The Incredible Skin Benefits of... Turkey?

Before you get booted from your family’s Thanksgiving dinner for rubbing a turkey leg all over your face, let us qualify that title a bit. Although the turkey is an incredible creature being that it’s a distant relative of the mighty T. Rex and came shockingly close to being the national bird of the United States, the turkey itself isn’t necessarily a miracle cure for aging.

So close.

But the title of this article was not meant to be misleading since there is a particular chemical in turkey that does yield benefits for your skin’s health. Its the same chemical that has your Aunt Harriet nodding off in the middle of her vacation stories and your Uncle Lou snoring by the second half of the football game: Tryptophan. Most people think of tryptophan as nature’s sleeping pill but the truth is it does so much more.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that stimulates your body’s natural production of both vitamin B3 and serotonin, the combination of which provide an array of potential health benefits. When tryptophan acts as a catalyst in the production of vitamin B3, it assists in the synthesis of chemicals that are vital in releasing energy from cells and tissues which aides your skin’s natural rebuilding processes.

Tryptophan also stimulates the production of serotonin in your brain which eases anxiety and can help fight depression. This comes as a great benefit to skin health since, as we have discussed in previous posts, stress can be a huge factor in developing signs of aging. An increased level of serotonin from tryptophan-rich foods has also been proven to help fight migraines as well as curb your appetite to help weight loss!

So, after you finish your Thanksgiving feast with your loving family and you start to feel your eyelids get a bit heavy as someone puts a second piece of pie on your plate, take solace in the fact that the same chemical inducing your nap is actively aiding in the complete health of your radiant skin.

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at Lira Clinical!