metabolic traps with respect to meditation:

(I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice. This is speculative. This is an incomplete and experimental draft.)

(cf. jaw head neck) / (cf. "unwinding lift")

• sodium [+ magnesium + potassium] --> blood volume [easy to unroll and unravel and untwist things]
• magnesium + tryptophan - [sic] too much branched chain amino acids* + [e.g. sucrose or glucose / tryptophan transport [+ adequate B vitamins, chromium]] --> serotonin [+ melatonin] cf. horror, derealization, anxiety, depression, safety, refuge, sleep, energy (NAD, NAD+...) [1]
• thiamine
• calcium — not medical advice — calcium supplements above like 300mg/day are probably pretty bad for you but not getting enough calcium is probably much worse (get it all from food if you can). Supplementing spread out throughout the day might be totally fine. If something in your body or world is truly intolerable (not just nearly intolerable) then you may be low on calcium. If something is an emergency (and you’re not experiencing a “thunderclap headache” or 12/10 chest pain [ok a few other things too]) then you may be low on calcium. If you nibble on a tums or something your body may learn to tell you exactly when to stop nibbling. careful of your calcium/​magnesium ratio (and all the other electrolytes, etc. etc.)

*relatively or absolutely too much branched chain amino acids is bad (though bcaas are still essential amino acids)

*ah, branched chain amino acids --> competing out tryptophan --> reduced serotonin --> messing with melatonin = why my "circadian rhythm was spinning-clock-hands in freefall" when I was consuming too much pea protein. a bunch of large neutral amino acids compete with tryptophan to enter the brain, and tryptophan is the lowest concentration amino acid in protein-rich foods. [1, 2] sometimes it's better to eat carbohydrates by themselves to absorb more tryptophan into the brain because of how it changes relative blood concentrations of amino acids, and to time alternation of protein and carbohydrates over hours. [3] exercise can also elevate tryptophan relative to other amino acids in the blood because of differential use of amino acids. [4]

UPDATE: primates might work pretty differently than rats:

Grimes, Michael A., Judy L. Cameron, and John D. Fernstrom. "Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in Macaca mulatta: diurnal variations and response to chronic changes in dietary protein intake." Neurochemical research 25 (2000): 413-422. APA

*

[1] Richard, Dawn M., et al. "L-tryptophan: basic metabolic functions, behavioral research and therapeutic indications." International Journal of Tryptophan Research 2 (2009): IJTR-S2129.

[2] Choi, S., DiSilvio, B., Fernstrom, M. H., & Fernstrom, J. D. (2009). Meal ingestion, amino acids and brain neurotransmitters: effects of dietary protein source on serotonin and catecholamine synthesis rates. Physiology & behavior, 98(1-2), 156-162.

[also] Fernstrom, J. D., Langham, K. A., Marcelino, L. M., Irvine, Z. L., Fernstrom, M. H., & Kaye, W. H. (2013). The ingestion of different dietary proteins by humans induces large changes in the plasma tryptophan ratio, a predictor of brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis. Clinical nutrition, 32(6), 1073-1076.

[also] Fernstrom, J. D. (1988). Carbohydrate ingestion and brain serotonin synthesis: relevance to a putative control loop for regulating carbohydrate ingestion, and effects of aspartame consumption. Appetite, 11, 35-41.

[also] Choi, SuJean, et al. "Meal ingestion, amino acids and brain neurotransmitters: effects of dietary protein source on serotonin and catecholamine synthesis rates." Physiology & behavior 98.1-2 (2009): 156-162.

[also] Wurtman, Richard J., F. Hefti, and E. Melamed. "Precursor control of neurotransmitter synthesis." Pharmacological reviews 32.4 (1980): 315-335.

[3] [in rats] Fernstrom, Madelyn H., and John D. Fernstrom. "Brain tryptophan concentrations and serotonin synthesis remain responsive to food consumption after the ingestion of sequential meals." The American journal of clinical nutrition 61.2 (1995): 312-319.

[4] Young, Simon N. "How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs." Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience: JPN 32.6 (2007): 394.

newer / stated differently:

(Not medical advice: One pretty important thing is to make sure your protein has a relatively high ratio of tryptophan to leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and valine, i.e. tryp/​(leu+​iso+​phe+​tyr+​val) approximately by weight is more than good enough. The ratio may be way more important than the total amount of tryptophan. So, just as an example, dairy or salmon is better than beef is better than pea protein (if I recall correctly), and nuts like cashews and possibly some fruits and plantains (careful with stimulating coconut oil if plantain chips) may be even better than salmon or dairy, even though they have much less protein. I don't supplement with straight l-tryptophan because it might be dangerous if you have any immune stuff, or even in any case, and anecdotally is physiologically confusing for the body. Also, after your last bite, it can take as long as 3.75 hours for serotonin and melatonin synthesis to begin, and, not critical at all, but the body prefers to ideally be synthesizing many hours in advance, like 8-10+ hours in advance is even better. Alternatively, if you do have circulating amino acids already, eating carbohydrates->​insulin can differentially shunt already circulating tryptophan into the brain. So ~zero hours instead of 3.75, but there has to be already-circulating tryptophan to do this and a larger ratio of tryptophan to those other amino acids is still better.) [this paragraph can be found elsewhere in document, too]