#72 IGF-1, mTOR, Autophagy Deep Dive

Siim Land (0:01)

Does bulletproof coffee stop botophagy?

SPEAKER_2 (0:03)

Grass-fed butter.

Siim Land (0:04)

Is it better to bulk up fast with carbohydrates or do it slowly on keto?

Daemo Arina (0:09)

You got fat.

Siim Land (0:11)

Does elevating IGF-1 and mTOR accelerate aging or do they actually make you more prone to neurodegeneration and a shorter life? These are some of the few questions of this Body Mind Empowerment Podcast. I'm your host Siim Land, and we're gonna have another Q&A episode. This time, I decided to focus primarily on these anabolic pathways like mTOR or mammalian target of rapamycin and how it affects your longevity. mTOR and IGF-1 make you anabolic and grow, but for longevity, you want to know how to balance it with other things like autophagy and AMPK. So most of the questions in this episode will be around these topics.

I think it's that kind of information that everyone needs to know because it's literally going to determine how long you're going to live and also what kind of a life you're going to have.

Daemo Arina (1:02)

It's necessary.

Siim Land (1:04)

If you want to support this podcast, then I decided to open up a Patreon account just so I could have some sort of a feedback from the audience. I didn't decide to bring any sponsors to the podcast for at least the time being because I think community support is much more sustainable and it's much more effective as well. If I didn't get any value from it myself for some positive encouragement, then I would stop making it. So if you found any value from these episodes and whether from YouTube videos or whatever it may be from my books, then I would definitely encourage you to support the podcast on Patreon. But without further ado, let's now delve into this world of mTOR and IGF1 and Osophagi.

Body Mind Empowerment.

SPEAKER_2 (1:54)

Get stronger, faster, smarter, quicker, friendlier, more helpful, more driven.

Siim Land (2:00)

Everything the body needs.

SPEAKER_2 (2:02)

Control your mind.

Siim Land (2:06)

The first question is a long one, and it goes like this.

On a recent Peter Atiyah podcast, he talked to Rhonda Patrick. They discussed the IGF1 issue. Currently it seems a lot of people advocate for chronically low IGF1, such as you would get from chronic caloric restriction and a low protein vegan diet. This supposedly reduces one's chance for cancer and premature aging. However, Peter mentioned that perhaps IGF1 cycling is the most optimal strategy, for its important for muscle growth and I also think brain neurogenesis. You may be on to something there. Those on a calorie restriction diet suffered a decrease in gray brain matter.

I was hoping if you could do a brief discussion on what your strategy for IGF1 management is, and if you believe chronically low IGF1 or cycling is the most optimal strategy. Yeah, like it's a good question. And I think another one of those really important questions for longevity and overall health.

So yeah, there is indeed a lot of fear around IGF1 mTOR protein and eating meat as well, which is one of the main ideas why people say that it's better to keep IGF1 low. I agree that you don't want to be anabolic and with high mTOR or IGF1 all the time. Chronically high levels of IGF1, they may indeed kind of speed up aging, and it may cause some cancers if you're predisposed or if you already have some cancer cells.

IGF1 is stimulated by the main growth pathway in the body called mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR. However, I think mTOR giving you cancer is only going to happen if you already have signs of cancer or some tumors growing.

Chronically low levels of IGF1 and mTOR will also be bad for longevity because they play an important role in maintaining lean muscle mass, building brain cells, supporting nerve cell functioning, strengthening bones and so on. IGF1 can actually protect the cells against oxidative stress and it regulates glutathione, which is one of the main antioxidant pathways in the body. Inhibiting IGF1 in other species like worms and mice extends their lifespan, but the results in humans are inconsistent and they're not clear by any means. The crazy thing about it is that both high as well as low levels of IGF1 are associated with cancer mortality in older men. In fact, one meta-analysis of 12 studies with over 14,000 participants found that people with low levels of IGF1 were at 1.27 times risk of dying and those with higher levels were at 1.18 times the risk. Lower levels of IGF1 may actually be more detrimental because as you age, you'll be more predisposed to muscle loss and bone fractures. A lot of studies also find an association with low IGF1 and sarcopenia in older people. IGF1 is also correlated with longer telomere length, which is an important predictor of longevity. Telomeres are these protective caps on top of your chromosomes that protect your DNA from deterioration.