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The Switch  By  cover art

The Switch

By: Mr. James W. Clement, Kristin Loberg - contributor
Narrated by: Michael David Axtell, George M. Church - foreword
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Publisher's summary

How can you lose dramatic weight, ease chronic conditions, and stay healthier longer? Flip the switch on your metabolism with intermittent fasting, protein cycling, and keto!

Within each of us is an ancient mechanism that eliminates toxic materials, initiates fat burning, and protects cells from becoming dysfunctional - or turning cancerous. It’s called autophagy, and when it’s turned on, the complex operation not only can slow down the aging process, it can optimize biological function as a whole, helping to stave off all manner of diseases and affording us the healthy life spans we never thought possible. It’s the body’s ultimate switch to life.

So how can we positively activate this switch? How frequently should we fast and for how long? Which foods dial up autophagy or, conversely, turn it down? How much exercise and what types are recommended? What’s the sweet spot between intermittent fasting, protein cycling, and ketogenic eating?

Backed by a wealth of scientific data and featuring a gallery of guidelines to follow for lasting results, The Switch decodes the science of autophagy and teaches you how to control it and maximize its profound impact.

©2019 James Clement (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

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TVP over grass-fed lamb? Really?

So, while I really like the mTOR/autophagy cycling, and plan to include that in my own routine, James has a plant based leaning that I find just a bit irritating. While there is very little question that we need to get a lot of low glycemic vegetables in our diets, his suggestion that we get so very little animal protein and include such things as TVP are almost shocking. And, his claim that we need to severely limit animal based saturated fats, which he calls "bad" fats and try for really low LDL, which he calls "bad" cholesterol is so yesterday. I mean, he suggests limiting pastured eggs to two per week and limiting meat to once a week! He even points out the big difference in the lipid profile of grass-fed ruminants vs grain finished ruminants, but then still says we should not eat much grass-fed beef or lamb. He likes keto, and points out that we might want to avoid seed oils because of their poor omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, among other reasons, but then says avoid animal source saturated fat. Hmm, I guess I will be drinking me some olive oil... The idea that all LDL is "bad" cholesterol is most definitely in question these days. What kind of LDL (fluffy or dense)? How did it get low? Clement even points out that, in an Australian study, the group that switched to vegetable oil PUFAs to lower LDL died from so many more heart attacks than the Mediterranean diet group that they terminated the study! Plus, recent data shows that, for those of us over 60, higher LDL seems to be correlated with lower all cause mortality. This book is worth reading, if just for the mTOR cycling idea, but I find it to be a little weak on some of the nutritional suggestions.

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Nothing new here.

If you've been following this area, you will learn nothing new from this book. . Lots of the same old drivel about how high cholesterol is bad for your heart and how saturated fat is bad for you, which has not been proven to be true and especially not on a low carbohydrate or no carbohydrate diet. He goes on. about how protein is bad for you without the caveat that all of the studies on protein were studies where the protein was in the presence of carbohydrate. So, of course it's going to turn on the mtor switch!. Your body thinks it's having a feast! It now looks like you can eat protein if you're in ketosis. or without the presence of carbohydrates without the same problems. He also recommends ketosis but has no detailed information on how to go into ketosis, or what helps when people get the keto flu, etc. He talks about fasting but doesn't detail how to do it (what helps people, whether you should increase electrolytes or how to refeed.) He recommends a 5-day fast with no information at all about how to do that or what the difficulties might be. Lots of old information here, nothing new.

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The best evidence for a great diet that I've ever

This is a great book on the science behind longevity diets, although it is a bit overcomplicated for simple dietary advice (there's a chapter at the end which is sufficient if you accept what the author says and develops with support, but that chapter should be even more explicitly how-to).

Essentially, based on research about people who have lived past 105 years, blue zones of extreme longevity globally, and laboratory research, it seems that the ideal diet is low-GI plants, with relatively small amounts of high-omega3 fats, and relatively low amounts of protein, with very low carbohydrates generally, particularly high-GI refined carbohydrates. So, essentially the opposite of the mainstream modern diet, but largely in-line with current best dietary advice from most sources.

The somewhat novel part here is having distinct anabolic and catabolic diets throughout the year (roughly 4:8 ratio), and a focus on encouraging autophagy through diet during 8 months of the year to reduce risk of cancer, especially from middle age onward.

The actual advice isn't particularly novel, but the justification and evidence for the advice is better than I've seen before.

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Real Scientist Explains Eating for Healthy Aging

James Clement is a scientist's scientist.
You know, like a musician's musician, as in when your favorite famous musician is asked in an interview who is really great in music and he or she points at someone you've never heard of and says "this person is a truly great musician". A musician's musician. In a similar way we have a scientist's scientist who in this case is the talented, intelligent James Clement diligently working behind the scene in the science of human aging. James has his own non-profit human aging science lab. You might have heard of his work 10 or so years ago when he went around the world collecting DNA samples from the oldest lived humans - the supercentenarian project - done in partnership with Harvard's famously prolific leading light: geneticist George Church. George wrote the forward for this book. Also respected aging research scientist David Sinclair has glowingly reviewed this book. Why? In recent years there have been remarkable scientific advances in understanding mTOR the control center of Anabolism (building protiens) and Catabolism (tearing down, recycling protiens) in essentially all of the 30 trillion or so cells that make up your body.
In the light of this new scientific knowledge, in this book James Clement explains in simple clear language, how: when and what you eat can dramatically improve your health and wellbeing.
Get this book! It's great!

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Another boring book

Come on ! These writers are supposed to be experts in the field .
I feel like this is just another book that says the same thing over and over.

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unique information

I thought I already knew a lot about this field, but this book provided more

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For the beginner to intermediate to advanced.

For the beginner to intermediate to advanced.
the keys to longevity better Health better Fitness

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Well informed author, Great Book!

Suggest reading for anyone interested in improving health. Thanks James for the insight on health and wellness. The author, not a doctor to his complement, a benefit. James Clement has the ability to view information with un jaded eyes independent of the establishment. To Mr. Clements credit a research geek and lifelong learner, I think you are on to something here. This is the first part of toolbox of tools for good health and longevity. Hats off to you and thanks very much for the great information. Please check out this book, well worth the money.

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Vital Information

So much necessary content! A must read! I have already recommended this book to multiple people. Just finished my second time through the book.

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Never gets to the point

it got to the point I couldn't listen anymore he never actually gets to the point of what his thesis is and I learned absolutely nothing from this book. buyer beware this book is trash

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