AMPK acts as a central regulator of the body's defenses by down-regulating mTOR and activating longevity genes in response to low energy.

“Well, AMPK is a sensor of energy, and low energy is a good thing for longevity. That's one of the reasons I fast. We'll get into that in a future episode. But AMPK is central to sensing low energy. And in response, it protects the body, because it's thinking we're going to run out of food. So this is another evidence of this term, hormesis. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, and AMPK sits as a central regulator of the body's defenses. It will down-regulate mTOR, it will activate other longevity genes, and that's really important-”