The Switch: Ignite Your Metabolism with Intermittent Fasting, Protein Cycling, and Keto
- Downloads：9056
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-14 00:31:45
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：James W. Clement
- ISBN：1982115408
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Rachael
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Loved the chapters about the science behind fasting and low carb not being "fads" but how our bodies have functioned best for millions of years， only recently （recent in terms of length of human history） have we added all these other man made products and grains into our regular diets。 The end got a bit boring and dry but a lot of good info here。 Will definitely continue using some of these tips and tricks with my IF schedule！ Loved the chapters about the science behind fasting and low carb not being "fads" but how our bodies have functioned best for millions of years， only recently （recent in terms of length of human history） have we added all these other man made products and grains into our regular diets。 The end got a bit boring and dry but a lot of good info here。 Will definitely continue using some of these tips and tricks with my IF schedule！ 。。。more
Clarissa
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If I were to rate this book for research and scientific based education on diet I would give it 5 stars。 However， for practical advice， inspiration and easy to follow （and well explained） guidelines on how to put his diet recommendations into practice I’d give it one star。 Because I was hoping for the later I was disappointed。
Penny Kunis
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Intense！
Marti Stephens-hartka
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Fascinating science on autophagy。 Already doing some of the things he suggests and got some tips on easy changes。
Jose T
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Very interesting book is amazing how we can make a big difference with only putting off the switch！！！
David
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This book is not bad。 It just didn't leave a very strong impression。 Basically it just says you should do intermittent fasting and eat less meat and less carbs。 This book is not bad。 It just didn't leave a very strong impression。 Basically it just says you should do intermittent fasting and eat less meat and less carbs。 。。。more
Apollo Grace
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This book has some wonderful ideas， and connects them to some real evidence of health and longevity improvements， both in specific existing subcultures with remarkable longevity and in lab results。 But in terms of guiding us to a new way of eating， for greater health and longevity， I'd say it only gets 60% of the way there。 Many of the specific dietary recommendations laid out in Chapter 9 （the dietary protocol chapter） were unsupported by any reference or research， and were very different from This book has some wonderful ideas， and connects them to some real evidence of health and longevity improvements， both in specific existing subcultures with remarkable longevity and in lab results。 But in terms of guiding us to a new way of eating， for greater health and longevity， I'd say it only gets 60% of the way there。 Many of the specific dietary recommendations laid out in Chapter 9 （the dietary protocol chapter） were unsupported by any reference or research， and were very different from what I've seen among other writers who are aligned with these general topics。* He recommended some pseudo-foods like canola oil and textured vegetable protein。* He wrote pretty exclusively about what to eat during the low-protein phase。 No guidance on the higher-protein phase - what do we do then？ Double the amount？ Triple the amount？ What's the carb guidance in that phase？ Should we continue intermittent fasting？ No guidance。 Also no guidance on how to integrate exercise; a question that arises in my mind in when we should do weight training - would this be only in the building phase？* He raves about macadamia nuts as a source of Omega-3 oils。 Now Macadamias are very healthy nuts， and they do have the best omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of all the nuts （as far as I've been able to tell - he doesn't actually give any numbers， and they're hard to track down online）。 But the overall amount of both is small， and it's still not a good ratio。 Eat salmon for omega-3; macadamias are good for their healthy saturated and monounsaturated oils。 So this is another pointer for me that I can't really trust what he's saying， in terms of direct advice。 I did appreciate being warned about the high omega-6 content of other nuts， which does pan out。* He recommends， at one point， "less than 20g/day" of carbohydrates。 At other points， he recommends "unlimited" vegetables; and recommends "10-25% of calories" come from low-glycemic vegetables。 The math here doesn't add up - suppose I try to get 10% of my daily 2000 calories/day from his low-glycemic vegetable list - say 100 calories of Cauliflower and 100 of Zucchini。 That's nearly a pound of cauliflower （400g） and a little over a pound of Zucchini （525g）， which totals 30g of carbs。 From my experience， it's extraordinarily difficult to keep carbs under 20g and still eat any significant amount of vegetables。* He even includes yams in his list of vegetables， with no explanation。 From other sources， I know yams are some of the healthiest carbs you can eat， but they're still very carby， 24% net carbs by mass。 （And most of the rest of the mass is water。） And then on another page， he says no yams， grr。 （Can we get an editor？）These issues left me without a lot of faith in the rest of his guidance。 The crux of his dietary recommendation is the idea that we should spend about 2/3 of our lives in catabolic / low-protein / autophagy phase， and the other 1/3 in an anabolic / building / higher-protein phase。 But again there's no research to back this up - in fact he specifically comments on there being "no consensus"。 What's this number based on？ I'd appreciate seeing his reasoning on why this seems like a good proportion， at least。All that said - I really appreciated the detailed explanations of the importance of spending at least some time， regularly， in autophagy， and it did lead to immediate changes in my diet （getting a tighter handle on the carbs and taking the protein down a few notches）。 I'm trying out his 2 months autophagy， 1 month building approach during January/February/March of this year， and so far the diet has felt good and I've lost 3 pounds。 （I don't need to lose a lot， but I consistently feel like I'm about 5-10 lbs over what I'd like， so this worked for me！） So with all my frustrations regarding the details， I'm grateful for his perspective and influence。 I was just hoping for something more complete。I also recommend his podcast interview by Dave Asprey at https://daveasprey。com/james-clement-。。。 for a brief introduction to these ideas。 （There's a transcript。） 。。。more
Marie F
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Very tough to rate as this science of this felt beyond my own nerd comprehension level。。。 This left me uncertain whether this was brilliantly insightful or just sketchy bunk wrapped up in confusing language to seem more eloquent than it really is。 I'd love to discuss with someone smarter and more science-oriented than I to process what I read and better articulate how I feel about it。 Very tough to rate as this science of this felt beyond my own nerd comprehension level。。。 This left me uncertain whether this was brilliantly insightful or just sketchy bunk wrapped up in confusing language to seem more eloquent than it really is。 I'd love to discuss with someone smarter and more science-oriented than I to process what I read and better articulate how I feel about it。 。。。more
Rogers George
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Written by an MD who did a lot of research on communities of people with large numbers of people who live to me more than 100。 He found lots of similarities in their lifestyle and dietary habits。 The first chapters are on the technical side， but worth the effort if you care to know what's going on inside your body。 The last chapter contains advice on what to do to get these results for yourself。 The chapter feels a bit disorganized， but then the topic itself is multifaceted。 I changed my diet to Written by an MD who did a lot of research on communities of people with large numbers of people who live to me more than 100。 He found lots of similarities in their lifestyle and dietary habits。 The first chapters are on the technical side， but worth the effort if you care to know what's going on inside your body。 The last chapter contains advice on what to do to get these results for yourself。 The chapter feels a bit disorganized， but then the topic itself is multifaceted。 I changed my diet to match his advice because I want to live to be 100， and lost more than 35 pounds without intending to do so！ 。。。more
Eugene Yeo
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Very informative book on autophagy， which is the process or recycling body cells ， burn fat， and maintaining healthy body functions。 It tells you how to activate it in order to reap the benefits which includes， longer life， improved brain activity， more energy and the avoidance of the disease of civilisation （ alzhemier's， obesity， heart failure， etc）。 The main change you need to do with your life， are dietary ones which the books explains in detail。 And it gives excellent guidelines in the last Very informative book on autophagy， which is the process or recycling body cells ， burn fat， and maintaining healthy body functions。 It tells you how to activate it in order to reap the benefits which includes， longer life， improved brain activity， more energy and the avoidance of the disease of civilisation （ alzhemier's， obesity， heart failure， etc）。 The main change you need to do with your life， are dietary ones which the books explains in detail。 And it gives excellent guidelines in the last chapters， tho I have to say， are only for the strong-willed as a lot of the common food must be exempted。Despite that， I only gave this book a two-star rating as I am looking for a book on eating to gain muscles and improve my performance calisthenics-wise。 I would however recommend this book to those who are facing health issues due to poor dietary choices and strongly want to make a change。Good luck。 。。。more
Jay Collins
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3 stars， it was okay but sometimes drawn out and not as interesting as some books I have read on the topic。 As well I found some things confusing and sometimes it sounds like he conflicts himself from other things he has said in other chapters。
Aviral
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Compulsory reading for people not wanting to dieComprehensive body of work on how switching the body from anabolic to catabolic states， in the process activating from autophagy， can really do wonders for our health and longevity。 Recommendations in the book are definitly worth implementing。
Kc
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As many other reviews have indicated - this is a science heavy book。 I enjoyed the deep dive into the biological chemistry behind "The Switch" behind autophagy。 This is not a quick read but it is interesting with many cited studies。 It is easy to see how the author's background as a lawyer developed this structured， researched argument for diet change。 As many other reviews have indicated - this is a science heavy book。 I enjoyed the deep dive into the biological chemistry behind "The Switch" behind autophagy。 This is not a quick read but it is interesting with many cited studies。 It is easy to see how the author's background as a lawyer developed this structured， researched argument for diet change。 。。。more
CRK
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Very science based so it was interesting and educational but sometimes a little too much for my plebeian brain。 I shall continue to read more to learn more about intermittent fasting。
Roxanna
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A combined crash course on human evolution， evolutionary biology and the author's research into what makes a healthy long life （his Supercentenarian Research Study） in one short book！ What transpires is a highly practical suggested dietary plan that promises to be "The Switch" for autophagy， the anti-aging process that removes and recycles dangerous & damaged particles from your cells while boosting your immune system and reducing risk of inflammation， neurological disorders and cancers。 Unlike A combined crash course on human evolution， evolutionary biology and the author's research into what makes a healthy long life （his Supercentenarian Research Study） in one short book！ What transpires is a highly practical suggested dietary plan that promises to be "The Switch" for autophagy， the anti-aging process that removes and recycles dangerous & damaged particles from your cells while boosting your immune system and reducing risk of inflammation， neurological disorders and cancers。 Unlike many dietary lifestyles （eg。 Mediterranean， Ketogenic， Intermittent Fasting etc）， the "Switch" suggests following a 8 months on （famine or catabolic state inducing autophagy）， 4 months off （feast or anabolic states inducing growth）。 All the conventional wisdom about dietary choices are there - from minimising animal protein intake， to eating oily fish， to regular fasting。 But how you choose this 3/2 ratio is up to you。 You DO have to align with one of the preferred dietary lifestyles， as you're after all aiming to follow that 8 months of the year。 But I found the idea of switching throughout the year not only less restrictive but also highly adaptable especially to those who have food allergies or other dietary restrictions。 It's also more realistic because there's "built in" feast months and one can easily coincide that with holidays。 。。。more
Frank Søndergaard
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Very interesting read simple explanation on the function of autophagy and some on ketosis a little to much talk on evolution that I consider to be unscientific and speculative but much of the science used is very interesting。
Justin
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I received this book， for free， in exchange for an honest review。 On the one hand the takeaway from this book is pretty similar to many other diet books。On the other hand if you are willing to put in the work this book has a great deal of background information not present in other books which will help you make more educated decisions。 I normally have at most a few notes for an ebook， this one has a few dozen so that says something about its utility。 I have little background in science outside I received this book， for free， in exchange for an honest review。 On the one hand the takeaway from this book is pretty similar to many other diet books。On the other hand if you are willing to put in the work this book has a great deal of background information not present in other books which will help you make more educated decisions。 I normally have at most a few notes for an ebook， this one has a few dozen so that says something about its utility。 I have little background in science outside of computer science and this book reads like a lullaby - an interesting one - to me。 Meaning it is easily understandable to me without any need to resort to googling。 I am interested in health and listen to countless podcasts and picked up what I needed to get this from people like David Sinclair， Rhonda Patrick and Peter Attia。 If you like those people I imagine you'd like this。 I imagine without this background you'd need to put a dozen or so terms into wikipedia。 The terms you'd learn are imperative to knowing how the body works so its worth the work。 In other words， if you are interested in things like how glucagon works this book is for you。 If you want to be spoon-fed your information you're probably better off reading the latest Dr Oz book as you weren't planning on learning why things work and will accept shallow answers without a mechanistic explanation。 Let's face it， nutrition is not a science and you will have to do your own legwork or you will be at the whims of lobbying groups pushing "super" foods with trumped up evidence or well meaning groups causing obesity epidemics by recommending low fat diets because they didn't have time to better research （and to think I like McGovern as a person！）。 Lastly， if you are not willing to do the work you will most likely complain about how this book is too sciencey which collectively explains the horrendous decisions our species is making。 。。。more
E
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Authors experience is interesting- self proclaimed citizen scientist with law background and business savy。That being clarified he has associated with some impressive scientists and presents some great info about protein cycling， calorie restriction and intermittent fasting。 Good historical info on evolution。There is some heavy lifting for the non science reader， but looks to be solid information。 His proposed plan is very restrictive and probably not east for many to follow。 Will want to follow Authors experience is interesting- self proclaimed citizen scientist with law background and business savy。That being clarified he has associated with some impressive scientists and presents some great info about protein cycling， calorie restriction and intermittent fasting。 Good historical info on evolution。There is some heavy lifting for the non science reader， but looks to be solid information。 His proposed plan is very restrictive and probably not east for many to follow。 Will want to follow future reports of this program particularly in older adults and those with pre-existing conditions， particularly diabetes mellitus。 Definitely worth reading。 。。。more
Janae
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I've considered Keto。 This was an informational book that gave me food for thought as I begin some diet and lifestyle changes。 I've considered Keto。 This was an informational book that gave me food for thought as I begin some diet and lifestyle changes。 。。。more
Emma
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I really loved this book。 I think it's very complimentary to David Sinclair's book 'Lifespan'。 But whereas 'Lifespan' is an overview of a number of topics relating to anti-aging。 This book is a deep dive into the one specific topic of how diet can influence aging。 And it's quite science heavy， but I believe it's worth the effort to get through。 I see a lot of reviewers have criticized the book for being overly complicated and for not providing a simple， easy to follow dietary protocol which anyo I really loved this book。 I think it's very complimentary to David Sinclair's book 'Lifespan'。 But whereas 'Lifespan' is an overview of a number of topics relating to anti-aging。 This book is a deep dive into the one specific topic of how diet can influence aging。 And it's quite science heavy， but I believe it's worth the effort to get through。 I see a lot of reviewers have criticized the book for being overly complicated and for not providing a simple， easy to follow dietary protocol which anyone can follow。 I understand why people would say that。 It's true， it's not simple and prescriptive like your average diet book。 This makes it a bit harder to implement the ideas。 But I think the reason is because it is actually not a diet book。 It is a science book。 The goal is to educate and inform。 Not to write you a simple one size fits all recipe to save you the effort of thinking for yourself。 Having said that the last chapter offers a number of suggestions of ways to incorporate the learning from this book into your own life。 I see people have made criticisms that this is too confusing and also unsustainable and not appropriate for all people， etc。。 Again I think they missed the point。 The idea is not to do everything on the list。 The idea is here are some ideas， pick some that suit you。 Unfortunately I think complicated and self directed approaches as presented in this book， will always be a harder sell than the type of hard lined， black and white， simplistic diet books which tend to be the best sellers in the health genre。 But truth is complex and no one knows everything。 Which is why I believe we need more books like this that educate。 Rather than books which simple make rules。 。。。more
Amy
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This isn’t just another diet book。 The author dives into the science behind eating。 I found it fascinating。
Sharon
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I think that this book was well researched and well written， the science is very understandable even if you don’t have a scientific background。 He put forward a very solid case for intermittent fasting and eating whole natural foods。 My only issue is the amount of testing he expects normal people to undergo as well as the amount of supplements he expects people to take。 I think the more challenging the structure is the less chance that people will follow it。
Elaine
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Interesting concepts with clear explanations。
Jose Obando
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Very thorough。 For someone looking to build their diet I’d say the focus should be in Chapter 9 and also the Omega Table in chapter 7！ Chapters 1-6 are more into the research done which I think is pretty interesting but if you picked up this book in hopes to build a diet I’d say chapters 7-9 is where you’ll get the most value。
Carlos
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I found this book incredibly informative。 Having experimented with ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting I was happy to Clement honestly assess their benefits and limitations all the while giving the reader a masterclass in metabolic biology。 Clement doesn’t bury the reader with a biology lecture but makes sure that there is enough information to understand why the changes he proposes work and based on what research as well as the limitations to be aware of。 The book almost stands as an amazi I found this book incredibly informative。 Having experimented with ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting I was happy to Clement honestly assess their benefits and limitations all the while giving the reader a masterclass in metabolic biology。 Clement doesn’t bury the reader with a biology lecture but makes sure that there is enough information to understand why the changes he proposes work and based on what research as well as the limitations to be aware of。 The book almost stands as an amazing resource to understand the quite powerful role of nutrition in managing the aging process and dismisses the counter claim that it is all in the genetic lottery。 Whether or not Clement persuades the reader to take the whole of his nutritional advice， his data-based argument is sure to make even those with the strongest sweet-tooth put down a cookie more often than before。 。。。more
Supinder
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Extremely informative。 Written in a breezy and easily digestible manner。 Key points focus around the process of autophagy and the role of mTOR。 Surprisingly counterfactual information on hormesis。
Axmed Bahjad
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It is a brilliant book。 I would recommend for those of us who want to be health/healthier！
Paul
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I thought this would be a quick read， but it's packed full of scientific and nutrition info。 I've been around long enough to know that this info will change in say 10 years， but for now it seems like solid advice。 My only criticism is that everyone is different， and the book doesn't seem to acknowledge this and implies that this approach is for everyone -- wrong。 However， it does have value and is worth trying （at least some of it）。 Thanks very much for the review copy！！ I thought this would be a quick read， but it's packed full of scientific and nutrition info。 I've been around long enough to know that this info will change in say 10 years， but for now it seems like solid advice。 My only criticism is that everyone is different， and the book doesn't seem to acknowledge this and implies that this approach is for everyone -- wrong。 However， it does have value and is worth trying （at least some of it）。 Thanks very much for the review copy！！ 。。。more
Phuong
，
Fantastic read。 James made it all digestible。 One thing I wished he had done （as part of he suggested calendar at the end of the book） was add suggested foods for each week/day of the month， even if it's what he has/does/don't do。 Yes， I know he's different from others （in age， weight， height， other conditions， etc etc etc） but add the caveat that this works for him and this is what he does instead of what is there which is a calendar to say January = autophagy month， February = mTor month， for Fantastic read。 James made it all digestible。 One thing I wished he had done （as part of he suggested calendar at the end of the book） was add suggested foods for each week/day of the month， even if it's what he has/does/don't do。 Yes， I know he's different from others （in age， weight， height， other conditions， etc etc etc） but add the caveat that this works for him and this is what he does instead of what is there which is a calendar to say January = autophagy month， February = mTor month， for instance。 。。。more
Andrienne
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