Energy balance
Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by metabolic stressors such as exercise or pharmacological agents like metformin mediates key metabolic adaptations including increased fatty acid oxidation, glucose uptake, and mitochondrial biogenesis, which protect against insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Regular physical activity and certain medications (like metformin for diabetics) work by triggering your cells' energy sensors (AMPK). This sensor detects low energy states and switches your metabolism to burn fat and glucose more efficiently. You cannot directly 'activate' this sensor with a supplement in the same way a drug inhibits an enzyme; it responds to actual metabolic stress like exercise or caloric restriction.
These findings have led to the view that AMPK may mediate many, if not all, of the metabolic effects of regular exercise... These results suggest that AMPK is a major player in mediating the metabolic changes that occur in muscle during contraction or exercise, many of which are believed to be beneficial to health in that they protect against metabolic disorders like insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple knockout mouse studies and clinical drug mechanisms, though some acute liver effects are AMPK-independent.
Source
AMP-Activated Protein Kinase: Maintaining Energy Homeostasis at the Cellular and Whole-Body Levels
D. Grahame Hardie · Annual Review of Nutrition · 2014
DOI 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071812-161148
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