices 391 mg 11. Cashews (raw) 382 mg 12. Black sesame powder 376 mg

However, she also reminded that the top six dried flat fish, dried small rolls, large red beans, dried small fish, soybeans, and dried shrimps are dry goods, and it is not easy to eat 100 grams; while raw cashew nuts and black sesame seeds are not easy to eat. Flour is a kind of oil and has high calories, and it is also not easy to eat 100 grams.

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