More importantly, AMPK works to inhibit the activity of mTOR, the cellular growth regulator. Specifically, it seems to be a drop in amino acids that induces mTOR to shut down, and with it all the anabolic (growth) processes that mTOR controls. Instead of making new proteins and undergoing cell division, the cell goes into a more fuel-efficient and stress-resistant mode, activating an important cellular recycling process called autophagy, which means “self-eating” (or better yet, “self-devouring”).
