Metabolic Autophagy: Practice Intermittent Fasting and Resistance Training to Build Muscle and Promote Longevity

by Siim Land

Your cells are constantly monitoring the nutrient status of the cells to determine whether or not to conserve energy or to promote growth. **One of the few known ways of increasing lifespan in almost all species is caloric restriction and energy deprivation.** This triggers many metabolic pathways and processes that make the organism more adaptable to environmental stressors and thus live longer. **The metabolism has two sub-categories or sub-processes called anabolism and catabolism. ** * Anabolism, meaning ‘upward’ in Greek, describes the synthesis of biological molecules to build up new physical matter in the body. * Catabolism, meaning ‘downward’ in Greek, describes the breaking down of biological molecules to release energy. This can apply to the breakdown of bodily tissue as well as the digestion of food that then gets assimilated into the body through anabolic processes. In addition to ’Metabolic’, you can also find another word in the title - ’Autophagy’, which translates from Ancient Greek into ’self-devouring’ or ’eating of self’. This is central to the main practice of this book. By maintaining a balance between anabolism and catabolism, you can effectively extend your lifespan. The process of autophagy entails your healthy cells devouring the old, worn-out, weak ones and converting them back into energy. It’s literally your body eating itself and using that to maintain homeostasis. There are many longevity-boosting benefits to this as illustrated in virtually all other species. This book is a collection of guidelines about the principles of the anabolic-catabolic cycles in regards to nutrition and exercise. It’s definitely not a panacea – a solution or remedy for all conditions and circumstances. Instead, it’s a very specific protocol that’s not supposed to apply for all situations. **Metabolic Autophagy will teach * What increases lifespan in humans and other species * Why there's so much disease and obesity in society * How to promote health and longevity with intermittent fasting * What is Autophagy and how it works * How to age slower and be vigorous throughout your life * Which foods make you live longer and build muscle * How the nutrient regulators of mTOR, AMPK, sirtuins, FOXO proteins, hormesis and others affect longevity * What are circadian rhythms and how they affect your health * Metabolic Autophagy Foods list and their anabolic-catabolic score * Supplements that support muscle growth and longevity * Many extras and bonuses in regards to food and exerciseSiim Land is a best-selling author, anthropologist, entrepreneur, high-performance coach and a biohacker who writes about optimizing health and human performance.This book incorporates daily lifestyle and dietary practices that help to cross the chasm between longevity and high performance.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Science, Nutrition, Diets

427 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2019

About the author

Siim Land was born on a small island in the Baltic Sea called Saaremaa. When translated from Estonian to English it literally means "An Island." Growing up in the countryside with beautiful nature surrounding him the man got to spend his childhood in a little piece of paradise which you wouldn't think existed anymore in the industrialized world. Luckily, there are still a few places like these out there.

Being the son of a police officer and a teacher he was brought up in a loving household. Not a stranger to physical labour and virtue he finished highschool and enrolled in the national military service. For 8 months he was a soldier carrying out his civilian duties. During that time he was designated the role of a sharpshooter in his company and received training from professional snipers. After his service he continued his pursuit for wisdom and started studying anthropology at Tallinn University. Currently an undergraduate he is working on his degree aswell as running a blog about his activities and philosophy of being.

At the moment the author of only one book "Becoming a Self-Empowered Being" Siim Land is on a journey to bettering himself as a human being and thus improving the overall condition of mankind. His purpose is not short of the seemingly unimaginable and impossible. Nevertheless, he continues his work and is confident in finishing what he has set out to accomplish. The future is bright as it is only the beginning of his lifelong quest.

Reviews

[Mikey Sklar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently this is the most up to date book on biohacking diet, meal timing and exercise that I have read. It includes new trending diets like carnivore along with recently popularized forms of fasting such as TRE (Time Restricted Eating) and dry fasting. The book is full of optimization suggest and includes the scientific reference for the reasoning. Being an endurance athlete I am not a fan of OMAD or extended fasts, but I found plenty ways to utilize the information provided and taylor it to my own lifestyle choices. I recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with low carb diets, keto, fasting, biohacking and general self optimization.

[Brita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was written in a scientifically conclusive and suggestive manner. It will help me become a better version of myself and possibly stretch the amount of years that I will live on this planet. I will definitely look into ketogenic diet, HIIT training and both intermittent and 48-hour fasting to refresh my metabolic autophagy, improve my tasting pallette and lose some unwanted fat as a bonus.

[Alina Tache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately, I've been reading a lot about autophagy, ketosis, fasting & low carb. I have not found this book mentioned in any group or book list I've come across, something I found weird since it was supposed to be all about the topics I just mentioned. But now I know why: it's a very tedious read. While the ideas I found here go along with everything else I've read, the delivery is filled with too much scientific information. I don't need the conclusions of I don't know how many studies (performed on rats) about each and every cell mechanism/components and how this reacts with all kinds of other things. <- This is what the first 30% of the book felt like. I don't know about the rest of it, because I stopped reading it. This is useful only for those who need/want to know the minutiae of the science. For those of us who are not in a medical/research position and who just want to know how autophagy works overall and what to do to get it, I suggest Jason Fung's The Obesity Code.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tons of researched information here

Very well researched. Credible. Much too much medical jargon for normal folks. I learned a lot but the book would be more useful without so much meaningless (to me) medical terminology.

[Yatish Parshotam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit hesitant to read this initially as most authors I generally follow are doctors or professors in this field. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised that Siim references medical journals and other clinical studies in almost everything he puts forward.

I appreciated that Siim went into detail and provided a collection of reference material, as an example a tabulated glycemic index of food which I would normally end up googling on the side. That makes this book a great reference guide worth coming back to later.

My only negative feedback is that some topics and concepts are repeated unnecessarily several times through the book which I felt affected the flow and made the book longer than needed.

All in all, I felt the book was worth the time and money I invested in it and will be one of those books i keep coming back to...

[Oleh Myroshnichenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became very excited as I started to read this book since intermittent fasting described by Siim Land tempts a lot by prospects of improving health and longevity. I feel well, but due to a month-long 16:8 I lost over 5 kg of body mass and as I didn’t have much fat, this turned to be an undesirable outcome.
Siim seems oftentimes too categoric in his judgements and recipes and I feel that this may cause harm to some of his fervent followers.
I feel I need to read a more balanced book based on tried and tested practices of many generations.
Maybe some flaw of this book is that Siim himself is rather young and thus his perspective on intermittent fasting and lifestyle gravitates more to the “golden phase” of life when most physical functions are at their best.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Siim Land self-published this beast of a book on everything having to do with autophagy, fasting, exercise, and ketosis. Despite many typos and grammatical errors (his native tongue is Estonian), this book is the most up-to-date guide on the literature today. More than that, he gives examples of real life practical implementation of different diets, routines, and habits.
If you’re confused by the abundance of conflicting media/articles/opinions/podcasts/books on fasting, definitely read this. It’ll clear a few things up.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you start a new habit, the best tactics is to take small and clear steps.
If you would like to take up healthy diet and lifestyle, this book is not a good guideline, because it is of another kind.
There is many good information which buried under tons of biology papers. The book is riddled with terms that are uncommon to you, and unnecessary actually. For my taste it looks crude. It is like when you looking for a thing in a cupboard which stuffed with odds and ends.
I would rather recommend to watch the videos of doctor Berg on YouTube.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read an author that you have heard via podcasts and recommended by other people there is hope. Scientific books can often be bland and lack details (in an attempt not to overwhelm).

This book has incredible detail, recommendations and nuances that clarify a number of things.

For anyone contemplating Keto/ Intermittent fasting, has sleep issues, weight issues, mental acuity issues, exercise/diet concerns .. this book is a tremendous offering.

[Ville Johannes Pajala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book

This book is highly technical, packed with a lot of detail but giving a solid overall picture as well. I learned a ton of new things about nutrition, metabolism and body functions and I am definitely reading this again to extract more knowledge. The first round will probably give a proper context to really get all the details the second round. A wonderful piece of condenced knowledge.

[Aiv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alguses olin üllatunud, missugustest pentsikutest keelevigadest raamat kubiseb ja arvasin, et autor on väliseestlane, kes eesti keelt igapäevaselt ei räägi. Lõpupoole harjusin ära. Raamat on väga huvitav, ilmselt kõige põnevam füsioloogiaraamat, mida lugenud olen. Oleks kahju, kui see keeletoimetamatuse tõttu eesti keeles ilmumata oleks jäänud! Nüüd kuulan ka Siim Landi podcasti. Vahva!

[Rita Cuellar · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Metabolic Autophagy I feel like I can explain it to anyone willing to listen. Yes this book was heavy on the science, but so interesting. It made me even more committed to intermittent fasting for health benefits.

[Đức Toàn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't expect the book to contain that much of information. Almost everything about health, biology, physiology from an author without an MD tag and it was written in a scientific manner.
This is not an easy how-to book, this book gives you knowledge from that you can build your lifestyle upon.

[Dheeraj Sankar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best, in detailed book, read on fasting, autophagy, muscle strength building, and overall health. Siim Land has explained the concepts so well that leaves no doubt in a reader's mind.
Highly recommended book for those looking to start their health/ fasting jouney.

[Jodi Harstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book about autophagy and the importance of high fat diet and intermittent fasting for health.

[Stephan Krijger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough book about Intermittent Fasting & Healthy Lifestyle. If you're into biohacking and fasting, definitely pick up this book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scientifically sound and technical resource for EVERY body. Thorough and easy to read. Foundational examples for beginners and progressive ideas for the advanced.

[Brendan O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eat yourself for breakfast

[Petr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you are curious about how the human metabolism works, what causes the diseases and how to optimize your lifestyle (mainly eating, resting and exercise) for longevity. You will probably be very surprised what food has what effect on your body and health, especially if the only "advise" you have ever taken was from the media or the government issued guides. One issue I had with this book though was its length and the fact that the author quite often repeats the already well described topics over again.