#tma is anti found family
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eruzed · 1 year ago
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getting into the magnus archives after only seeing fanart is such a rollercoaster 😭 before listening i assumed the archival crew would be a loving and supportive friend group but in reality 1. they hate each other so fucking much 2. a lot of them are dead
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poltergeist-coffee · 1 year ago
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Tubbo is a force to be reckoned with
If he got kidnapped he really would do live while he's kidnapped
Kidnapping vlog
The pactoiles brainrot is real(feel free to scream about them)
Insane duo mermaid au you say? 👀
Mermaids are one of the things that the brainrot never truly leave me, it aways come back every once in a while for whatever the reason is
But yeah, the world should stop being afraid of us, like, what could we possibly do?
There's nothing to be afraid:)
Very random, but people started calling Philza and Cellbit the archivists and I get so many the Magnus archives vibes from it
And I know very little about TMA but I like the vibes
Talking about Philza...
GIVE HIS WINGS BACK YOU FUDGES
About the dead federation workers thing
I'm very... Divided(I hope that's make sense on English) about it, like, if qcellbit really did it I think some people would react in a similar way they did to qbbh about Ron(how is that guy btw? I haven't heard about him anymore) and... Y'know, he changed from the guy he used be and such
But at the same time I'm like "FINALLY", because, yeah fudge the federation:D
I dunno, perhaps if he really did it he could convince people it's just the federation trying to frame him y'know
But just time will tell
And you can probably tell to wich side I'm more inclined to
I crave the chaos
(Also I saw someone say "F bit, now it's just Cell")
Pac would swim his way outta this island if he wasn't scared of water too
At the same time I don't think the federation are above killing their workers to frame him
He's one of the most anti-federation people on that island and he got a very dubious past, sure he changed, but at the same time it would make the others wondee if he would do it, he hates the federation and after everything they've done to him, his family and the others Islanders, he would have a reason to do it
So yeah, both options are equally possible to me
"he's just like fr"
-Cellbit's discord about Cellbit probably
The devil work fast but Cellbit's discord work faster
I have found the headcanon of Cellbit's discord being some sort of entity or god(s) or something and nobody will it off me
Its just so cool
This reminds me I've said that I would make designs for the qsmp goddess and still haven't done it
I never have ideas to draw except when I do(at 3am)
How do you imagine them tho?
I could talk about it probably but it would definitely be really long because I can't write something short to save my life
Maybe on another ask:)
- 🍽️
tbh a kidnapping vlog from q!tubbo would be very very funny MKNSJHCKJA what can the federation do?? they already put him in prison?? double prison??? i think the federation really want tubbo of the island but have no way of doing it yet lol
insaneduo mermaid au are so silly… i love them so much
i tried to get into the magnus archives once but i got distracted and then never retuned to listening to it TT it looks so cool i want to get into it, especially the avatars/entities (?) like the web, the lonely, etc etc. i think you could so easily make a qsmp au with it but i’m not in it so i can’t be the one to do it TT
i heard that jaiden asked the uh federation/mods about her wings so maybe that’s how they can get them like out of canon kekw i know cc!philza would just not ask for his wings back tho JUST TO KILL US WITH ANGST!! HE KILLED NEARLY ALL HIS FANS SAYING HE KEEPS HIS BACKPACK ON BECAUSE ITS LIKE HAVING THE WEIGHT OF HIS WINGS BACK HE WILL KILL US AGAIN!! the crows are miserable
i don’t know what to think about the dead federation workers… maybe cellbit just confused what halloween decorations are and killed a man to decorate spawn with u-u i support him to do that halloween is my favorite holiday. i think with how his character is rn it wouldn’t really make sense for him to kill a worker all of a sudden? BUT if it is actually him who did it then i will support his crimes. i’ll defend him in qsmp court
CELLBITS DISCORD BEING A GOD/DEITY ENTITIY IS SUCH A COOL IDEA HOLY SHIIIIIT O-o maybe cellbit is a follower of this god because they really love puzzles/is all about mystery, that’s why they always make themselves known when there are enigmas on the server (like with q!bagi and solving it with her) (maybe the god feeds on mystery and knowledge? owo) it’s funny to think that tubbo always calls out to this god too, asking if he’s doing good and asking them for answers kamknfkns the deity is a little fond of q!tubbo because he’s silly.
ID LOVE TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS FOR GODDESS DESIGNS!! the only real idea i have is for mumza. she’s super purple and wears a huge hat like a qphilza with a veil so it hides her face. i think she might have some sort of galaxy aesthetic too because it’s pretty and she deserves that <33 she always has crows surrounding her too. I’ve seen a lot of cute designs for Mine and i think she’s be very pink like her irl lol. i think she should also get wings uwu
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heres-someart · 2 years ago
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I posted 325 times in 2022
That's 325 more posts than 2021!
61 posts created (19%)
264 posts reblogged (81%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@vyeoh
@bitter-hibiscus
@old-pine-woods
@its-your-mind
@heres-someart
I tagged 315 of my posts in 2022
Only 3% of my posts had no tags
#cas.reblogs - 235 posts
#cas.talks - 34 posts
#empires smp - 22 posts
#cas.art - 20 posts
#scott smajor - 14 posts
#the magnus archives - 11 posts
#empires season 2 - 10 posts
#tma - 9 posts
#hello from the hallowoods - 8 posts
#hfth - 8 posts
Longest Tag: 138 characters
#because pix can be confused for other things or have people who dont care for pixl but care for another usage of pix be bombared with pixl
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
I dont talk enough about Hello From The Hallowoods on this blog so heres some fanart that I definitely didnt just make despite it being almost 1am
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I like thinking of the night-gaunts as very deer-like so I just make a really big dear with cool antlers lmao @hellofromthehallowoods​
139 notes - Posted May 7, 2022
#4
Im gonna rate the podcasts I’ve listened to
The Magnus Archives
10/10
Very very good
Slowburn go brrrr
Can’t follow the kill your gays trope if everyone’s gay!
The Penumbra Podcast
10/10
Also very very good
Like, the opposite of slowburn
Found family go brr
Station Arcadia
10/10
Again very good!
Anti-capitalism is great
Discord server is very nice!!
The Bright Sessions
9/10
Still very good!
Much more realistic fiction
Very good to binge cause of its 7 seasons
Rusty Quill Gaming
9/10
Very awesome!
Very nice binging series
Sometimes I dont understand the british jokes
Hello From the Hallowoods
10/10
Very gay!! And trans!! And great!!
Character with neopronouns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See the full post
175 notes - Posted May 4, 2022
#3
I drew some Double Life Cleo fanart based on this post I am super happy with how it ended up turning out!
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Click for better resolution! [ID: Zombie Cleo is sitting criss-crossed with her profile to the viewer. She is wearing an off-the-shoulder dark grey dress, a small crown of laurels around her head, and sneakers. She has green skin with some parts a darker green with small stiches connecting the two colors. She also has orange hair with slight curls. One her arm, there are 3 hearts. They are all very dull, the top a dull green, the middle a dull yellow, and the bottom a dull red. She also has a red string that is fading in some parts connecting to her finger, wrapping around her body, and traveling off screen. She is slightly transparent In front of her is the text “you hold on / until you cant hold on anymore” She is sitting on a small grass patch in front of a blue sky with two clouds. The artist’s signature, a circle with a line through it and a dot on either side, is also visible near her shoulder. End ID]
209 notes - Posted July 23, 2022
#2
I heard Scott Smajor said that he wants more people to draw him fanart in a size that fits a phone background. So I made this! (also if anyone does make this their phone background please tell me. I want to see it!)
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Click for better detail! [ID: A drawing of Scott Smajor’s Empires SMP character walking on a path towards a windmill. The windmill is surrounded by small fields of flowers. In the bottom right corner, there is the artist’s signature: heres.someart End ID] @defonotsmajor​
304 notes - Posted July 27, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Hello Jon, apologies for the deception, but you just lost the game
799 notes - Posted April 25, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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akidachi · 4 years ago
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me @ all TMA fans now that the show is over
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[image ID// photo of bernie sanders with the text “i am once again asking you to watch Yu-Gi-Oh! gx //end ID]
yes yes i know recomending the cardgame anime spinoff is propably the weirdest thing i could be doing but trust me it has a LOT of thematic smilarities and depending on your reason for liking tma you may very well like gx as well
a quick bullet point list of reasons to watch gx from a tma fans perspective:
explores themes of loss, sacrifice, inhumanity, consequences, depression, the inevetability of fate, spitting in the face of said fate and all that fun stuff
subverting the traditional associations of light and dark as good and evil
“you can still be friends with someone you want to use”
(yes i know that one is more a81 but it applies)
GREAT protagonist character development
completely breaking the protagonist down to their bare essentials throughout the course of the series (but especially during s3)
Canon Typical Guilt Complex
strong supporting cast
characters with supernatural powers
canon non-binary character
on that note
canon nblm character
canon (?) mlnb character
european (?) character that ISNT italian, german, french or brittish for once (a personal pet peeve of mine)
the struggles of growing up and the uncertainty and fear of what the future may hold
and last but not least
the slow series long descent into despair that every ygo spinoff has to some extent but damn if season 3 didnt set a high standard it got dark
all that said i do think i should warn you that wheni say the show gets dark i mean it gets dark. the ygo series overall might shy away from a bit of blood but it is not at all afraid of diving into heavier themes and making you feel it. do not be fooled by the lighthearted nature of the first season it is not afraid to make you cry.
 which seems strange for a show thats seemingly just a childrens cardgame anime but when you take into account that ygo started out as a horror manga, and only switched over to the cardgame structure when the duel monsters arc took off, it makes a lot more sense.
(further talking and content warnings below the cut)
all that said heres a couple content warnings (in no particular order):
child abuse
childhood trauma
emotional and financial abuse
less than stellar family members in general
memory loss
medically induced amnesia (yes these are seperate instances)
themes of suicide
themes of depression and isolation (canon typical Lonely content but its all of gx s4)
unreality / dream logic (kinda. again, s4)
cults
brainwashing, mind control and manipulation
loss of physical and mental autonomy (of a sort)
genocide
implied death of children
confirmed death of children
mentions of real world tragedies (offhand once or twice in s2)
significant mental and emotional torment of the main character
temporary character death
permanent character death
(no neither of these are the typical “shadow realm” ygo deaths im talking about regular dying, and not of the fun and peaceful kind either)
(yes several of these are on screen)
also please not that some of these content warnigns apply to all of, or multiple series of ygo
especially themes of suicide, child abuse, and genocide, all 3 of which are covered in every ygo series on SOME level with varying severity
it may seem tempting to skip straight to season 3, as a lot of the more tma esque content is found there (though s2 goes hard as well in my opinion) i really do recomend watching the show from start to finish, as pretty much all the characters experience some level of character development, and seeing them all change throughout the series is an absolute treat.
also on the dub vs sub debate i really do reccoment watchign GX subbed. not bc dubbed anime are nessecatily bad but bc Dub and Sub GX are practically 2 entirely different shows with the amount of changes 4kids decided to make, as well as season 4 not having a dub at all as 4kids wanted to move on to 5ds instead.
(on a semi related note if the anti establishment aspects of tma are more your jam youll propably like 5ds, which has themes of poverty, classism, said eat the rich and litterally abolished the police force by the end of the series while also being about playing cardgames on motorcycles at the same time)
(honestly i could propably make a whole post on the central themes of each ygo series they really take a theme and apply it EVERYWHERE)
also a more recent note
if you like tragedy and big sad
WATCH VRAINS
its like 1 tiny detail away from being a tragedy
i knew what was coming and it still wrecked me
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dathen · 4 years ago
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INTRODUCING: THE MISSING TAPES BINGO CHALLENGE!
What are the missing tapes?  
So much happened after Season 3 and during Season 4 that we didn’t get to see.  With us being limited to Jon’s point of view/whatever force is behind the tapes, many events and character interactions take place offscreen.  The Missing Tapes is a fan content challenge to visit these moments and explore character feelings from new angles.
How do I participate?
This isn’t an event week or tied down to any specific time.  Go for a bingo, or just try a prompt or two!  If you write anything for this challenge, use the #missingtapesbingo tag so others can find it easily.
Many thanks to @somuchbetterthanthat​, @evanescentjasmine​, and @holdthosebees​ for helping me brainstorm prompts, and @zykaben​ for the lovely graphic!
After the cut is a text list of the prompts, from top left to lower right.  I also included a brief summary for context, and episode references for when these are mentioned or implied.  
1.  Others’ PoV of Martin losing his mother - (TMA 127)  Basira tells Jon that watching how hard this hit Martin kept her from pushing him too hard about his plans.  “He tried to stay strong, keep it together, but...that sort of thing...”
2.  Basira finding that she’s the sole survivor of the Unknowing - (TMA 122)  “The others-- Tim--  Is he…?   ...Oh.”  “Daisy, too.”  “I’m sorry.”  “Yeah.”  
3.  Melanie and Georgie rekindling their friendship post-surgery - (TMA 131, 145)  Melanie fell out of contact with Georgie during Jon’s coma, but gets in touch again after escaping the Slaughter.  “Who else is there? I mean, Basira is… heh. She’s been the only one for a long time.”  
4.  Basira and Martin’s phone calls during the Scottish Honeymoon - (TMA 160)  Martin and Basira have regular phone calls while he and Jon are in hiding.  “How was she?”  “Oh, same as last week.”
5.  Basira, Daisy, and Jon going for drinks - (TMA 136, 140)  “You look awful. You try drinking with Daisy again?”
6.  Reactions to the s3 deaths/disappearances - (TMA 122)  Tim’s death, Daisy’s body not being found, and Jon as good as dead.  Not limited to the Archives team (the rest of the Institute? Jon’s extended family? Oliver’s dreams? go wild).
7.  Basira and/or Martin reacting to Peter Lukas vanishing researchers - (TMA 123)  “Rumor is a couple of researchers up on the third floor decided to ignore some of his new directives, and… whoosh.”
8.  Anti-Lonely sleepovers - (TMA 150)  “We’re all well aware that with Peter Lukas in charge of the Institute, [the Lonely] is a very real danger to all of us. We are trying. Daisy, Basira and I, we don’t leave the Institute much anymore, so we do spend a lot of time together.” 
9.  Melanie and Georgie getting together - (sometime between TMA 145 and 157)  “I didn’t-- I didn’t realize you were to-together.”
10.  Basira during the S4 finale - (TMA 158-160)  Left alone after Daisy draws off the Hunters, waiting for Jon to return with Martin, her PoV of the aftermath, etc.
11.  Georgie learns about Jon/starts visiting him in the hospital - (TMA 121)  Georgie regularly visits Jon during his coma and talks to him.  “Sorry about that, Jon, but you really don’t need friends like that.”  
12.  Melanie and Basira trauma bonding during Jon’s coma - (TMA 123)  “She saved my life, John. She saved all of us. I won’t forget that.”
13.  FREE SPACE
14.  Melanie picks up a hobby as part of therapy - (after TMA 136)  (Implied) Melanie is trying a different approach to life as part of her therapy sessions.  “Since when?”  “Always.  I’m...trying to be more open about this stuff.”
15.  Basira or Melanie helping Daisy with physical therapy - (TMA 133)  “Hey, there you are. You’re meant to be doing your exercises.”  “You were out.”
16.  Basira, Melanie, and Martin going out for drinks - (TMA 98, 106)  Started in season 3, but could have also happened between the seasons. “Listen, you really look like you could use a drink. Um, me and Basira were just about to pop out. So...do you want to join us?” 
17.  Daisy and Basira conversations post-coffin - (TMA 132+)  “Basira she’s...she’s been good.  We’re together, so it’s good...if she didn’t keep treating me like a china doll.  But it’s alright.”
18.  Daisy learns Melanie’s name; possible fledgling friendship - Daisy didn’t bother learning Melanie’s name pre-Unknowing (TMA 112), but can’t stand being alone post-coffin.  "He’s gone with Martin and… the other one.”  “Melanie.”  “Sure.”
19.  Melanie moving in with Georgie - (TMA 157)  Takes place sometime between Melanie going to therapy and Melanie recovering from blinding herself.
20.  Archive member ambushed by a jealous avatar post-Unknowing - (TMA 123)  Stopping the Unknowing drew a lot of hostile attention to the Archives from the followers of other entities.  “We made a big noise with the Unknowing and… other stuff and now they’ve taken notice. We’re safe in here, usually. But we don’t go out much anymore.”
21.  Jared Hopworth’s attack on the archive - (TMA 123, 131)  “When we came up through the floor, it was wonderful. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on their faces.”
22.  Melanie and Basira’s dynamic post-surgery - (TMA 131)  Melanie goes through the same struggle with hating Basira because of the surgery as she does Jon.  “I sort of, maybe, hate her now.  I don’t know.  I can’t look at her without my leg hurting.  But what else am I going to do?  ... She deals in ‘intel’ these days, in usable data, assets. Not feelings. Not people."
23.  The team discovering Martin’s stash of tapes - (TMA 151)  “Jon found the tapes you made for him.”  “Shh, shh!”  “Found a stash of them awhile ago. I made sure he shared with the club.”
24.  The Archives team hating on Elias/Peter Lukas together - (Implied)  Nothing causes bonding better than a common enemy, right?
25.  Post-Flesh attack fallout, hurt/comfort - (TMA 123, 131)  “You were attacked. When?”  "About two months ago.  It was the Flesh."  “Oh, god.”  “Yeah, it was bad. We took them all out.” 
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ashdumpsterpile · 4 years ago
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ASH’S TOP 10 TMA FIC RECS
For @damcrows who is Suffering. (I’ll make a second rec list with only fluff fics I promise <3)
immortal with a kiss by yellow_ caballero
In accordance with the Ride or Die Pact of 2009, Jonathan Sims can call upon Georgie Barker at any time for aid with no strings attached. Despite their rocky history, their childhood friendship, and Jon’s barely recovered alcoholism, this pact is sacred and must be upheld.
Georgie Barker may regret this. She may regret it when she discovers that the world is full of monsters and eldritch gods and dickhead managers. She may regret it when a punk rocker who should be dead collapses on their doorstep, a teenager again who needs their help. She may regret it when her stupid ex-boyfriend starts selling his soul for knowledge and the ability to keep his new family safe.
But she probably won’t. Georgie isn’t scared of anything - not a Clown’s apocalypse, not the apocalypse that Jon is destined to begin, and not Jon’s own loss of humanity.
Maybe she should be.
1000/10 the best fanfic in this fandom. It’s got everything: QP Jon/Georgie, Teen!Gerald, Beholding lore, and everyone bullies Jon. (Head trigger warnings)
daisy time travels and jon suffers au by paper_dream
In which Daisy time travels back from the apocalypse, saves Jon from herself, and just kinda forgets he has no idea what's going on.
Daisy timetravels to pre-Buried. Jon suffers.
The Magnus Institute vs the 21st Century: a series of emails and IMs by shinyopals
I'm sure given your position you already know about the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation next year, wrote Peter Lukas, to Elias Bouchard. However, the Lukas family wishes to be crystal clear that our continued investment is contingent upon the Institute taking its responsibilities with regards to privacy and confidentiality seriously.
The Magnus Institute hires a Data Protection Officer. He sets about diligently booking in meetings, writing policy documents, and training all the staff in the importance of confidentiality. Now if only he could get hold of the Head Archivist, who seems to have vanished again...
(Jon is only trying to save the world, but apparently some people think he should still be doing his day job.)
10/10. Fun take on the texting/email trope. Jon pines and destroys laptops. IT suffers.
ceylon, assam, and darjeeling by sciosa
People do not bring Jonathon Sims tea. Martin Blackwood, newly-minted archival assistant, has apparently not received this memo.
It’s about the pining.
ways to save the world by Wildehack
“I left you,” Martin says softly.
Really REALLY good pining, Jon in the Lonely and brief amnesia.
from the highways to the hills, our love has never had a leg to stand on by blackwood (transjon)
She always forgets how observant he is because digging anything meaningful out of him can be a chore. He looks at things. He observes. He catalogues. Georgie is like a library patron trying to check out a book labeled REFERENCE ONLY with a bright red piece of tape wrapped around the spine.
Pre-canon canon compliant character study of Jon/Georgie.
same as it ever was by ajkal2
It’s a nice dress. Classy, if also a little risqué. Set off against dark skin, it looks very good. It would probably work on Jon, actually. He wonders where she got it. Then he remembers he’s at work, and abruptly derails that train of thought.
-
The women of the Magnus Institute are holding a protest against the sexist dress code of their place of work. Jon is conflicted, and also has a gender for some reason. What's up with that?
THEE they/them fic. Nonbinary Jon? Check. Trans Martin? Check. The Anti-Elias Agenda? Check. Tim in a cocktail dress? Check check check. This fic has everything.
remind me how to smile bytamerofdarkstars
Jon is probably fine, just hiding out somewhere while the whole murder thing blows over and that's... fine. Martin is fine with that explanation. Really. He's got plenty to distract himself - like listening through the entire What the Ghost episode library, for example. Or watching Georgie Barker's Instagram livestreams.
A oneshot during Jon’s stay with Georgie. Tons of fluff.
Milk After Spiders by chewsdaychillin
 Warm milk is all he gets.
 After that door closes and the world is eerily slammed back to normal, Jon’s legs unfreeze and he stumbles back off the step. Makes the journey home alone and wobbly, no desire left for exploring (it won’t return for a long time).
basically sad jon childhood and adulthood hurt/comfort but the comfort is mad delayed :/
Jon suffers. That’s the fic.
Family, Found by Dribbledscribbles
It’s Basira who catches onto it.
The collective shift that seems to come over them when heading in or out of the Institute. Not just the oppressive sensation of being observed, their every move catalogued for the voyeuristic cravings of some unseen Eye(s). That feeling remained with them even when they left the Institute these days, but it was always stronger inside its walls. That wasn’t the change. Nor was it the point.
The point was: making life worse for Jonathan Sims.
JON SUFFERS. THAT’S THE FIC.
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ophthalmotropy · 3 years ago
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Anti honesty hour: what's your favourite and most disliked TMA ships?
Well, my favourite would have to be J*nmartin! It's the backbone of the show and I honestly would not have gotten into TMA if not for it. It's such a pure love story of two characters that clearly belong together and bring out only the best in each other. Their chemistry is amazing and vibrant and it's so beautiful to see Martin's love redeem Jon, and I'm so happy the latter realised that he needed to follow Martin in the end. I really hope that after the finale they found a nice cabin Somewhere Else and got married and started a family. :)
My least favourite is Jonelias. It's so clearly geared towards straight people who want a gay ship to fetishize abuse it's not even funny. Even leaving aside that Elias is canonically straight and homophobic, what message is it sending? That being groomed and manipulated by your boss into ending the world is romantic? It's so messed up. Besides, they never had positive interactions; it's so clear Jon hated Elias from the start, and so should you.
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roanofarc · 3 years ago
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i will say that when i’m saying stuff like “tma but it’s a night in the woods au” that is in fact a shortcut for me saying like. “look at the parallel themes present in these two media and the different but same ways they are approached in each one”
and when i say things like “captain america but it’s a six of crows style heist au” i mean “the dynamics and values that i see these characters as bringing to their narratives could benefit from being placed in a context that makes them more clearly anti-authority and gives a higher focus to found family relationships”
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mistergrass · 4 years ago
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a dump of podcast thoughts/recs
I have been listening to a whole lot of podcasts in the last month, and so I thought I’d just lay out what I’ve listened to so far and my general thoughts (but I’m not gonna tag any of them because I might get too honest - which means REALLY no one is gonna care about this lmao) 
I would also love some recs for both fiction and non-fiction if anyone’s got any! 
Fiction:
The Magnus Archives - This is, unsurprisingly, my top top recommendation for podcasts. The story being told is so intricate and well thought-out. I love pieces of media where I can turn my brain off and trust that the creators know exactly what they’re doing. And I love anything that knows its intent from episode 1. I think I could go on for ages praising this podcast, but tldr; 
HIGHLY RECOMMEND 
The Penumbra Podcast (Junoverse) - I am not a fan of high fantasy, which is the main reason I haven’t listened to Second Citadel (other than the one-off eps in s1), so I’ll just focus on the Juno Steel stories. But I listened to this after catching up with TMA because so many people seemed to recommend it. Because of that, I think I might have gone into it with slightly higher-than-necessary expectations....
Here are things I like about it: the environment is well sound-scaped (especially in later eps), the universe is really cool and fun to learn about, and the romantic subplot between Juno and Peter really is a great time. 
That being said, I can get a little frustrated with the writing at times. Story beats are sometimes paced oddly, and at other times the narration can over-explain what’s going on -- especially wrt character emotions. S2 I think is the biggest culprit of this “tell don’t show” method, and it can expand to hurt the individual mysteries and the set-up of the metaplot, too. Overall, S2 was a real dredge to get through. (But credit where credit is due, Juno Steel and The Monster’s Reflection were incredibly crafted episodes of that season). 
But it was worth it to me for S3, which is a fun vibe and shifts from focusing on individual mysteries to character explorations in a found-family dynamic. The real strength of this podcast are the unique and engaging characters and their dynamics (which is why when Juno isolates himself in S2, it gets kind of dull). It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely been a very entertaining season. 
Uhhhh, kind of recommend? Maybe only if you’re really into the noir/sci-fi/detective genre. 
Death by Dying - The worst thing about this podcast is that there’s only five episodes. Oh my GOD what a gem of a show. The deadpan, absurdist humor in this show is so insanely up my alley and so well-written. But one thing I love about this podcast is that even in five episodes with a format that is mostly obituary-of-the-week, the emotional arcs of the characters are really well-maintained. Charolette, in particular, is a tragic character to follow through the MC’s eyes, but in a way that makes total sense considering the situation. This show is so clever, so fun, and finds ways to be really poignant at times, too. 
HIGHLY RECOMMEND 
Two Princes - I know I said I don’t like high fantasy, but I’m also gay and sometimes that just beats out. Who doesn’t like a light, fluffy story about two princes falling in love in some perilous magic forest? It’s a gas. Also, it’s just really well-produced and an easy listen. You very much get what’s on the tin,  and that tin is some high-quality and very tasty cheese. 
RECOMMEND 
Limetown - God, I’m so upset about this one. 
The first season is a masterpiece. WONDERFULLY produced, beautifully sound-scaped, insanely intriguing and engaging, along with a wonderful MC who is far from perfect in her endeavor for forbidden knowledge. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. 
The second season... is fine! You still want to know what’s going on, so it’s easy to keep listening. But, tbh, it takes a bit of an odd turn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I would’ve been okay with the shift in direction if it was leading somewhere satisfying. But the S2 finale is... well. Choices were made, I guess. I’ll just say that I was really cheated out of an emotional pay-off. 
If there was a promise of a 3rd season that would explain these things in more depth, I might let it off. But it looks like the production team is shifting its focus to the TV series being made out of this. I might watch it -- but I am worried now that they won’t know how to land the plane no matter how smooth the take-off is. 
Despite everything, RECOMMEND 
Archive 81 - (I have only finished through S2) 
My feelings on this show is that I do not have the auditory processing skills required to keep up, lmao. But I don’t think I can really hold that against this podcast. This show doesn’t hold the audience’s hands, which is something I actually really like (even if I do get lost sometimes in what’s happening, lmao). This is obviously another case of the creators knowing EXACTLY where they’re going in the story, too. I also don’t think I’ve heard any other podcast with sound-scaping at this level. The biggest themes of this show are sound and ritual, and itreally follows through on that wrt how the sound is edited. The vibe of it is so mysterious and unique, it does such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a totally different world.
RECOMMEND
Wooden Overcoats - (I have only finished through S1)
This show definitely has a Fawlty Towers feel to it, and the humor is very fast-paced and British in that very specific UK-sitcom way. Because of that the humor is very dry, but definitely fun to listen to. And the characters are a real hysterical bunch.
My biggest critique, however, is that sometimes the episodes end in a way that feels like a big bummer. British sitcoms of this nature usually hinge upon an incompetent/anti-hero MC who tends to deserve the different comical misfortunes that fall upon them. Usually they get up afterwards, having learned nothing, and the cycle continues in a harmless way. But sometimes that vibe doesn’t really hit, and a few episodes will end with these big tonal shifts where the schadenfreude ends up drying out. You sort of just end up feeling bad for everyone involved instead lol. It’s what has me hesitating going into the next season, but I’ll definitely start it up eventually. It’s well produced, and honestly the characters are just too fun to keep away from (Antigone in particular is my favorite). 
If you like British sitcoms, I’d recommend. Or if you’re looking for a cynical laugh. 
Other podcasts I’ve started are EOS 10, and Dreamboy. I really didn’t like the first episode of Dreamboy, but I’m gonna give it another try since it’s so short. EOS 10 seems well-produced, but not really up my personal alley. 
Non-Fiction 
I’m not gonna give these ones as long of blurbs, just know I recommend them all highly. 
You Must Remember This -  Old Hollywood history that is wonderfully researched, and focuses a lot on women of the time. The recounting of these histories feels very honest and she really doesn’t pull any punches when giving detailed and accurate accounts. A truly wonderful show. 
Welcome to Your Fantasy - A deep dive on the history of Chippendales that is WILDLY entertaining. I sort of can’t believe I got as sucked in as I did. The host has a wonderful humor about her, but is still great at getting to the heart of some of the heavier issues at hand. 
Last Podcast on the Left - My favorite true crime/conspiracy podcast by a long mile. It’s equally hilarious and well-researched. I know a lot of people are kind of anti-true crime lately which is very understandable, but I do appreciate each of the host’s personal philosophies on the matter, which I think comes through in a lot of their episodes. 
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fates-theysband · 5 years ago
Text
Chronophobia
Rating: T
Ship: Aeren Chapman/Tim Stoker (vaguely alluded to; this is more of a narrative oc profile)
Warnings: mentions of decapitation and vivisection, vaguely described gore, blood, head trauma, canon-typical thanatophobia triggers, more than canon-typical swearing (not in that order)
i literally am not capable of just writing a fic, it all has to be vaguely epistolary bs like “craigslist missed connection” and “basically a script for an episode of tma”. Jon’s dialogue is in bold, to make up for the fact that there’s not a single dialogue tag in this whole mess
--
"Statement of Avery Chapman, regarding the bizarre events preceding the death of their twin sibling Aeren Chapman. Statement taken direct from subject, twenty-third June two thousand and sixteen. Statement begins."
"Look, this isn't going to cast me in a great light to start off with, but I lied to get in the door. I mean, can you blame me? If I had let me in, and I’d heard the truth, I would've been like, 'We don't have time for pranksters, come back when you have an actual statement to give.' Because, I mean, come on. What I'm about to tell you sounds like bullshit. The truth is, I'm not Avery Chapman, and my statement has nothing to do with any events from before Aeren died. So, let me give you a more accurate version of what you just said."
"Statement of Aeren Chapman, regarding the bizarre events following their own untimely death. There, now it's on the record. Let's get into it.”
"My entire life, I could hear a ticking clock. Not literally. But I was always thinking about the time. How long would it take to do this? How much time until that? Will I be able to do everything I want or need before time runs out? Nobody really understood, of course. From the day I was old enough to even communicate that kind of feeling, all I ever heard was, 'Don't worry, you're young! You have all the time in the world!' And it was the same, right up until the end. I mean, guess that's not really fair to my folks. They tried to get me help, usually in the form of allergy meds that kind of had anti-anxiety properties in low lighting if you were really trying to see 'em. I've never been a cheap drunk and since my grandpappy on my mom’s side was, every psych I went to see was too scared of the Ghost of Addictions Past to give me anything that worked. So instead, I lived with the clock. And I got really good at pretending it wasn't there. Sometimes I could even enjoy the moment."
"That changed when I got older, of course. I'm from the US, if you couldn't tell from the...everything about me, and you probably can at least guess how it is over there. Go, go, go, until you drop dead if necessary, to appease the almighty money line. And unlike with school, with work you don't exactly get summers off. So that ticking clock came back full force. I remember, one time, my roommates and I were going to get carry-out and watch a movie, and I had work in the morning. One of my roommates, Jace, went out to pick up the food, and I guess he got stuck in traffic or something, because he didn't get back for an hour and all I could think was 'that's one less hour I have to actually relax before I have to get up and go back to work tomorrow', and I was on edge the entire rest of the night. Couldn't enjoy the movie, was short with Jace and Holly every time they tried to make conversation...just being a real irritable asshole."
"That was pretty close to when it happened, actually. Maybe a few weeks or so. I guess that would explain a lot. It doesn't matter what happened to me the night I died. All you really need to know is that it was violent, gruesome, and traumatic. For some reason, it didn't even register to me that I was dying until I realized I could hear the ticking, for real this time. With every single step it got louder and louder, matching pace with my feet staggering down the pavement as my body was basically falling apart below me, until I finally rounded a corner and collapsed. And then the ticking stopped, and I looked up."
"I could see a skeleton sitting in front of me, but...not the way a corpse would be sitting. Not the way I was sitting. They were sitting criss-cross applesauce, and for how old and dusty the bones looked I was shocked to see that they were dressed pretty young for, you know, a skeleton. Big skirt, peace sign shirt, hippie headband, that kind of thing. Could've died in the seventies, could have died last year. I didn't get to really figure that out before they motioned to the things laid out in front of them. Game tokens. Not an exhaustive amount of them, but I could see a chess piece, a die, and a deck of cards. All bone, because apparently every single psychopomp’s a corny bastard. I tried to decline. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I was sick of the clock and I couldn't see an upside to going back to it. They laughed at me. Not out loud, but they made the motions. Then they urged me to pick a token again. Asshole."
"By the way, turns out Death knows Yahtzee. I wouldn't say I expected to win. I wasn't even sure I hoped to win. All I wanted was an end to the not knowing. I figured something out that night, Archivist. It’s not death humans are afraid of, it’s uncertainty. If we knew for sure exactly what happened after we died, I don’t think anyone would be afraid to die.”
“Guess this goes without saying, but I won. Didn’t even cheat, just got a few really good rolls. I didn’t really know what to expect; I figured my insides would knit themselves back together and I’d rejoin the world of the living instead of playing Yahtzee with a hippie skeleton in a dark alley on a street that was normally a hell of a lot busier. That I’d go back to the miserable job and the crappy apartment and the ticking clock. But that isn’t what happened. If it was I would’ve taken this whole experience to my permanent grave. I mean, someone’s insides got knitted back together that night. But they weren’t mine. I watched the flesh fall off my bones as the skeleton in the long skirt became more and more alive, until a flesh-and-blood girl who couldn’t have been older than me stood up and left the alley. I think she said something to me as she was leaving. I want to say it was ‘forgive me’, but I’m thinking it was ‘better you than me’. For some reason I wasn’t scared or sad or anything but relieved. It sounds fucked up, I know, but have you ever lived a life where you had nothing to look forward to? At least with this I could see a way out.”
“I won’t bore you describing the interim. You look like a smart guy, you’re probably familiar with what the Grim Reaper does. What matters is how I got all the meat back. And why I’m wearing this massive coat and knit cap in June.” “You see, most people in the few years I did this were partial to the chance games, or low-skill board games. Roulette was a big one. So was blackjack. Someone got smart and tried Candyland once. But only one person ever picked chess.”
“He was maybe mid-thirties. Wasn’t really sure what had happened to him but he was covered in blood and terrified. I’d say ‘scared to death’ but that seems gauche. I don’t understand chess beyond the basic object of the game and what the different pieces can do, but even I could tell this guy was either terrible at chess or not in the right mental place to be making strategic decisions in a game for his life. Or both. Both is always an option."
“I could have wiped the floor with him, even with my lack of skill. He pretty much put his king in check by himself, all I did was avoid his clumsy attempts to capture my pieces. Here’s where you probably think I’m about to say ‘this is where I got sloppy’ or some shit like that. No. I knew exactly what I was doing and I meant to do it.” 
“I’d say it was agonizingly long, but really, any amount of time is agonizingly long when the action is ‘playing chess in complete silence under a bridge somewhere in London’. But after the most frustrating game of my life, my clueless savior checkmated me. I told him I was sorry as I left. I don't know if he heard me over the screaming."
"Just like that, it was over. Quick trip to a library told me it had been about three years since I won the most important game of Yahtzee ever, and that same quick trip found me an extended family member in the area who didn't ask too many questions. Weird, really. Always thought my dad was an only child. But that's beside the point. Since becoming flesh again a few months ago, I haven't heard the ticking clock, metaphorically or literally. I suffered the agony of death and the indignity of reaping, and came out the same as I've ever been.”
“Or so I thought. Here’s the thing: whatever chose me that night didn’t like that ending for me. The dying are supposed to try to cheat Death. It’s in their nature. If they win by successfully cheating, more power to them. But Death is impartial. Death isn’t supposed to cheat. And Death certainly isn’t supposed to get clever and throw the game. Which brings me to the main reason I'm here, I guess. Give me a moment."
[There is a sound of a heavy coat hitting the floor]
"I normally don't wear tank tops, but in this case it's kind of important that I show as much as I can. Check this out."
[There is a sound of something unzipping]
"They unzip into shorts. Best sixteen pounds I ever spent. Would've just worn shorts, but with how big this coat is I would've looked like a flasher. And now, off with the hat. Don't freak out."
"Good god, what happened to you!?"
"I literally JUST said not to freak out, dude. Impressive you managed to keep it together up until the bleeding head wound though. A lesser man might have said that when he saw the sutures."
"None of this stuff actually happened to me, of course. Not in the sense that I was ever actually physically vivisected or beheaded or whacked in the head hard enough to crack my skull. These just happen to me. I wake up with them, for the most part. And...well, I'll spare you the gruesome stuff, but they're not stitched up neatly when I get them. Thank god Cousin Jesse's a passable seamstress, because hospitals tend to lose their shit when you bring in a patient who's still up walking around with several fatal wounds and no detectable pulse. Not something I want to deal with twice."
"So that's the whole story, I guess. I broke the rules, and now I'm suffering the consequences. The wounds go away, after a while. At first I thought it was mercy, but now I know it's because if some of them didn't disappear there eventually wouldn't be enough left of me to keep punishing. And, I'm not exactly an expert, but I think I'm supposed to suffer the damage from every single gruesome, unimaginably painful death that's ever happened to a human being before I'll be free. That's a lot of deaths. Good thing I have all the time in the world, I guess."
"Statement ends."
“Awesome. Is that all you need from me?”
“I believe so.”
“Great. Let me just get all my coverups back on...”
“Don’t forget your...trouser legs.”
“Of course not.”
[There is a sound of something zipping.]
“Uh, if I don’t see him on my way out, can you tell that hot guy with the undercut who showed me the way to your office that I’m sorry I ran into him? I turned the corner too fast and damn near hip-checked the poor guy into a wall. Not a great first impression.”
“I suppose so.”
“Thanks a bunch. I’d ask you to give him my number, too, buuuut right now I only have a home phone. Oh well. Later, skater.”
[Click.]
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transhitman · 6 years ago
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TMA D&D Homebrew
So fellas, I’ve been working on a TMA dnd homebrew, and I thought I’d share what I have so far. I’m not sure if it’s balanced. I’ve never really delved deep into the rules of dnd, so I would love some input! I’ve been writing this with a modern setting in mind, and so far I’ve been working on the powers as warlock patrons. I have 5 done so far: Beholding, Buried, Corruption, Dark, and End. I also added a level 20 patron ability since there seems to be some kind of ascendance point where the avatars become irreversibly inhuman, and it felt a little anticlimactic to just have the final ability at level 14. I’ve also nerfed the actual spellcasting, so there are less spell slots, and the actual spells you can know (as well as the eldritch invocations) are limited by patron. It seemed fair since the actual patron abilities might be a little bit OP. I’m aiming to edit most of the other classes, but I might remove some classes altogether (druids wouldn’t really work IMO). I’ve also been trying trying to word in in a way that’s accessible to people who aren’t familiar with TMA, so it gets a bit verbose at times. It’s not meant to reflect cannon 100% accurately, but I did my best. I also made it so that a lot of abilities can be subject to house rules, and some abilities rely on the RP aspect of the game. If you end up using this stuff, feel free to edit it! Since it’s built around a modern universe, a lot of it might not fit with actual dnd lore. Anyway, the five “finished” patrons are under the cut. If you read, please tell me if I should keep on this track or if I should change some things up before I commit to it completely : )
THE BEHOLDING
Expanded Spell List
1st - Identify, Healing Word 2nd - Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility 3rd - Clairvoyance, Sending 4th - Arcane Eye, Divination 5th - Legend Lore, Modify Memory
Lv.1 - The Pen is Mightier
You are proficient in all intelligence skills, as well as the medicine and insight skills, and you may learn one extra language of your choice. In addition, when attacking, you may choose to use your intelligence modifier in place of your strength or dexterity.
Lv.6 - Media Consumption
The acquisition of new factual knowledge restores your strength and sustains your body. When you acquire a large amount of knowledge at any time, you may choose one of the following effects:
You heal yourself for 2d6 health. This increases to 2d8 at level 10, 2d10 at level 14, 3d10 at level 17, and 4d12 at level 20.
You negate any effects of exhaustion.
You regain expended spell slots in a quantity equal to your proficiency bonus.
For the next 24 hours, you don’t have to sleep in order to gain the benefits of a long rest, rather you may use the time to do non-strenuous activities.
You do not need to eat for the next 6 hours. If you were previously hungry, no are no longer hungry.
You gain a +1 bonus to dexterity for the next 6 hours.
The knowledge you gain in order to create this effect must be substantial. You can not simply google a list of facts and read them one at a time in order to abuse this ability. If you are reading the information, it must be a complete series of events that takes place over more than 5 minutes, or it must be an academic paper long enough that it would take a narrator at least 10 minutes to read out loud. You may read it more quickly to yourself and still gain the benefits if you are able. If a creature is telling you the information, it must sustain communication with you for at least 5 minutes or until its story has come to a close. If the new information you gain is related to true supernatural events, you may heal yourself for the maximum amount possible, or if you choose to use another ability, heal yourself for one warlock hit die + your constitution modifier. This ability can be used once per day.
Lv.10 - The Truth and Nothing But
If you ask a creature a question, they are compelled to answer truthfully no matter what. There is no limit to what kind of questions you can ask, or the amount of times you can ask a creature questions. A creature can only answer your question if it knows the answer. If a creature is aware of the nature of this compulsion, it may make wisdom save against your spell save DC. The player in control of the compelled creature makes the roll in secret. On a success, the creature resists your compulsion and may answer however it likes. This ability bypasses any spells that would normally prevent a similar compulsion. Creatures that don’t understand your language, or who can not speak are immune to the effects of this ability. You are automatically aware of this compulsion if it is used on you. Any acolyte of the Beholding has advantage when trying to resist the compulsion.
Lv.14 - Found in Translation
You are able to comprehend any language that exists, be it written, verbal, visual, digital, or psychic. However, you can not speak the language. If a humanoid is communicating in a way that is not a real language, you automatically know the general message it is trying to get across.
Lv.20 - The Watcher’s Crown
You look human, but no man could know such things. Choose a creature whose name you know or whose face you can recall with decent accuracy. No matter where they are, you can see and hear exactly what they are doing. This ability bypasses any anti-divination effects. While in the watcher state, you are aware of your own surroundings, but moving or focusing on a different subject breaks the effect of this ability. In addition, you have disadvantage on perception checks regarding your actual surroundings, and your AC drops to 10. The subject feels like they’re being watched, but has no way to detect you. Furthermore, if you are familiar with a subject, you may learn anything about their past, even things the subject does not know themselves, such as things that happened to them as a young child, or the feelings and memories of people they knew in the past. Using this ability, you may attempt to break the subject’s will by revealing information to them that they don’t want to hear, and planting detailed information in their minds. For example, you could show them how painfully one of their loved ones died, or you could tell them the reason their family hates them. Doing so will emotionally incapacitate the subject, the effect of which is up to the DM’s discretion. You can stay in the watcher state for as long as you can concentrate. You may use this ability once per short rest.
THE BURIED
Expanded Spell List
1st - Catapult, Earth Tremor 2nd - Dust Devil, Earthen Grasp 3rd - Erupting Earth, Meld Into Stone 4th - Stone Shape, Stone Skin 5th - Transmute Rock, Wall of Stone
Lv.1 - Deepsight
When in complete darkness, magical or not, you see your surroundings as vague, white outlines and shapes against a dark background, similar to a wireframe in animation. Creatures concealed by illusion magic still remain hidden, and your sight is not detailed. If you are lost in an enclosed space, such as a cave or subterranean building, a bright point of light will appear, leading you toward an exit.
Lv.6 - Architectural Nightmare
You are able to alter the architecture of the building you are currently in. You may choose a room that is no more than 20 ft wide, 20 ft tall, and 100 ft long. The alterations you make do not damage the structural integrity of the building, and the room returns to normal after a set amount of time. Choose one of the following effects to apply to the room:
The walls begin to slowly close in on the occupants at a rate no more than 12 ft per minute. The occupants must make a perception check to notice the moving walls, and will take no action to leave the room if they don’t notice it. (The creature may still leave the room for unrelated reasons.) If the creature notices, it will attempt to leave through the nearest possible exit. If it is unable to exit, the walls will close in on the target, trapping it in a tight box. While it is trapped, you may deal 2d6 bludgeoning damage per round until the creature drops to 0 hit points. If the creature dies, the walls return to their original place, and any objects in the room are also put back in place. If you choose to simply trap the creature, you may maintain concentration for up to an hour, after which the walls return to their original position at the same rate they closed in,
An empty room becomes a maze of small passages. The maze must have a path from one entrance to another, but can be as complex as you want it to be. If a creature attempts to navigate the maze, they will take an amount of time in minutes equal to your warlock level (a minimum of 6). You can extend this time by a minute by using your action to change the layout of the maze. You can change the layout an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus. The maze lasts for an hour, until you dismiss it, or until you become incapacitated.
You create a stairway leading downward in any part of a room you occupy. This stairway ignores the layout of the building you’re in and can not be seen from the outside. It extends up to 500 ft underground and terminates in a plain oak door. The way down is shrouded in total darkness, and lights can not illuminate it for more than 5 ft. If you are not on ground level, your distance above the ground does not count toward the 500 ft limit. The door at the bottom of the stairs leads into the nearest man made underground structure. The door is locked to anyone aside from you and creatures you specify when you create the stairs. The entrance to the stairway lasts for only a minute after you cast it, but the stairs and the exit last until no creatures remain inside the space you created. Anything trapped in the stairway, such as creatures and objects, will be able to exit through the top of the tunnel again when you next use this ability. While within this space, creatures do not need to eat or drink. No health can be regained in this space, and for every hour a creature aside from you remains within, it takes 1d4 psychic damage until it has 1HP remaining. If you die while a creature is in this space, it is ejected in the empty space nearest to where you last used this ability.
You may remove all windows from a room, replacing them with walls that mimic the appearance of the rest of the room for 8 hours.
This ability can only be used in man made structures. You can use this ability once per long rest.
Lv.10 - Pressure Cooker
Choose a target. It makes a constitution save against your spell save DC. On a failure, roll a d10. The result of the roll determines the effects of the spell.
1: The target takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage.
2-3: The target takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage.
4-6: The target takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone.
7-8: The target takes 1d12 bludgeoning damage every round for 4 rounds, and must make a constitution save against your spell save DC or be paralyzed.
9: The target takes 1d12 bludgeoning damage every round for 4 rounds, and is paralyzed for the duration.
10: The pressure hits, then reverses itself, creating a vacuum around the target. It takes 4d12 bludgeoning damage with the initial strike, then 2d6 fire damage as its blood boils inside its body. It is knocked prone.
On a successful save, the target takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage. You may use this ability once per long rest.
Lv.14 - Waking Grave
Choose a creature. If it is unwilling, it must make a wisdom save against your spell save DC. The creature is teleported into a box just big enough to fit it inside. For every minute that passes in real time, the creature in the box experiences 10. The creature has absolutely no way to contact anything outside the box, and while in the box is immune to any divination spells and psychic damage. It also does not have to eat, drink, or defecate, and it is unable to sleep. Every minute in box time (6 seconds real time), the creature may attempt to make a strength save against your spell save DC, though it does not have to. On a success, the creature frees itself from the box and reappears back in the real world, taking 1d6 piercing damage in the process. On a failure, the creature takes 2d8 piercing damage from splinters lining its coffin. If you so choose, you may summon the box into the real world. It appears where the creature was before it was teleported. All the same effects still apply, but you may move the box freely and it can be opened from the outside. The spell lasts for a week in real time, until you release the creature, or until the creature breaks free of its own volition. You may target only one creature at a time, but you can have up to 5 creatures trapped this way at once. Per long rest, you may use this feature a number of times equal to your charisma modifier.
Lv.20 - DIG.
Dig. The earth within 20 ft of you begins to sink at a rate of up to 10 ft per round, the ground at your feet sinking faster than the rest and creating a slope. The area becomes difficult terrain for any creature that is not an acolyte of the buried. You remain suspended above the center of the area and can not move until the hole stops sinking. If a creature who is not an acolyte of the buried starts its turn within the sinkhole or enters the sinkhole at any point during its turn, it must make a dexterity save against your spell save DC or slip 5 ft toward the center. Upon reaching the center of the hole, the creature is pulled beneath the earth and takes 3d12 piercing damage per round. A creature may use its action to make a dexterity or strength save against your spell save DC to pull itself out of the earth. The body of a creature that dies while in any part of the sinkhole is pulled beneath the earth and lost forever. The hole can be up to 100 ft deep. As an action on your turn while the spell is active, you can attempt to compel a creature to enter the sinkhole through a contest of charisma. If you succeed, the creature moves toward the hole to the best of its ability. The sinkhole lasts for 10 minutes, until you dismiss it, or you are incapacitated. When the spell ends, the earth reverts to its previous state with no trace of the hole. If a creature is submerged in the earth when the spell ends, it remains submerged but moves toward the surface as the ground returns to normal. In order to use this ability, you must be standing on unpaved ground. You can use this ability once per long rest.
THE CORRUPTION
Expanded Spell List
1st - Detect Poison and Disease, Ray of Sickness 2nd - Acid Arrow, Lesser Restoration 3rd - Life Transference, Stinking Cloud 4th - Giant Insect, Vitriolic Sphere 5th - Contagion, Insect Plague
Lv.1 - We Swarm
You are immune to all disease and resist poison damage. Eusocial insects, rodents, and birds associated with disease or scavenging are drawn to you. As an action, if such creatures are within 120 ft of you, you may command them to take one of the following actions on your behalf:
Attack a creature. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the swarm deals 1d4 piercing damage and 1d4 poison damage. The damage for both damage types is increased to 1d6 at 6th level, 1d8 at 10th level, 1d10 at 14th level, and 1d12 at 20th level.
Scout out an area that you can’t reach. Upon their return, you know the general layout of the area, how many creatures are in the area, and the location of any traps in the area.
Cover any artificial light sources.
Swarm a creature and attempt to frighten it. The target makes a constitution save against your spell save DC. If it fails, it is frightened for a minute or until it takes damage.
Per long rest, you may take this action a number of times equal to your warlock level.
Lv.6 - Taken Ill
Choose a creature. It makes a constitution save against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it suffers one level of exhaustion and takes double damage from poison attacks for the next 12 hours. The sickness can not be cured by non-magical means. You may use this ability once per long rest.
Lv.10 - Subdermal Residents
A colony of eusocial insects of your choice has made its home inside your body. Most of your organs have stopped working. You have resistance to piercing and necrotic damage. You no longer need to eat, drink, or sleep. These insects are vital to your survival, so you must protect them and keep track of how many units you have left. Losing 70% of them inflicts one point of exhaustion on you, and losing all of your swarm will result in your death. Using your swarm, as an action, you can use one of the following abilities:
Your swarm revitalizes you. Recover 1d8 heath for every 10% of your swarm that remains. This increases to 1d12 at level 15. You lose 1d4x10% of your swarm.
You may sacrifice 1d12 health to regain 10% of your swarm.
Your swarm eats through a barrier. It takes a base time of 15 minutes, with one minute subtracted for every 10% of your swarm that remains. This causes you to lose 5% of your swarm for every inch they bore through.
Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 poison damage and 1d6 piercing damage for every 10% of your swarm that remains. This causes you to lose 20% of your swarm. Both types of damage increase to 1d12 at level 15.
Your swarm protects you. You may use your reaction to negate all physical damage of one attack at the expense of 20% of your swarm.
When you kill an enemy, insects burst from the corpse. You regain 1d4x5% of your swarm.
Your swarm lies in wait for its next victim. You can plant a trap that deals 3d12 poison damage when it is triggered at the expense of 30% of your swarm.
Your swarm stows away in a person’s belongings. You may track a creature over a distance of up to 50 miles at the expense of 10% of your swarm.
The first time you drop to 0HP while over 50% of your swarm remains, you are automatically stabilized. A return to full health restores the use of this ability. During a short rest, you regenerate 20% of your swarm, and during a long rest you regenerate 50%. If you have access to meat of any kind, you may use it to regenerate you swarm at any time you aren’t in combat, regaining 1% of your swarm per pound of meat.
Lv.14 - Fetid Aura
Any time a creature within 30 ft of you takes damage, you may add 1d8 poison damage to the attack. This increases to 1d10 at level 17, and to 1d12 at level 20. Furthermore, if an ally within 30 ft of you takes poison damage, they may roll the same die and reduce the damage by the rolled amount.
Lv. 20 - Postmortumorphasis
For all intents and purposes, you have become your swarm. You are immune to poison, piercing, and necrotic damage. You may now exceed 100% of your swarm, and all attacks you make with your swarm deal an extra 1d12 psychic damage. If you die and have at least 5% of your swarm left, you have 1 hour to find a new host. The host can be any living human. In order to infect a person, at least one of your bugs must burrow into the hosts flesh for at least a minute. From the time of infection, it takes you a week to fully infest the new body and take control. While completing your infection, you can compel your host to perform the tasks you want through a contest of charisma. Once your infestation is complete, your host will die and you will have complete control of their husk. The new body takes on the stats your original body had, but you can’t alter your appearance. You may also attempt to infect others with this method while you are still alive. If you manage to do so, the creature retains its own will, but becomes a new acolyte of the corruption, and thus entirely loyal to it. You may have only one such infection in progress at a time, and such an infection takes a month rather than a week.
THE DARK
Expanded Spell List
1st - Faerie Fire, Sleep 2nd - Blindness/Deafness, Pass Without Trace 3rd - Blink, Nondetection 4th - Black Tentacles, Greater Invisibility 5th - Mislead, Teleportation Circle
Lv.1 - Shadowcery
You do not have darkvision, but you have a 6th sense with which to navigate the dark. You can sense creatures and objects up to 30ft around you, and if a creature you’re familiar with is in the dark with you, you know exactly who and where it is up to 60 ft away. You have command over the shape and darkness of shadows. You can not create new shadows or erase shadows, but can extend existing shadows up to 10 ft as an action. While in shadows (dim light or total darkness), your speed increases by 5 ft. This increases to 10 ft at level 10.
Lv.6 - Blackout
You can snuff light sources with a thought. Roll a d10. The result determines the result:
1: Light bulbs within 10 ft of you flicker for a minute.
2-3: Light bulbs within 10ft of you burn out instantly, and those within 15 ft of you flicker for a minute.
4-5: Light bulbs within 20 ft of you burn out instantly, and any torch-sized fires within 10 ft of you are snuffed. Flashlights cease to work for a minute.
6-7: Light bulbs within 30 ft of you burn out instantly, light bulbs within 50 ft of you flicker for 5 minutes, and any campfire-sized fires within 30 ft of you are snuffed. Flashlights cease to work for 5 minutes.
8-9: Light bulbs within 60 ft of you burn out instantly, any campfire-sized fires within 60 ft of you are snuffed, and any screen that emits light bluescreens for 5 minutes. Flashlights cease working for a half hour.
10 - Light bulbs within 60 ft of you explode. Bonfire-sized fires within 60 ft of you are snuffed. Flashlights cease working for an hour. All electronic devices show static for 10 minutes.
You may use this ability once per long rest.
Lv.10 - Antilight
Choose a point within 30 ft of you. This point emanates darkness for 120 ft in all directions. The dark acts as light does, being blocked by opaque objects and diffused by translucent ones. Where the dark is blocked from reaching, light can still shine, but the dark does not create new light. Concentrated beams of light (strong flashlights) can penetrate the dark, but fade away after 5 ft. While in this darkness, your shadowcery extends to any place the antilight touches. Creatures with darkvision can only see half as far, and divination spells, including The Watcher’s Crown, have a 50% chance of being blocked. The darkness lasts for 10 minutes. As an action, you can move the antilight source up to 30 ft per turn. The antilight dissipates if you are incapacitated. You can use this ability once per long rest.
Lv.14 - Predatory Dark
You can make shadows tangible, and very, very aggressive. As an action, on your turn, if a creature is within 10 ft of a shadow or within an area of darkness, you can make a spell attack roll against that creature. On a hit, deal 3d10 necrotic or cold damage to the target. Once you have successfully dealt damage to a target, the shadows latch onto it and deal 1d10 necrotic damage per round for 5 rounds, or until you dismiss it. On its turn, the target may try to make a strength save against your spell save DC. On a success, the shadows detach and you regain an amount of health equal to the damage the shadow dealt. If a creature dies while the shadow is attached to it, choose another target. The shadows automatically attach to that creature and you gain 20HP instantly. The health you regain stacks until the shadows return to you. Per long rest, you can use this ability a number of times equal to your charisma modifier. This ability deals an extra 2d8 damage when used in tandem with antilight.
Lv.20 - Sandman
Pray the Sandman only brings you sleep. Choose a creature. That creature must make a wisdom save against your spell save DC. On a success, the creature takes 3d10 psychic damage and falls asleep for 10 minutes, until its allies rouse it, or until it takes damage. On a failed save, the creature falls into a deep state of sleep paralysis. It can not be roused by any means short of your own will. While in this state, the target begins its hallucinations. It sees a creature, the sandman, carrying a sack. Black sand flows from its mouth, warping the world where it touches until there is nothing left. Darkness surrounds the target, pressing in around it everywhere but their eyes. The creature takes 30 psychic damage per round for 10 rounds or until it escapes or dies. While in the nightmare state, the creature can perform actions on itself (such as healing), but not on any other creature. As a bonus action, the target can attempt to break free by rolling a d20, to varying effects:
20: The target breaks free.
17-19: The target breaks free and is blinded for 24 hours.
14-15: The target breaks free and is blinded for a week.
2-13: The target remains trapped in the hallucination.
1: The target breaks free, takes 1d10 slashing damage, and is blinded permanently.
The blindness inflicted by this ability can not be healed by any means short of replacing the damaged eyes. If an acolyte of the beholding rolls a 1 to escape, they are blinded for a week, and lose the use of one eye rather than suffer total permanent blindness.
THE END
Expanded Spell List
1st - False Life, Wrathful Smite 2nd - Healing Spirit, Silence 3rd - Feign Death, Revivify 4th - Aura of Life, Death Ward 5th - Raise Dead, Cone of Cold
Lv.1 - Life’s a Game
Once, you gambled for a second chance at life. You won, and thus were damned. You have advantage when playing any kind of game that involves chance. If you are subject to an effect that would normally insta kill you, you can still make your death saves. Once per long rest when you drop to 0 HP, you return to life with 5% of your maximum health instead. You no longer age.
Lv. 6 - Planchet
As an action, point at a creature you can see. You now know exactly how much HP it has, any disease or injury it suffers from, how many people it has killed, and in certain cases, how it is fated to die. Using this ability on an ally reveals the source of its next injury to it, and grants it a +1 to AC until its next turn. Using this ability on a corpse reveals the wound it died from, but nothing more. The creature you use this ability on knows that you cast a spell on it.
Lv.10 - Rigor Mortis
Death does not come easy to someone like you. You gain a +2 bonus to AC and are resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (chose one). Any time you are healed, add your constitution modifier to the amount healed.
Lv.14 - Cauterize Emotions
You and any ally within 30 ft of you is immune to the frightened condition. As an action, you may choose a target. The target makes a wisdom save against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature does not feel emotion for 24 hours and becomes incapacitated. On a critical failure, choose an emotion. The creature can not feel that emotion ever again. A creature can only ever have one emotion cauterized. You may take this action once per long rest.
Lv.20 - Exxus
You are death incarnate, and you don’t have to play by your own rules. You literally can not be killed by anything short of having your soul destroyed. If you fail your death saving throws, your body appears dead until you are sufficiently healed. Even in the event of the total destruction of your body, part of you is guaranteed to survive and find a way to rise to full power once again. You may extend this immortality to one other creature. The creature you choose becomes exempt from death. They cease aging and gain the benefits of your Life’s a Game and Rigor Mortis abilities, and if their body should die, their ghost becomes bound to you for as long as your soul remains intact. In exchange, they become entirely loyal to The End. You can grant immortality only once, and it can not be revoked. Chose wisely.
66 notes · View notes
jerrytackettca · 6 years ago
Text
Three Nutritional Supplements That Can Lower Your Cardiovascular Disease Risk if You Have Elevated TMAO Levels
In recent years, research has suggested trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) might be a therapeutic target for insulin resistance and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. As noted in one 2017 scientific review:1
“Through the digestion of animal protein and other constituents of animal products, the commensal bacteria in the gut (the gut microbiota) forms metabolites that can contribute to the development of both insulin resistance and cancer.
Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is such a molecule and has recently drawn a lot of attention as it may be a risk factor for — and a link between — the gut microbiota and cardiovascular and renal disease.
Further, TMAO is anticipated to have significance as a biomarker of — or even an independent risk factor for — other undesirable conditions, including insulin resistance … TMAO originates from a precursor, trimethylamine (TMA) that is a metabolite of various precursors; mainly choline and carnitine from ingested foods.”
In a brand-new paper2 led by James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., who is also the coauthor of my latest book, "Superfuel: Ketogenic Keys to Unlock the Secrets of Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Great Health," we show how the likely true cause of elevated TMAO levels — which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) — is hepatic insulin resistance.
Moreover, the paper shows that krill oil, astaxanthin, fish oil and berberine may be among some of the best supplemental strategies for those with high TMAO levels after diet optimization, as it is simply a reflection of insulin resistance in the liver.
DiNicolantonio has a new book called “The Longevity Solution,” with Dr. Jason Fung, which takes a deep dive into the benefits of omega-3s, including fish and krill oil.
Tumblr media
>>>>> Click Here <<<<<
What Causes Elevated TMAO Levels?
As noted earlier, TMAO is created when gastrointestinal bacteria metabolize dietary choline and carnitine found in eggs, liver, meat and fish, just to name a few. The bacteria turn choline and carnitine into trimethylamine, which is subsequently absorbed and oxidized to TMAO with the aid of flavin monooxygenases in your liver, primarily FMO3.
Flavin monooxygenases are a family of enzymes that oxidize xenosubstrates, thereby allowing the compounds to be excreted. Because choline and carnitine raises TMAO, which is thought to be a risk factor for CVD and Type 2 diabetes, some recommend limiting dietary and supplementary intake of these nutrients. However, DiNicolantonio and his coauthors point out there’s a significant flaw in this theory, stating:3
“[N]utritional epidemiology fails to incriminate dietary choline as a CV risk factor; supplemental carnitine is known to be highly protective in patients with vascular disease; and fish, the richest dietary source of preformed TMAO, is also protective. 
Hence, TMAO, at least in the moderate concentrations seen in those without severe renal dysfunction, is not a mediating risk factor for vascular disease, but rather serves as a marker for factors that promote vascular disease and diabetes.
Impaired renal function is one of these factors, but not the sole one. The possibility that certain GI bacteria that are adept at generating trimethylamine are also harmful to vascular and metabolic health, remains undocumented. Factors that increase hepatic FMO3 therefore fall under suspicion.
Indeed, subnormal hepatic insulin activity associated with hepatic insulin resistance boosts hepatic FMO3 expression. Hepatic insulin resistance can result from metabolic syndrome and visceral obesity, and may reflect suboptimal activity of adiponectin or glucagon-like peptide-1 — all of which can play mediating roles in CV disease and diabetes. 
Diets, nutraceuticals and medications which combat hepatic insulin resistance may therefore be useful for alleviating the health risks associated with elevated TMAO.”
Elevated TMAO — A Risk Factor for CVD and Metabolic Disease?
As noted in the featured paper, the evidence linking elevated TMAO with CVD risk is mixed. Several studies4,5,6,7 have concluded that elevated blood levels of TMAO is predictive of major adverse cardiovascular events in people preexisting heart disease, while others have failed to find support for this connection.8,9
Still, a meta-analysis10 of 11 studies published in 2018 found higher TMAO levels were associated with a 23 percent increased risk for cardiovascular events and a 55 percent increase in all-cause mortality. Animal studies cited in DiNicolantonio’s paper also suggest that very high oral doses of TMAO or its precursors, phosphatidylcholine and carnitine, can have a pro-atherogenic effect.
Case-controlled epidemiological studies have also linked high TMAO to a significantly increased risk for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. “Indeed, the correlations between TMAO and diabetes risk appear to be stronger than those for cardiovascular risk,” DiNicolantonio writes.
That said, there’s little evidence to suggest that dietary intake of TMAO or its precursors actually promotes CVD, provided your renal function is normal. On the contrary, choline is crucial not only for your brain, nervous system and cardiovascular function but also for healthy liver function and detoxification.
In fact, it appears to be essential for the prevention of fatty liver disease and is found in high amounts in foods such as fish, which are known for their beneficial influence on CVD — in part due to the benefits of long-chain omega-3 fats. DiNicolantonio writes:11
“With respect to carnitine and CV risk, a meta-analysis12 of prospective clinical trials in patients who had recently experienced a myocardial infarction concluded that carnitine supplementation is markedly protective with respect to total mortality, ventricular arrhythmias and new-onset angina …
Clinical trials13,14 have also reported favorable effects of supplemental carnitine or carnitine esters on angina, intermittent claudication and heart failure.
Moreover, rodent atherogenesis studies, in which carnitine has been administered in doses reasonably proportional to the supplementation doses used clinically, have found that carnitine is anti-atherogenic, despite its propensity to raise TMAO …
It is therefore reasonable to suspect that moderately elevated TMAO, rather than being a mediator of the associated CV risk, is a marker for factors which both promote CV events and increase plasma TMAO.”
Poor Liver Function Significantly Raises TMAO
According to DiNicolantonio, a key factor appears to be insulin resistance in the liver, which has been shown to significantly elevate TMAO. He writes:15
“TMAO arises when dietary choline and carnitine is metabolized by gastrointestinal bacteria to yield trimethylamine, which is then absorbed and oxidized to TMAO by hepatic flavin monooxygenases (FMO), primarily FMO3 … subnormal hepatic insulin activity, as found in those with hepatic [liver] insulin resistance, boosts hepatic FMO3 expression and hence TMAO levels.”
DiNicolantonio goes on to propose that elevated FMO3 activity in the liver can be a reflection of insulin resistance in the organ, which in turn influences cardiovascular health risk. This, he believes, “can rationalize the epidemiology of TMAO.” He explains:16
“Hepatic insulin resistance, and its common concomitant hepatic steatosis, are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, as well as elevated risk for Type 2 diabetes — risks likewise associated with elevated TMAO.
It is therefore straightforward to postulate that TMAO can serve as a marker for hepatic insulin resistance, and that this explains at least a portion of the risk for cardiovascular events and diabetes linked to TMAO.” 
How to Reverse Insulin Resistance in Your Liver
If elevated TMAO is indeed a reflection of hepatic insulin resistance that raises your CVD risk, what can you do to correct it and lower your risk? For starters, you’d want to normalize your weight.
Two strategies that are most helpful in this regard are a cyclical ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. For best results, they should be done together. You can learn more about these strategies in the hyperlinked articles provided. Certain supplements can also be very beneficial in the treatment of hepatic insulin resistance, including:17
• Berberine, which functions much like metformin, a commonly used medication for the treatment of diabetes. Both work, at least in part, by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Known as the “metabolic master switch,” AMPK is an enzyme that controls how energy is produced in your body and how it’s used by the cells.
By activating this enzyme, berberine and metformin helps regulate the biological activities that normalize lipid, glucose and energy imbalances. Berberine, used in Chinese medicine to treat diabetes, has also been shown to counteract hepatic insulin resistance in diabetic rodents.18,19
• Astaxanthin, a powerful carotenoid antioxidant, is a PPARalpha agonist with activity similar to that of the cholesterol-lowering drug fenofibrate. PPARalpha agonists indirectly stimulate AMPK in your liver and have been shown to alleviate hepatic insulin resistance in animals fed diets high in fat or fructose, and lower the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with metabolic syndrome.
• Krill oil is another alternative, as it contains the esterified form of astaxanthin, which increases its bioavailability, along with long-chain omega-3 fats essential for good health, including heart health. As noted in DiNicolantonio’s paper:
“Krill oil, even when compared to fish oil, suppresses hepatic steatosis in rodents. This may be due to its astaxanthin content, which is not found in fish oil.
Moreover, krill oil, but not fish oil, reduces diacylglycerol and ceramide content in the liver. The phospholipid fraction of krill oil has also been noted to reduce hepatic glucose production, unlike fish oil.
Thus, krill oil, being a source of highly bioavailable form of astaxanthin, appears to have additional advantages for reducing hepatic steatosis and hepatic insulin resistance compared to fish oil.”
Summary Overview of Findings
In summary, while there’s some evidence to suggest elevated TMAO levels may be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and an increased risk for cardiovascular events, nutritional epidemiology studies have not been able to demonstrate a detrimental impact of dietary choline and carnitine, from which TMAO is synthesized.
Nor do studies support the notion that dietary sources of TMAO, such as fish, have a detrimental impact on cardiovascular health. Quite the contrary. DiNicolantonio’s paper proposes that the only time elevated TMAO may in fact be a risk factor for CVD is when it’s accompanied by poor liver function, and elevated TMAO may itself be a sign of poor liver function.
The good news is you can improve liver function and lower your TMAO level with the help of nutritional supplements; berberine, astaxanthin and krill oil being three of the primary ones. DiNicolantonio writes:
“In conclusion, there is reason to suspect that the elevated risk for vascular events and Type 2 diabetes associated with elevated TMAO, after correction for recognized risk factors, is mediated largely by hepatic insulin resistance and the metabolic factors which induce it …
[I]f this analysis is accurate, various measures which alleviate hepatic insulin resistance — correction of visceral obesity, activation of AMPK with metformin or berberine, activation of PPARalpha with fenofibrate or astaxanthin, amplification of adiponectin production with pioglitazone or plant-based diets, and clinical strategies which boost the production or bioactivity of GLP-1 — could be expected to decrease elevated TMAO while also decreasing the risk for vascular events and diabetes associated with this risk factor. Figure 1 summarizes these relationships …
Importantly, this analysis does not exclude the possibility that TMAO might be directly pathogenic at the very elevated levels typically seen in severe kidney dysfunction. Indeed, cell culture studies suggest that TMAO can be pro-inflammatory in the plasma concentrations achieved during kidney failure. It generally is wise to minimize the consumption of nitrogenous compounds in this context.”
Tumblr media
Figure 1: Measures that increase adiponectin and GLP-1 activity, control metabolic syndrome, and activate hepatic AMPK or PPARalpha, may decrease elevated TMAO and associated vascular/metabolic risk.
from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/03/25/what-causes-elevated-tmao-levels.aspx
source http://niapurenaturecom.weebly.com/blog/three-nutritional-supplements-that-can-lower-your-cardiovascular-disease-risk-if-you-have-elevated-tmao-levels
0 notes
paullassiterca · 6 years ago
Text
Three Nutritional Supplements That Can Lower Your Cardiovascular Disease Risk if You Have Elevated TMAO Levels
In recent years, research has suggested trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) might be a therapeutic target for insulin resistance and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. As noted in one 2017 scientific review:1
“Through the digestion of animal protein and other constituents of animal products, the commensal bacteria in the gut (the gut microbiota) forms metabolites that can contribute to the development of both insulin resistance and cancer.
Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is such a molecule and has recently drawn a lot of attention as it may be a risk factor for — and a link between — the gut microbiota and cardiovascular and renal disease.
Further, TMAO is anticipated to have significance as a biomarker of — or even an independent risk factor for — other undesirable conditions, including insulin resistance … TMAO originates from a precursor, trimethylamine (TMA) that is a metabolite of various precursors; mainly choline and carnitine from ingested foods.”
In a brand-new paper2 led by James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., who is also the coauthor of my latest book, “Superfuel: Ketogenic Keys to Unlock the Secrets of Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Great Health," we show how the likely true cause of elevated TMAO levels — which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) — is hepatic insulin resistance.
Moreover, the paper shows that krill oil, astaxanthin, fish oil and berberine may be among some of the best supplemental strategies for those with high TMAO levels after diet optimization, as it is simply a reflection of insulin resistance in the liver.
DiNicolantonio has a new book called “The Longevity Solution,” with Dr. Jason Fung, which takes a deep dive into the benefits of omega-3s, including fish and krill oil.
Tumblr media
>>>>> Click Here <<<<<
What Causes Elevated TMAO Levels?
As noted earlier, TMAO is created when gastrointestinal bacteria metabolize dietary choline and carnitine found in eggs, liver, meat and fish, just to name a few. The bacteria turn choline and carnitine into trimethylamine, which is subsequently absorbed and oxidized to TMAO with the aid of flavin monooxygenases in your liver, primarily FMO3.
Flavin monooxygenases are a family of enzymes that oxidize xenosubstrates, thereby allowing the compounds to be excreted. Because choline and carnitine raises TMAO, which is thought to be a risk factor for CVD and Type 2 diabetes, some recommend limiting dietary and supplementary intake of these nutrients. However, DiNicolantonio and his coauthors point out there’s a significant flaw in this theory, stating:3
“[N]utritional epidemiology fails to incriminate dietary choline as a CV risk factor; supplemental carnitine is known to be highly protective in patients with vascular disease; and fish, the richest dietary source of preformed TMAO, is also protective. 
Hence, TMAO, at least in the moderate concentrations seen in those without severe renal dysfunction, is not a mediating risk factor for vascular disease, but rather serves as a marker for factors that promote vascular disease and diabetes.
Impaired renal function is one of these factors, but not the sole one. The possibility that certain GI bacteria that are adept at generating trimethylamine are also harmful to vascular and metabolic health, remains undocumented. Factors that increase hepatic FMO3 therefore fall under suspicion.
Indeed, subnormal hepatic insulin activity associated with hepatic insulin resistance boosts hepatic FMO3 expression. Hepatic insulin resistance can result from metabolic syndrome and visceral obesity, and may reflect suboptimal activity of adiponectin or glucagon-like peptide-1 — all of which can play mediating roles in CV disease and diabetes. 
Diets, nutraceuticals and medications which combat hepatic insulin resistance may therefore be useful for alleviating the health risks associated with elevated TMAO.”
Elevated TMAO — A Risk Factor for CVD and Metabolic Disease?
As noted in the featured paper, the evidence linking elevated TMAO with CVD risk is mixed. Several studies4,5,6,7 have concluded that elevated blood levels of TMAO is predictive of major adverse cardiovascular events in people preexisting heart disease, while others have failed to find support for this connection.8,9
Still, a meta-analysis10 of 11 studies published in 2018 found higher TMAO levels were associated with a 23 percent increased risk for cardiovascular events and a 55 percent increase in all-cause mortality. Animal studies cited in DiNicolantonio’s paper also suggest that very high oral doses of TMAO or its precursors, phosphatidylcholine and carnitine, can have a pro-atherogenic effect.
Case-controlled epidemiological studies have also linked high TMAO to a significantly increased risk for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. “Indeed, the correlations between TMAO and diabetes risk appear to be stronger than those for cardiovascular risk,” DiNicolantonio writes.
That said, there’s little evidence to suggest that dietary intake of TMAO or its precursors actually promotes CVD, provided your renal function is normal. On the contrary, choline is crucial not only for your brain, nervous system and cardiovascular function but also for healthy liver function and detoxification.
In fact, it appears to be essential for the prevention of fatty liver disease and is found in high amounts in foods such as fish, which are known for their beneficial influence on CVD — in part due to the benefits of long-chain omega-3 fats. DiNicolantonio writes:11
“With respect to carnitine and CV risk, a meta-analysis12 of prospective clinical trials in patients who had recently experienced a myocardial infarction concluded that carnitine supplementation is markedly protective with respect to total mortality, ventricular arrhythmias and new-onset angina …
Clinical trials13,14 have also reported favorable effects of supplemental carnitine or carnitine esters on angina, intermittent claudication and heart failure.
Moreover, rodent atherogenesis studies, in which carnitine has been administered in doses reasonably proportional to the supplementation doses used clinically, have found that carnitine is anti-atherogenic, despite its propensity to raise TMAO …
It is therefore reasonable to suspect that moderately elevated TMAO, rather than being a mediator of the associated CV risk, is a marker for factors which both promote CV events and increase plasma TMAO.”
Poor Liver Function Significantly Raises TMAO
According to DiNicolantonio, a key factor appears to be insulin resistance in the liver, which has been shown to significantly elevate TMAO. He writes:15
“TMAO arises when dietary choline and carnitine is metabolized by gastrointestinal bacteria to yield trimethylamine, which is then absorbed and oxidized to TMAO by hepatic flavin monooxygenases (FMO), primarily FMO3 … subnormal hepatic insulin activity, as found in those with hepatic [liver] insulin resistance, boosts hepatic FMO3 expression and hence TMAO levels.”
DiNicolantonio goes on to propose that elevated FMO3 activity in the liver can be a reflection of insulin resistance in the organ, which in turn influences cardiovascular health risk. This, he believes, “can rationalize the epidemiology of TMAO.” He explains:16
“Hepatic insulin resistance, and its common concomitant hepatic steatosis, are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, as well as elevated risk for Type 2 diabetes — risks likewise associated with elevated TMAO.
It is therefore straightforward to postulate that TMAO can serve as a marker for hepatic insulin resistance, and that this explains at least a portion of the risk for cardiovascular events and diabetes linked to TMAO.” 
How to Reverse Insulin Resistance in Your Liver
If elevated TMAO is indeed a reflection of hepatic insulin resistance that raises your CVD risk, what can you do to correct it and lower your risk? For starters, you’d want to normalize your weight.
Two strategies that are most helpful in this regard are a cyclical ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. For best results, they should be done together. You can learn more about these strategies in the hyperlinked articles provided. Certain supplements can also be very beneficial in the treatment of hepatic insulin resistance, including:17
• Berberine, which functions much like metformin, a commonly used medication for the treatment of diabetes. Both work, at least in part, by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Known as the “metabolic master switch,” AMPK is an enzyme that controls how energy is produced in your body and how it’s used by the cells.
By activating this enzyme, berberine and metformin helps regulate the biological activities that normalize lipid, glucose and energy imbalances. Berberine, used in Chinese medicine to treat diabetes, has also been shown to counteract hepatic insulin resistance in diabetic rodents.18,19
• Astaxanthin, a powerful carotenoid antioxidant, is a PPARalpha agonist with activity similar to that of the cholesterol-lowering drug fenofibrate. PPARalpha agonists indirectly stimulate AMPK in your liver and have been shown to alleviate hepatic insulin resistance in animals fed diets high in fat or fructose, and lower the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with metabolic syndrome.
• Krill oilis another alternative, as it contains the esterified form of astaxanthin, which increases its bioavailability, along with long-chain omega-3 fats essential for good health, including heart health. As noted in DiNicolantonio’s paper:
“Krill oil, even when compared to fish oil, suppresses hepatic steatosis in rodents. This may be due to its astaxanthin content, which is not found in fish oil.
Moreover, krill oil, but not fish oil, reduces diacylglycerol and ceramide content in the liver. The phospholipid fraction of krill oil has also been noted to reduce hepatic glucose production, unlike fish oil.
Thus, krill oil, being a source of highly bioavailable form of astaxanthin, appears to have additional advantages for reducing hepatic steatosis and hepatic insulin resistance compared to fish oil.”
Summary Overview of Findings
In summary, while there’s some evidence to suggest elevated TMAO levels may be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and an increased risk for cardiovascular events, nutritional epidemiology studies have not been able to demonstrate a detrimental impact of dietary choline and carnitine, from which TMAO is synthesized.
Nor do studies support the notion that dietary sources of TMAO, such as fish, have a detrimental impact on cardiovascular health. Quite the contrary. DiNicolantonio’s paper proposes that the only time elevated TMAO may in fact be a risk factor for CVD is when it’s accompanied by poor liver function, and elevated TMAO may itself be a sign of poor liver function.
The good news is you can improve liver function and lower your TMAO level with the help of nutritional supplements; berberine, astaxanthin and krill oil being three of the primary ones. DiNicolantonio writes:
“In conclusion, there is reason to suspect that the elevated risk for vascular events and Type 2 diabetes associated with elevated TMAO, after correction for recognized risk factors, is mediated largely by hepatic insulin resistance and the metabolic factors which induce it …
[I]f this analysis is accurate, various measures which alleviate hepatic insulin resistance — correction of visceral obesity, activation of AMPK with metformin or berberine, activation of PPARalpha with fenofibrate or astaxanthin, amplification of adiponectin production with pioglitazone or plant-based diets, and clinical strategies which boost the production or bioactivity of GLP-1 — could be expected to decrease elevated TMAO while also decreasing the risk for vascular events and diabetes associated with this risk factor. Figure 1 summarizes these relationships …
Importantly, this analysis does not exclude the possibility that TMAO might be directly pathogenic at the very elevated levels typically seen in severe kidney dysfunction. Indeed, cell culture studies suggest that TMAO can be pro-inflammatory in the plasma concentrations achieved during kidney failure. It generally is wise to minimize the consumption of nitrogenous compounds in this context.”
Tumblr media
Figure 1: Measures that increase adiponectin and GLP-1 activity, control metabolic syndrome, and activate hepatic AMPK or PPARalpha, may decrease elevated TMAO and associated vascular/metabolic risk.
from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/03/25/what-causes-elevated-tmao-levels.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/183691115691
0 notes
weightloss441posts · 5 years ago
Text
TPV Podcast Episode 365: Does Paleo cause heart disease?
On this week’s episode, Stacy and Sarah dig into a study that was recently published, looking at how long-term adherence to a Paleo diet affects the gut microbiota and TMAO. Take a step back from the media headlines, learn about the study, the findings, and how to use this information to inform your dietary choices. All of this and more in episode 365. Enjoy!
If you enjoy the show, please review it on iTunes!
The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 365: Does Paleo cause heart disease?
(0:40) Welcome
Welcome back to The Paleo View listeners!
Stacy is home and is so excited to jump into this week’s very science-y topic!
Snuggling her pets and sleeping in her own bed, Stacy is so happy
Stacy also shared an update on a family that she visited with while in Texas
Their daughter has alopecia and her hair is starting to grow back after following an AIP approach and working with her family to heal her body
Sarah shared her feelings on how significant this is and what this specific case shows us about the autoimmune protocol
This week’s show sponsor is Just Thrive probiotics
Both Stacy and Sarah’s family uses this product
Get 15% off with code PALEOVIEW15
Visit: https://thriveprobiotic.com/thepaleoview
(11:13) The Study that Sparked the Discussion
Recently, a human study was published looking at how long-term adherence to a Paleo diet affects the gut microbiota and TMAO
Mainstream news picked it up the day it was published
Using headlines like, “Study linking Paleo diet to increased heart disease risk strengthens diet industry concerns”
There are a few physician-focused websites that publish news to keep doctors up to date on the medical literature
The headline was, “Paleo diet increases the risk for heart disease”
Sarah’s inbox and The Paleo View’s inbox was flooded with questions
It is common in these situations for mainstream media to pick up on any anti-fad diet study
The standard response from our community is to find some reason why this study is irrelevant
TMAO is often linked with red meat consumption
It is thought to be one of the mechanisms behind the link between increased cancer risk and increased cardiovascular disease risk and high red meat consumption
The reason why Sarah wants to dedicate an entire episode to this study is that it was very well done
It has some results that we need to pay attention to
Sarah doesn’t see this study as a nail in the coffin on the Paleo diet
Instead, Sarah sees this as a very serious warning about a very particular type of implementation of Paleo
We need to make sure we are incorporating all the key principles of Paleo, instead of combining Paleo with other dietary approaches
This study shows us that there are problems with the longterm implementation of a low carb Paleo diet
Really what it is telling us is that root vegetables and fruit are awesome
The study was performed in Australia and they took people who self-reported following the Paleo diet for over a year
The controls were following the national dietary recommendations of Australia
These are similar to the recommendations made by the USDA/MyPlate
Within the Paleo group, they further divided them into two subgroups
The people who followed Paleo very strictly were called strict Paleo
The other group was called pseudo-Paleo
These people were consuming about one serving of grains or dairy per day
In the real world, most of us who have been following Paleo for a longtime fall closer to that pseudo-Paleo group
Strict Paleo is often the challenge Paleo group or is utilized by those who are using it for therapeutic purposes
They had these people do a three-day weighed diet record
Measure and record everything they were eating
They then did urine tests to measure nitrogen and the Goldberg cut point
If those urine tests didn’t match the dietary records they were eliminated from the study
They eliminated anybody who had been on antibiotics, cholesterol medication, blood pressure-lowering medication, previously diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, anyone with any kind of GI disorder, or anyone who has had surgery on their GI tract
They were eliminating anyone who would predictively be an outlier
They then did a series of measurements (TMAO, blood work, stool analysis)
The two measurements that turned out to be different between the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo group was the amount of TMAO in their blood and what was happening in their gut microbiome
Sarah explained more about why TMAO was a focal point in this study
Studies that pool all of these studies together show that if you have higher TMAO in your blood you have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease
23% increased risk
And 55% increased risk of all-cause mortality
Which is a general marker of health and longevity
The interesting thing that Sarah notes, is that there has also been a lot of research that fails to show a causal link
The majority of the science from the last few years makes this picture of TMAO as an indicator or a symptom as opposed to the direct link between high red meat consumption and heart disease
How we get TMAO:
Some we absorb directly from food
Most of the TMAO is made by our gut bacteria when they metabolize choline, lecithin, and carnitine
So it is a multi-step process
Sarah shared more on this process and how TMAO is created
Researchers have discovered over the last few years that how much TMAO is in your bloodstream is far more correlated to your gut microbiome than to how much carnitine you ingest
There are certain bacteria that have been shown to be TMA producers
There is now this really interesting picture being painted with all the scientific literature showing that TMAO is potentially, rather than a causal link between red meat consumption and cardiovascular disease and cancer, that it’s an indicator of a gut microbiome that is conducive to disease development
As we start to look at TMAO it is probably less related to red meat consumption, so much as a dysbiosis in the gut
One of the best pieces of evidence for this is that fish is really really high in TMAO
People will get 300x more TMAO in their blood after eating fish than after eating beef, even if they have a microbiome that produces TMAO
And fish is uniformly beneficial and reduces the risk of heart disease
Sarah has seen in relation to this new scientific study is arguments that say, “TMAO probably doesn’t cause heart disease, therefore Paleo causing high TMAO is nothing we need to worry about”
This isn’t something Sarah agrees with
High TMAO, especially when it is not timed with TMAO rich foods, generally is an indicator of something going wrong with our gut bacteria that needs to be paid attention to
The way that this study was designed to measure high TMAO food consumption is not taking into account seafood, which is something worth paying attention to
(27:40) Testosterone Deficiency
What is happening in this particular new study looking at strict Paleo and pseudo-Paleo adherence is not that TMAO is going up because the Paleo people are eating more fish
But rather that the TMAO is going up as a result of a shift in the gut microbiome
The study also took a deeper look into the gut microbiome
They found overall big trends
However, the study did find that two particular genres of probiotic bacteria were really low in the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo groups
Bifidobacteria
Roseburia bacteria
This is something really important to pay attention to
Bifidobacteria are some of our main vitamin producers
They are important for inhibiting pathogen colonization in the gut
They help to modulate our immune responses
They modulate the gut barrier
They can reduce inflammation
They can improve glucose intolerance
Low bifidobacteria is associated with a ton of different health problems
We get bifidobacteria from fermented dairy and sauerkraut
They love starch loving bacteria, especially fermented starch
There is a little less known about roseburia bacteria and fewer species
We do know that they are very important for maintaining gut barrier health
So if you have low roseburia you have a leakier gut
They are very important immune regulators, especially at reducing inflammation
Low roseburia is also associated with many health conditions:
Cardiovascular disease
Autoimmune disease
IBS
Neurological disease
Allergies
Asthma
They are really important members of a healthy gut microbiome
The levels of this bacteria were tanked in the study
Another genus had taken their place, called Hungatella
This strain isn’t as well studied as bifidobacteria or roseburia
But hungatella are TMAO producers
They are absolutely associated with TMAO
And this is probably why given that these people following Paleo were also consuming more red meat than the controls
So they were consuming the precursors at the same time as they were shifting their gut bacteria towards a TMAO producing bacteria type
Their gut bacteria was making more TMAO
We don’t super understand if high hungatella might be linked with disease but we do know that the low roseburia and low bifidobacteria is potentially a problem
As this study looks at high TMAO and all these different measurements of what these people are eating and we have this shift in the gut bacteria
We have all of this really fascinating correlation analysis to try to understand what aspect it was of the study diet that was actually causing these shifts
While TMAO itself was mostly aligned with red meat consumption, the shift in the gut microbiome that was driving TMAO production was actually most closely related to total carb consumption as well as resistant starch consumption
In the control group, those people were mostly eating grains as their carb source
In the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo group, they were mostly eating non-starchy vegetables
Hardly any roots and tubers
Hardly any fruit
So both groups were only consuming 90ish grams of carbs a day, but getting quite a bit of fiber
They were consuming 6 to 7 servings of vegetables a day
As you dig into the details of what they were eating, they were not eating as much resistance starch
This indicates that this particular implementation of Paleo in this particular study is a low carb Paleo template
Less than 100 grams of carbs a day
Close to 30 grams of fiber
This is where the change in the gut microbiome is really predictable
Both roseburia and bifidobacteria thrive in starchy conditions and are very sensitive to the types of carbohydrates we consume
Out gut bacteria have an amazing ability to digest carbohydrates
Sarah shared more on this process
If we don’t feed our bifidobacteria the right type of food it can’t survive
This is why this is such a sensitive species
There is this whole other fascinating to Sarah link with TMAO and what is happening in a low carb diet and the gut bacteria
This whole other life form is called Archaea
These are normal residents of the gut
They are the main methane producers
These particular methane-producing Archaea use compounds like TMAO and TMA to produce methane
The diet factor that most strongly correlates with Archaea in the gut is carbohydrate consumption
We know that Archaea are fruit and starch lovers
Sarah dug deeper into the picture being painted by the results from this study
All of the things that would fix this gut microbiome and reduce TMAO production is to eat starchy roots and tubers and fruit
When you dig into these details this study makes a very strong case for high starchy vegetable consumption not being sufficient to support the gut microbiome
It is not enough to get fiber from non-starchy vegetables
We need the type of fiber that is in fruit and resistance starch in root vegetables that is going to support a healthy gut microbiome that is going to reduce the risk of disease
This study very cleverly used TMAO as a marker of those gut microbiome changes
It is the mainstream media that is then making the leap to it actually impacting cardiovascular disease risk
Stacy said that it is shocking to see another study supporting this idea that vegetables are good for you
Sarah is really starting to see the evidence accumulate for problems associated with long-term low carb approaches
We need a diversity of fruits and vegetables and need to not be afraid of the carbohydrates in starchy vegetables
Even if you can’t do nightshades there are plenty of wonderful options
We need to not be fruit-phobic
The science is mounting up that we actually do best with moderate carbs, moderate fat, moderate protein
These approaches that are driving macronutrient extremes and even macronutrient imbalance have problems associated with them
Why have these diets lasted so long as weight loss approaches?
It is because it is a set of rules that result in ditching hyper-palatable foods and trick you into reducing your caloric intake
When we can formulate a much healthier option that embraces whole food sources of carbohydrates without demonizing them
It this uphill battle against the amount of misinformation that is out there on the internet that needs to be fixed
Sarah’s call to action (besides everyone going home and eating a sweet potato) is to contribute to this conversation of avoiding carb phobia
The manufactured food carbohydrates are clearly bad, but we don’t need to lump these super nutrient-dense roots, tubers, starchy vegetables and fruit and demonize them with cupcakes
Stacy shared her thoughts on how we as humans are drawn to very dogmatic ideals
The truth of the matter is that not all carbs are the same
(49:42) Closing Thoughts
If you found this show fascinating, go back and check out the insulin show for more on gut health and overall human health
It will help to make a lot of sense of the study
Stacy shared examples of cases when kids are put on extreme diets and does it make sense to put kids into these dogmatic bubbles?
If you answered no, then why does it make sense to put yourself into these bubbles?
Is it just purely weight loss, or are you really thinking about health?
Studies like this always make Stacy go back to the mentality of, just focus on health
Colorful, rainbow foods exist for a reason
There is so much science to support why it is healthy for you
Stacy reminds people that none of us are perfect
Making healthy choices every day is something we need to be mindful of, and that is hard
It can be overwhelming, but there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself and to be excited
Take your kids with you to the grocery store and let them pick out vegetables and fruits that they love
When you get home from the store cut them up and have them on hand in the fridge
We as adults can do this to
This is the kind of thing where it is easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed with mixed messages and not sure what to do and to feel like you can’t win
And this isn’t the case
If good quality gluten-free oats agree with you and your family, enjoy them
Add some antioxidant-rich fruits, mix in some yogurt if that agrees with you because these things are feeding your gut in a good way
It is about balance, and if we just relaxed into real food a little bit it would come easier and more natural to us
Sarah agrees with Stacy
Gluten-free oats are a gut microbiome superfood
These won’t agree with everyone
There are a list of foods that we define as not being Paleo, but they are great for the gut microbiome and when prepared correctly are nutrient-dense whole foods
Sarah identifies with the label Paleo, but she thinks of Paleo as a diet that looks to Paleoanthropology in terms of understanding human biology and then confirms with contemporary studies with a biological systems approach
It has a rooted in science approach
This study is a really good illustration of the importance of taking this really thorough broad look at what foods do for us and don’t do for us
And also understanding that one of the biggest problems that we have run into over the last 50 years is this idea that we have to just make a list of yes foods and no foods
We define all of these diets by what you cut out, not based on what you eat
When people are troubleshooting they cut out more
It isn’t what you don’t eat that makes a diet healthy, it is what you actually put in your face that makes your diet something that supports your body or not
Sarah thinks it is important for this community to stop with the memes, the soundbites, and the lists and the rules
Start embracing a broader education around health topics that help us really understand what is in foods that help our bodies and what is in foods that may potentially undermine our health
We need to start looking at the gray and not just the black and white so that we can start making informed choices
Look at universal truths as opposed to arbitrary rules
Dig in and understand
If you want to help your gut health, be sure to check out Stacy and Sarah’s favorite probiotic
15% off with code PALEOVIEW15
Visit: https://thriveprobiotic.com/thepaleoview
Stacy feels a difference when she remembers to take her probiotic every day
Thank you Sarah for taking the time to do all of this research
Thanks for listening everyone! We will be back next week!
from https://www.thepaleomom.com/podcast-paleo-heart-disease/ from https://myfunweightloss.blogspot.com/2019/08/tpv-podcast-episode-365-does-paleo.html
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dathen · 5 years ago
Text
TMA 153 liveblog dump
I HAVE BEEN SCREAMING INTERNALLY ABOUT THIS EP FOR A WHOLE DAY END MY SUFFERING
"Intelligence doesn't make you more resistant to bad ideas, it just makes you better at defending them; to other people, and to yourself"  GOD i love these profound lines tucked away in the statements
a cult as a manifestation of the Corruption...that's fucking brilliant
OH MYGODDDDDD THEY'RE AFTER HIM FOR FREEING GERRY I'M...HOW DID I NOT GUESS THIS FROM THE CAST LIST??
"Gerry wasn't yours" [[scREAMS INTO HANDS]]
them making fun of him for calling Gerry his preferred name I'm >>>>>>:((((((
"thought you'd be different--but you're just another monster" about the most defiant and human act he's done in the entire series my heART IS HURTING
"and you always do what the evil books tell you?" oh god how many times do you think Gerry asked Julia and Trevor to set him free? How many times was he brushed off with a "do you think we're just gonna do what an evil book tells us to"? how hard must it have been to try to adjust to this hellish, painful half-existence with only their exploitation for company?
DAISY TO THE RESCUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUNT VS HUNT
"I'm not her father" "Not by blood, maybe" Jonathan has a knife in his throat and he's still here promoting the found family feelings sfdlkjfhf
"This place is full of monsters.  She can't guard them all."   I'M SO TERRIFIED FOR EVERYONE my brain immediately jumped to basira and melanie but then I realized the most likely one is Martin oh god oh god
Daisy is starving oh nO ;;;A;;;
oh god this means we were right about our suspicions, that Basira using Daisy as an example of a Good Former Monster Doing Fine is just because daisy's good at hiding it from her :(((((
Jon trying to encourage her to stay on course!! their exchange of "don't listen to the blood--" "--listen to the quiet" like they've said it a hundred times before!! MY SAD STARVING MONSTER FRIENDS I LOVE THEM AND AM SO WORRIED ;A;
And then him fretting over how much danger she's in by holding back like this, wavering between encouraging her ot take care of herself and to not hurt people, the exact sort of conflict he's been having in himself D:  He doesn't know what side to encourage her to because he doesn't know for -himself- so just decides to support her and be there for her [curls into fetal position]
This is the opposite side to Helen's argument that I've been dying for, but it's also SO HORRIBLE because I LOVE JON AND I LOVE DAISY
“Do you have any idea how much damage you can do if you're a police officer who wants to hurt people? How much the system will protect you? “  god damn TRUTH BOMBS
jon is so gentle with his friends my heart ;;--;;
drowns in jon and gerry feelings drowns in jon and daisy feelings just fukin drowns
oh god oh god trevor and julia are gonna be stalking the institute looking for a weakness and no one there can really defend themselves I'm TERRIFIED
man though the contrasts with the s3 scene of daisy about to cut jon's throat?? her trying to kill him vs. her saving him aside, his anguished begging for his life in s3, insistent he's not  a monster, vs. here where he's resigned and defiant and isn't going to argue he's not a monster, just that he did the right thing by gerry and doesn't regret it. GOD i could write ESSAYS UPON ESSAYS of hte levels going on here
This has heighted the stakes of the threshold looming from the last episode--let go of guilt or hold onto it forever to no purpose--Jon said he needs to be able to defend his friends, and Helen laughed at him that they don't need him.  But now with Daisy slowly dying and Melanie freed from the slaughter it just leaves Basira, who as far as we know MIGHT just have the tiniest fledgling Eye powers + police training
WHAT IF MARTIN HAS TO SAVE EVERYONE BY THROWING JULIA AND TREVOR INTO THE LONELY. WHAT IF THEY'RE HIS FIRST VICTIMS TO SAVE HIS ALLIES AND THE MAN HE LOVES
“Don't listen to the blood.  Listen to the quiet.”  I'M STILL SOBBING THIS FRIENDSHIP POETRY...
I DON'T WANT DAISY TO DIE I DON'T WANT HER TO GO BACK I'M CRYINGGG  
I just realized Jon absolutely saved the day by promoting found family feelings, what kind of steven universe is he
I decided after this ep that Jon and Daisy hugged because it's an audio format and you can't tell me they didn't
BUT what if the Buried left them panicked at too much pressure so they just. hold hands like it's a hug, an echo of when they were trapped together and would strain and stretch so hard just for a brush of fingers, a point of human contact they're both starving for and the reassurance that they're not alone, someone else understands
[[sobs in jon & daisy friendship]]
also jon being so defensive of his choice to free gerry despite it being the most anti-Beholding thing he's ever done, GOD i love him so much i love them i love him!!!!!
jon loves his friends!!! even if they've only been friends for two minutes!!!
133 notes · View notes
weightlos6 · 5 years ago
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TPV Podcast Episode 365: Does Paleo cause heart disease?
TPV Podcast Episode 365: Does Paleo cause heart disease?:
On this week’s episode, Stacy and Sarah dig into a study that was recently published, looking at how long-term adherence to a Paleo diet affects the gut microbiota and TMAO. Take a step back from the media headlines, learn about the study, the findings, and how to use this information to inform your dietary choices. All of this and more in episode 365. Enjoy!
If you enjoy the show, please review it on iTunes!
The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 365: Does Paleo cause heart disease?
(0:40) Welcome
Welcome back to The Paleo View listeners!
Stacy is home and is so excited to jump into this week’s very science-y topic!
Snuggling her pets and sleeping in her own bed, Stacy is so happy
Stacy also shared an update on a family that she visited with while in Texas
Their daughter has alopecia and her hair is starting to grow back after following an AIP approach and working with her family to heal her body
Sarah shared her feelings on how significant this is and what this specific case shows us about the autoimmune protocol
This week’s show sponsor is Just Thrive probiotics
Both Stacy and Sarah’s family uses this product
Get 15% off with code PALEOVIEW15
Visit: https://thriveprobiotic.com/thepaleoview
(11:13) The Study that Sparked the Discussion
Recently, a human study was published looking at how long-term adherence to a Paleo diet affects the gut microbiota and TMAO
Mainstream news picked it up the day it was published
Using headlines like, “Study linking Paleo diet to increased heart disease risk strengthens diet industry concerns”
There are a few physician-focused websites that publish news to keep doctors up to date on the medical literature
The headline was, “Paleo diet increases the risk for heart disease”
Sarah’s inbox and The Paleo View’s inbox was flooded with questions
It is common in these situations for mainstream media to pick up on any anti-fad diet study
The standard response from our community is to find some reason why this study is irrelevant
TMAO is often linked with red meat consumption
It is thought to be one of the mechanisms behind the link between increased cancer risk and increased cardiovascular disease risk and high red meat consumption
The reason why Sarah wants to dedicate an entire episode to this study is that it was very well done
It has some results that we need to pay attention to
Sarah doesn’t see this study as a nail in the coffin on the Paleo diet
Instead, Sarah sees this as a very serious warning about a very particular type of implementation of Paleo
We need to make sure we are incorporating all the key principles of Paleo, instead of combining Paleo with other dietary approaches
This study shows us that there are problems with the longterm implementation of a low carb Paleo diet
Really what it is telling us is that root vegetables and fruit are awesome
The study was performed in Australia and they took people who self-reported following the Paleo diet for over a year
The controls were following the national dietary recommendations of Australia
These are similar to the recommendations made by the USDA/MyPlate
Within the Paleo group, they further divided them into two subgroups
The people who followed Paleo very strictly were called strict Paleo
The other group was called pseudo-Paleo
These people were consuming about one serving of grains or dairy per day
In the real world, most of us who have been following Paleo for a longtime fall closer to that pseudo-Paleo group
Strict Paleo is often the challenge Paleo group or is utilized by those who are using it for therapeutic purposes
They had these people do a three-day weighed diet record
Measure and record everything they were eating
They then did urine tests to measure nitrogen and the Goldberg cut point
If those urine tests didn’t match the dietary records they were eliminated from the study
They eliminated anybody who had been on antibiotics, cholesterol medication, blood pressure-lowering medication, previously diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, anyone with any kind of GI disorder, or anyone who has had surgery on their GI tract
They were eliminating anyone who would predictively be an outlier
They then did a series of measurements (TMAO, blood work, stool analysis)
The two measurements that turned out to be different between the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo group was the amount of TMAO in their blood and what was happening in their gut microbiome
Sarah explained more about why TMAO was a focal point in this study
Studies that pool all of these studies together show that if you have higher TMAO in your blood you have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease
23% increased risk
And 55% increased risk of all-cause mortality
Which is a general marker of health and longevity
The interesting thing that Sarah notes, is that there has also been a lot of research that fails to show a causal link
The majority of the science from the last few years makes this picture of TMAO as an indicator or a symptom as opposed to the direct link between high red meat consumption and heart disease
How we get TMAO:
Some we absorb directly from food
Most of the TMAO is made by our gut bacteria when they metabolize choline, lecithin, and carnitine
So it is a multi-step process
Sarah shared more on this process and how TMAO is created
Researchers have discovered over the last few years that how much TMAO is in your bloodstream is far more correlated to your gut microbiome than to how much carnitine you ingest
There are certain bacteria that have been shown to be TMA producers
There is now this really interesting picture being painted with all the scientific literature showing that TMAO is potentially, rather than a causal link between red meat consumption and cardiovascular disease and cancer, that it’s an indicator of a gut microbiome that is conducive to disease development
As we start to look at TMAO it is probably less related to red meat consumption, so much as a dysbiosis in the gut
One of the best pieces of evidence for this is that fish is really really high in TMAO
People will get 300x more TMAO in their blood after eating fish than after eating beef, even if they have a microbiome that produces TMAO
And fish is uniformly beneficial and reduces the risk of heart disease
Sarah has seen in relation to this new scientific study is arguments that say, “TMAO probably doesn’t cause heart disease, therefore Paleo causing high TMAO is nothing we need to worry about”
This isn’t something Sarah agrees with
High TMAO, especially when it is not timed with TMAO rich foods, generally is an indicator of something going wrong with our gut bacteria that needs to be paid attention to
The way that this study was designed to measure high TMAO food consumption is not taking into account seafood, which is something worth paying attention to
(27:40) Testosterone Deficiency
What is happening in this particular new study looking at strict Paleo and pseudo-Paleo adherence is not that TMAO is going up because the Paleo people are eating more fish
But rather that the TMAO is going up as a result of a shift in the gut microbiome
The study also took a deeper look into the gut microbiome
They found overall big trends
However, the study did find that two particular genres of probiotic bacteria were really low in the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo groups
Bifidobacteria
Roseburia bacteria
This is something really important to pay attention to
Bifidobacteria are some of our main vitamin producers
They are important for inhibiting pathogen colonization in the gut
They help to modulate our immune responses
They modulate the gut barrier
They can reduce inflammation
They can improve glucose intolerance
Low bifidobacteria is associated with a ton of different health problems
We get bifidobacteria from fermented dairy and sauerkraut
They love starch loving bacteria, especially fermented starch
There is a little less known about roseburia bacteria and fewer species
We do know that they are very important for maintaining gut barrier health
So if you have low roseburia you have a leakier gut
They are very important immune regulators, especially at reducing inflammation
Low roseburia is also associated with many health conditions:
Cardiovascular disease
Autoimmune disease
IBS
Neurological disease
Allergies
Asthma
They are really important members of a healthy gut microbiome
The levels of this bacteria were tanked in the study
Another genus had taken their place, called Hungatella
This strain isn’t as well studied as bifidobacteria or roseburia
But hungatella are TMAO producers
They are absolutely associated with TMAO
And this is probably why given that these people following Paleo were also consuming more red meat than the controls
So they were consuming the precursors at the same time as they were shifting their gut bacteria towards a TMAO producing bacteria type
Their gut bacteria was making more TMAO
We don’t super understand if high hungatella might be linked with disease but we do know that the low roseburia and low bifidobacteria is potentially a problem
As this study looks at high TMAO and all these different measurements of what these people are eating and we have this shift in the gut bacteria
We have all of this really fascinating correlation analysis to try to understand what aspect it was of the study diet that was actually causing these shifts
While TMAO itself was mostly aligned with red meat consumption, the shift in the gut microbiome that was driving TMAO production was actually most closely related to total carb consumption as well as resistant starch consumption
In the control group, those people were mostly eating grains as their carb source
In the Paleo and pseudo-Paleo group, they were mostly eating non-starchy vegetables
Hardly any roots and tubers
Hardly any fruit
So both groups were only consuming 90ish grams of carbs a day, but getting quite a bit of fiber
They were consuming 6 to 7 servings of vegetables a day
As you dig into the details of what they were eating, they were not eating as much resistance starch
This indicates that this particular implementation of Paleo in this particular study is a low carb Paleo template
Less than 100 grams of carbs a day
Close to 30 grams of fiber
This is where the change in the gut microbiome is really predictable
Both roseburia and bifidobacteria thrive in starchy conditions and are very sensitive to the types of carbohydrates we consume
Out gut bacteria have an amazing ability to digest carbohydrates
Sarah shared more on this process
If we don’t feed our bifidobacteria the right type of food it can’t survive
This is why this is such a sensitive species
There is this whole other fascinating to Sarah link with TMAO and what is happening in a low carb diet and the gut bacteria
This whole other life form is called Archaea
These are normal residents of the gut
They are the main methane producers
These particular methane-producing Archaea use compounds like TMAO and TMA to produce methane
The diet factor that most strongly correlates with Archaea in the gut is carbohydrate consumption
We know that Archaea are fruit and starch lovers
Sarah dug deeper into the picture being painted by the results from this study
All of the things that would fix this gut microbiome and reduce TMAO production is to eat starchy roots and tubers and fruit
When you dig into these details this study makes a very strong case for high starchy vegetable consumption not being sufficient to support the gut microbiome
It is not enough to get fiber from non-starchy vegetables
We need the type of fiber that is in fruit and resistance starch in root vegetables that is going to support a healthy gut microbiome that is going to reduce the risk of disease
This study very cleverly used TMAO as a marker of those gut microbiome changes
It is the mainstream media that is then making the leap to it actually impacting cardiovascular disease risk
Stacy said that it is shocking to see another study supporting this idea that vegetables are good for you
Sarah is really starting to see the evidence accumulate for problems associated with long-term low carb approaches
We need a diversity of fruits and vegetables and need to not be afraid of the carbohydrates in starchy vegetables
Even if you can’t do nightshades there are plenty of wonderful options
We need to not be fruit-phobic
The science is mounting up that we actually do best with moderate carbs, moderate fat, moderate protein
These approaches that are driving macronutrient extremes and even macronutrient imbalance have problems associated with them
Why have these diets lasted so long as weight loss approaches?
It is because it is a set of rules that result in ditching hyper-palatable foods and trick you into reducing your caloric intake
When we can formulate a much healthier option that embraces whole food sources of carbohydrates without demonizing them
It this uphill battle against the amount of misinformation that is out there on the internet that needs to be fixed
Sarah’s call to action (besides everyone going home and eating a sweet potato) is to contribute to this conversation of avoiding carb phobia
The manufactured food carbohydrates are clearly bad, but we don’t need to lump these super nutrient-dense roots, tubers, starchy vegetables and fruit and demonize them with cupcakes
Stacy shared her thoughts on how we as humans are drawn to very dogmatic ideals
The truth of the matter is that not all carbs are the same
(49:42) Closing Thoughts
If you found this show fascinating, go back and check out the insulin show for more on gut health and overall human health
It will help to make a lot of sense of the study
Stacy shared examples of cases when kids are put on extreme diets and does it make sense to put kids into these dogmatic bubbles?
If you answered no, then why does it make sense to put yourself into these bubbles?
Is it just purely weight loss, or are you really thinking about health?
Studies like this always make Stacy go back to the mentality of, just focus on health
Colorful, rainbow foods exist for a reason
There is so much science to support why it is healthy for you
Stacy reminds people that none of us are perfect
Making healthy choices every day is something we need to be mindful of, and that is hard
It can be overwhelming, but there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself and to be excited
Take your kids with you to the grocery store and let them pick out vegetables and fruits that they love
When you get home from the store cut them up and have them on hand in the fridge
We as adults can do this to
This is the kind of thing where it is easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed with mixed messages and not sure what to do and to feel like you can’t win
And this isn’t the case
If good quality gluten-free oats agree with you and your family, enjoy them
Add some antioxidant-rich fruits, mix in some yogurt if that agrees with you because these things are feeding your gut in a good way
It is about balance, and if we just relaxed into real food a little bit it would come easier and more natural to us
Sarah agrees with Stacy
Gluten-free oats are a gut microbiome superfood
These won’t agree with everyone
There are a list of foods that we define as not being Paleo, but they are great for the gut microbiome and when prepared correctly are nutrient-dense whole foods
Sarah identifies with the label Paleo, but she thinks of Paleo as a diet that looks to Paleoanthropology in terms of understanding human biology and then confirms with contemporary studies with a biological systems approach
It has a rooted in science approach
This study is a really good illustration of the importance of taking this really thorough broad look at what foods do for us and don’t do for us
And also understanding that one of the biggest problems that we have run into over the last 50 years is this idea that we have to just make a list of yes foods and no foods
We define all of these diets by what you cut out, not based on what you eat
When people are troubleshooting they cut out more
It isn’t what you don’t eat that makes a diet healthy, it is what you actually put in your face that makes your diet something that supports your body or not
Sarah thinks it is important for this community to stop with the memes, the soundbites, and the lists and the rules
Start embracing a broader education around health topics that help us really understand what is in foods that help our bodies and what is in foods that may potentially undermine our health
We need to start looking at the gray and not just the black and white so that we can start making informed choices
Look at universal truths as opposed to arbitrary rules
Dig in and understand
If you want to help your gut health, be sure to check out Stacy and Sarah’s favorite probiotic
15% off with code PALEOVIEW15
Visit: https://thriveprobiotic.com/thepaleoview
Stacy feels a difference when she remembers to take her probiotic every day
Thank you Sarah for taking the time to do all of this research
Thanks for listening everyone! We will be back next week!
from https://www.thepaleomom.com/podcast-paleo-heart-disease/ from https://myfunweightloss.tumblr.com/post/187063290872
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