mTOR activation is stimulated by insulin, carbohydrates, protein, leucine, and exercise, and chronic over-activation from sources like high fructose corn syrup, late-night eating, or junk food should be avoided.

“If you're not watching this on YouTube, what you see here is that while leucine will turn on mTOR, insulin also turns on the mechanistic target of rapamycin. Yes, a protein hormone released when we eat carbohydrates turns on mTOR. And in this study using human myotubes, there is a statistically significant difference with insulin being a stronger activator of mTOR at 30 minutes, about equivalent at 2 hours, and at 24 hours.”