A
smooth-oval symbol, with tiny divots top & bottom, preceded the
acronym: MCT. The dosage was written as: one gram (1000mg).
Even though you have "heard-of" medium chain triglycerides, you always choose-to not
weight the chemical's difficult-to-spell-and-remember name with a
"save-for..." marker, or, to tag it with an "interested/learn more"
association. Consequently, you are almost-certain it is not an acronym for Mashed CoconuT.
You
hesitated reading for a fraction of, a fraction of, a second to wonder
if this was the first time you had seen gram/milligram written in this
manner, and the pause gave your brain a chance to identify if this was,
maybe, First Awareness in action?
It is always comforting for you, when emotionally-significant This is a first!
recognition occurs as-it-is-happening. You especially enjoy savoring
the feeling you think-of as 'that newness-thing settling in' when a anchor neuron is being created. As it sends out *new connections available
here* signals, the trillions upon trillions of already existing
transmission-cell connections recognize the new node, and those information pathways "ripple"
and cause the brain-equivalent of "muscle-growth itch".
As
you ran your eyes over the paragraph's information, you allowed some of the words
to register long enough to receive "save-for...today" markers, like:
"less than ten calories" and "trick the liver". You gleaned enough to
understand that these fats are too short for the gauge on the fuel-tank
reserved for long-chain fats (which are either burned or stored for
later) and too long for the filter that allows only short-chain fats to
pass-thru (which ferment and feed gut bacteria). Consequently, MCTs are
able to sneak to the front of the line (where they immediately become
high-octane fuel before everything else) and then are express-tubed directly liver to brain, where they are available to provide excess-power to any cell that wants it.
And,
to wink at any others who also successfully tricked their way around
security, like the Magnesium Threonate you just swallowed. You mentioned to yourself as you began to
'sense a theme' and smiled slightly, both inward and outwardly.
A
symbol of an upward-pointing triangle containing three dots preceded
the word: Psyllium, which was, again, followed by the dosage: one gram
(1000mg).
The
capsules of psyllium powder were a soluble-in-water fiber, intended to
counteract possible symptoms of indigestion which, "may be caused by
consuming a larger than normal quantity of unfamiliar-to-you
supplements." Also, according to the paper-card, this fiber would provide
"some aid" in diarrhea, constipation, or both. And that, "a significant
number of participants will experience the combination of caffeine and
MCT as a laxative. Accordingly, the administrator will direct
you to an adjacent water closet."
You
contemplated the term 'water closet' as an internationally-understood
label and wondered if the United States would ever abandon their 'public
restroom' and 'private bathroom' labels. This association-linked to
the US's disdain for the metric system and then the US's abhorrence of ... so ... I
nudged you back from your contemplation spiral. [You *thought to
yourself* 'stop dwelling on the country's failures'! Keep reading!]
The
symbol for salt was an hourglass shape and it's dosage was also: one gram
(1000mg). The tone of this paragraph was similar to the previous one for
vitamin D. "Essential electrolyte" and "heart-rhythm" stuck in your
short-term memory. As well as the oddly worded phrase, "...completely
contrary to what has been universally-taught to-and-by modern [italics theirs; sarcasm?] general medical
practitioners worldwide, for almost a century". Basically, the card
said: low-salt diets resulted in dangerously-low electrical impulses
between cells (which were the cause of heart arrhythmia, muscle cramps, brain fog, eye-lid twitches, and the list went on).
It
then advised gauging your own "routine salt intake" against the
"impending, probable increase in your adrenaline/epinephrine
and serotonin outputs, which will increase heart and
breathing rates" and that you should either take the next three
supplements, now, or explain why not.
You reached forward, took all the one-gram capsules
and gel-caps from the next three depressions and, as you washed them down with a
swallow of tea...
The
administrator said with a gesture, "The door at the end is a bedroom
with attached en-suite. Please think of it as yours, for-use as-you-wish, while you're here. I should mention that there's a litter box next to the shower; but—if you hear a cat asking to come in—please disregard. They have other options when a door is closed."
