Subway Restaurant

KBrenOH
KBrenOH Posts: 704 Member
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
Generally when I'm traveling I try to eat at Subways because it's a bit healthier than most of the fast food restaurants you find in airports. And I'll be honest, I like them for lunch every so often.

I usually get a 6" Turkey on Wheat w/ 1 slice of cheese, lettuce, spinach, tomato, light onion, pickles and light mayo very lightly done.

But right after eating it I'm usually really sleepy. I realize the bread is bulky but is that the cause of the immediate sleepiness or is it the turkey and how can I avoid it?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • catwrangler
    catwrangler Posts: 918 Member
    Try one of their wraps or salads, chicken or beef instead of turkey?
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    Turkey does have that chemical in it that does contribute to sleep plus the bread probably increases that effect. You are probably susceptible to it as well.
  • Dinob661
    Dinob661 Posts: 251 Member
    Turkey puts you to sleep. Fact of nature. lol But anytime you have a full feeling you will start to feel sleepy as well.

    Many people call this "The itis" lol
  • ckmama
    ckmama Posts: 1,668 Member
    Turkey contains triptophan, so does milk, that's why people had warm milk to sleep.

    Subway makes me feel that way, but I think it has something to do with the sodium, because I don't always get turkey.

    I love their veggie patty warmed.
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    And... you might want to try their flat breads...I find I feel better eating a sandwich in flat bread rather than that their buns.
  • welloiledmachine
    welloiledmachine Posts: 1,147 Member
    I would have to say it's probably the high carbs (not sure if the bread is 100% wheat) and the fact that it is very filling. Those together will make you sleepy because there probably isn't enough protein to balance it out as well.
    From what I've heard, it's a myth what they say about turkey.....it's the fact that people over stuff themselves which results in sleepiness.
  • Hernandezedw
    Hernandezedw Posts: 284
    It's not the Turkey. It's probably the fact that you are somewhat full and probably bored.
  • swanny320
    swanny320 Posts: 169 Member
    There is NOT enough Tyiptophan in the turkey at Subway to cause you to feel sleepy. In fact, that whole notion has been widely misreported. The fact is, after a HUGE thanksgiving meal, we feel sleepy because of the carb overload.
    It is most definitely the carbs from the bread and other items that are making you feel that way.

    http://www.livescience.com/4723-thankgiving-myth-turkey-sleepy.html
  • catwrangler
    catwrangler Posts: 918 Member
    oops, I just looked at their online menu and they do have salads but no wraps. Quiznos has the wraps, sorry!
  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
    I would have to say it's probably the high carbs (not sure if the bread is 100% wheat) and the fact that it is very filling. Those together will make you sleepy because there probably isn't enough protein to balance it out as well.

    The bread is not 100% whole wheat. And I agree with the above. The tons of bad carbs from the bread that is at least half bleached white flour can not balance out the lack of protein.
    If I must eat out, Subway is my choice but I choose the wrap or the flatbread. Perhaps you should try one of those.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    It's not the turkey it's the roll. Have you had you blood sugar checked? I found this online
    http://www.livescience.com/4723-thankgiving-myth-turkey-sleepy.html

    The tryptophan trip

    Tryptophan is an essential amino acid crucial for good health. Human bodies need tryptophan to build certain kinds of proteins. There is a sleep connection, though. The body uses tryptophan in a multi-step process to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate sleep.

    Turkey does have tryptophan. But all meat has tryptophan at comparable levels. Cheddar cheese, gram for gram, has more. While cheddar isn't the most exciting cheese in the cheese cellar, no one connects it with sleep. Turkey gets singled out for no other reason than being eaten during the biggest meal of the year.

    In essence, big meals with any food containing tryptophan can cause sleepiness. The real culprits are all those carbohydrates from potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, bread and pie. The massive intake of carb-heavy calories stimulates the release of insulin, which in turn triggers the uptake of most amino acids from the blood into the muscles except for tryptophan.

    With other amino acids swept out of the bloodstream, tryptophan—from turkey or ham or any meat or cheese, for that matter—can better make its way to the brain to produce serotonin. Without that insulin surge, tryptophan would have to compete with all the other kinds of amino acids in the big meal as they make their way to the brain via a common chemical transport route. And not enough tryptophan would make it to the brain because other basic amino acids are far more plentiful in food.
  • almonds1
    almonds1 Posts: 642 Member
    they have flat bread...well here in Canada they do


    I always do the chicken on 9 grain
  • hbrekkaas
    hbrekkaas Posts: 268 Member
    My brother and my dad have the same problem, and its the bread. After they have a sub they feel sluggish and sleepy for a few hours.
  • hollyyoung71
    hollyyoung71 Posts: 70 Member
    OH.. I love Subway.. I am addicted to the Buffalo Chicken Sub. Never tried it as a wrap.. might do that next time.
  • varunp4
    varunp4 Posts: 1
    I have just started enjoying subway food and no expert over subway food.

    I also feel sleepy and it turns out because of Lettuce, which I always ask for more, as per this wiki page
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettuce#Nutrition

    Hope this provides answer
  • woman1961
    woman1961 Posts: 23
    its probably the turkey theres something in turkey that makes a person tired you could try a roast beef or tuna sub and if u dont need all that bun get it on a flatbread instead use light mayo to help with calories always make sure u get plenty of exercise throught the day to burn some of those calories
  • jared767
    jared767 Posts: 76
    Generally when I'm traveling I try to eat at Subways because it's a bit healthier than most of the fast food restaurants you find in airports. And I'll be honest, I like them for lunch every so often.

    I usually get a 6" Turkey on Wheat w/ 1 slice of cheese, lettuce, spinach, tomato, light onion, pickles and light mayo very lightly done.

    But right after eating it I'm usually really sleepy. I realize the bread is bulky but is that the cause of the immediate sleepiness or is it the turkey and how can I avoid it?

    Thanks!

    It's got 48 g of total carbs.

    Here's the rest of the nutrition information for your 6" sub: http://www.nutritionix.com/m/4iO3Jn
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Don't know what made you sleepy.

    I love Subway! Had a turkey sub last night with a bowl of chicken noodle and light chips. I love the raspberry cheesecake cookies, but at 200 calories I better have busted some butt working out that day.
  • MinnesotaManimal
    MinnesotaManimal Posts: 642 Member
    The bread is not 100% whole wheat. And I agree with the above. The tons of bad carbs from the bread that is at least half bleached white flour can not balance out the lack of protein.
    If I must eat out, Subway is my choice but I choose the wrap or the flatbread. Perhaps you should try one of those.


    carbs from white flour!!!!! say its not so!!!!!!!!! ( runs away screaming) :noway: :laugh:
  • Nanita02
    Nanita02 Posts: 20
    I love the turkey on flatbread overload with cucumbers olives tomatoes lettuce hot stuff jalapeños banana peppers. Lite mayo n honey mustard. With diet coke yum n my baked potatoe chips I'm good!
    I was always told turkey makes u tired. But I say take a walk n walk to ur fav songs!!!! Stay busy n focused u be alright!!!!
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    I go to subway fairly often. I always get the black forest ham on 9-grain wheat or Italian. I put 2 american cheese slices, lettuce, tom, onion, mustard and lite mayo. Mine rounds out at a little over 300 cals. Not too bad for a 6" sub! Try the subway club if you get sleepy. It has several different meats on it, but isn't any more calories than a turkey sub.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    If it's in wikipedia, it's got to be true!
    Turkey meat and drowsiness
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan#Turkey_meat_and_drowsiness

    See also: Postprandial somnolence#Turkey and tryptophan
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postprandial_somnolence#Turkey_and_tryptophan

    A common assertion is that heavy consumption of turkey meat results in drowsiness, due to high levels of tryptophan contained in turkey.[57][58][59]

    However, the amount of tryptophan in turkey is comparable to that contained in most other meats.[17] Furthermore, post-meal drowsiness may have more to do with what else is consumed along with the turkey and, in particular, carbohydrates.[60] It has been demonstrated in both animal models[61] and humans[62][63][64] that ingestion of a meal rich in carbohydrates triggers release of insulin. Insulin in turn stimulates the uptake of large neutral branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), but not tryptophan (an aromatic amino acid) into muscle, increasing the ratio of tryptophan to BCAA in the blood stream. The resulting increased ratio of tryptophan to BCAA in the blood reduces competition at the large neutral amino acid transporter (which transports both BCAA and aromatic amino acids), resulting in the uptake of tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).[65][66] Once in the CSF, tryptophan is converted into serotonin in the raphe nuclei by the normal enzymatic pathway.[61][63] The resultant serotonin is further metabolised into melatonin by the pineal gland.[10] Hence, this data suggests that "feast-induced drowsiness"— may be the result of a heavy meal rich in carbohydrates, which, via an indirect mechanism, increases the production of sleep-promoting melatonin in the brain.[61][62][63][64]

    I love that expression: Postprandial somnolence. The original posters could have asked, "Wherefore doth my Subway turkey sub induce postprandial somnolence?"
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    The flat bread has just about the same amount of carbs and calories as the bread, FYI.
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    The flat bread has just about the same amount of carbs and calories as the bread, FYI.

    I was just about to say the same thing. It's not any "healthier," but if it helps reduce sleepiness then I'd say go for it.
  • forever28
    forever28 Posts: 374 Member
    If anything, I think people need to be leery of Subway's bread. It's not all cracked up to what it's "supposed" to be especially the 9 grain. For bread to be considered whole wheat, "whole wheat" should be listed as the first ingredient, not enriched wheat. I thought the 9 grain had high fructose corn syrup in it as well. I'm not 100% sure on that though - they may have removed it from their ingredients, finally. Also, that lovely brown color that is so indicative of healthy wheat breads? It comes from a combination of ammonium sulfate (nitrogen and fertilizer) and caramel coloring. Yummmmmm! Not! ;-)

    http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    The flat bread has just about the same amount of carbs and calories as the bread, FYI.

    I was just about to say the same thing. It's not any "healthier," but if it helps reduce sleepiness then I'd say go for it.
    If the bread is causing the sleepiness, it's because of the amount of carbs. So no, it wouldn't help. The only reason to get the flat bread is if you like it better.
  • lizhughes1
    lizhughes1 Posts: 5 Member
    Hello, I work in a subway restaurant, have been for 8 years, and I can tell you that it's the bread that is making you sleepy. It's very high in carbs. Very filling. Another good sub you might want to try is the rstb sub with mustard. Also make sure you take the swiss cheese, it has the less fat, the most protein and the less sodium of all our cheeses. Also a few other very healthy options are the Roasted chicken, the ham or the club wich combines rstb, ham and turkey and of course the veggie sub which is the healthiest of all but doesn't keep you full for very long. As for dressings the ones that are ok for you are the regular mustard, honey mustard, sweet onion, and light mayo. Any other sauces are high in fat. And for the light mayo don't go crazy. Don't ever have our cookies if you're trying to lose weights they're 220cal each with 10g of fat per cookie. Soups are very low fat but extremely high in sodium, so be careful with those. If you have a soup at subway you're almost certain to bust your sodium intake. For a healthy dessert you can have our yogourt parfaits, very delicious. You're right about subway being the healthiest fast food restaurant out there. And I am glad to be working in one. Since I get to eat a free sub every day and I know that I'm eating healthy.

    Have a great day
    If you have any questions about subway products feel free to ask and I'll try to answer to the best of my knowledge.
  • lizhughes1
    lizhughes1 Posts: 5 Member
    The flatbread is way higher in fat than the whole wheat and way higher in sodium.
  • ladyfox1979
    ladyfox1979 Posts: 405 Member
    I eat subway almost everyday for Lunch. I usually get wheat bread but I always ask them to remove the inner bread that way I don't eat too much bread.

    Its to the point where when I go in they just make my sandwich bu memory.
  • lizhughes1
    lizhughes1 Posts: 5 Member
    If the bread makes you sleepy how about having a salad, our salads are pretty big and you can double up on the chicken or turkey so it will fill up longer.
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