The Sirtfood Diet is one of the latest trendy new diets that have popped up. Made popular by celebrities in Europe, but most of all since this diet allows red wine and chocolate.
Two two-celebrity nutritionists from the UK that created this diet stand steadfast that this diet is the secret to solve fat loss and avoiding disease. That said, its critics believe this diet is not all what it seems to be and could actually be harmful.
Therefore, this post unpacks this diet. Looking at what this diet is; what it claims to do, and going deeper into the problems with this diet.
What is the Sirtfood diet?
The creators believe that this diet works by turning on your skinny gene. This idea is based on the research on sirtuins, which focus on the seven proteins found in the human body that regulates different functions, including inflammation, metabolism and lifespan.
A few natural plant compounds could increase the level of these proteins in the body, and foods comprising them have been labeled a sirtfoods. These include kale, red wine, strawberries, onions, soy, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate, matcha green tea, buckwheat, turmeric, walnuts, rocket, bird’s eye chili, lovage, medjool dates, red chicory, blueberries, capers, and coffee.
This diet is a combination of these sirtfoods, and calorie restriction. Together the action they produce is to produce higher levels of sirtuins in the body.
The view is that this diet will lead to weight loss, but still maintaining muscle mass and also defending against chronic disease.
The green juice
Green juice is central to this diet. You will need to drink it once to three times a day. The recipe is below:
75 grams kale
30 grams rocket
5 grams parsley
2 celery sticks
1 cm ginger
half a green apple
half a lemon
half a teaspoon matcha green tea
Juice all ingredients excluding for the lemon and green tea powder together, and pour them into a glass. With your hand juice the lemon, then add the lemon juice and green tea powder into your juice.
Phase one
For the first seven days restrict your calories, and drink plenty of green juice. This will jump-start the weight loss. Some even claim to have lost 3.2 kg in the first week.
In fact, you should in the first three days cut your calories to only 1 000. Drink the green juice every day and have one meal a day. Your meals can be an omelet, miso-glazed tofu or shrimp stir-fry with buckwheat noodles. The rest of the week, you can have 1 500 calories. You can drink two green smoothies and eat two meals.
Phase two
The next phase lasts for two weeks. This is the maintenance phase, but you will still lose weight.
With no calorie limit for this phase, you have to eat three meals full of sirtfoods and one green juice per day.
What are the benefits of this diet?
You will be eating food that are good for you, high in nutrients and full of healthy plant compounds. Some foods, if eating in moderation like dark chocolate can lower the risk of heart disease and fight inflammation. Turmeric also has anti-inflammatory properties, and green tea can reduce the risk of a stroke, lower blood pressure, and prevents diabetes. These foods also tell the bod to burn more fat and improve insulin sensitivity.
Some negatives of this diet
This diet is unreasonably restrictive, with no clear health benefits over any other type of diet. Plus, the calories that are prescribed are not recommended without supervision.
The juice itself can be problematic as this contains sugar and lacks fiber. The sugar could be bad for your teeth.
Most of all, this is a highly dedicated diet, and not many people will be able to stick to it for the whole 3-weeks. Never mind the cost of this diet, as some of the foods are rather pricey.
The authors of the Sirtfood Diet make bold claims, including that the diet can super-charge weight loss, turn on your “skinny gene” and prevent diseases.
In the end, there is no proof that this diet actually activates the skinny gene. More so, there is no evidence that this diet is more effective than other diets.
In the end
The Sirtfood diet is packed with healthy foods, although the eating patterns are not healthy. Plus, the principles of this diet is vague, and lacks scientific evidence. Still, add these sirtfoods to your daily diet is a good idea, the diet itself might just be another fad. Rather lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right and excise.
