The Sirtfood Diet – Benefits And Drawbacks

The Sirtfood Diet has suddenly hit our papers because various pop stars like Adele have lost pounds. The diet encourages slimmers to eat plant foods mainly such as buckwheat and kale. It also means the slimmers can drink red wine and eat dark chocolate. The benefits are very similar to the most popular diet – the Mediterranean diet with some tweaks which appeal to a number of people.

Particular plants contain proteins called sirtuin activators which suppress the appetite and turn on for want of a better word the ‘skinny gene’ in our body. 

The sirtuin activators are thought to protect cells in the body from dying when under stress. They also have a role in regulating inflammation, in helping us with our metabolism and minimising the impact of ageing.

Some claims made for the diet such as losing seven pounds in a week seem to good to be true. The diet also works with slimmers taking only 1,000 calories per day.

The diet comes from a book with the same name. It was written by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten who claimed that certain foods can turn on a particular gene cluster called the sirtuin genes and one in particular called SIRT-1. These genes are claimed to boost metabolism, increase fat metabolism so it is just burnt off, flight off inflammation and makes us feel full by increasing the effects of satiety and curbing the appetite.

The Plan For The Sirtfood Diet

The diet lasts a total of three weeks and is divided into two phases.

• Phase one: Take just three Sirtfood green juices which contain kale, rocket (arugula), parsley, celery, green apple, lemon juice, and green tea and one Sirtfood-rich meal per day, totaling about 1,000 calories each day. For the next four days,  drink two Sirtfood green juices and eat two Sirtfood-rich meals, which brings the calorie total to about 1,500 per day.
• Phase two: This is the maintenance stage, which lasts 14 days. During those two weeks, have just three Sirtfood-rich meals and one Sirtfood green juice daily.

After three weeks, there is no set plan to follow. The book suggests that the meals are altered slightly to bring in as many Sirtfoods into the diet as is possible. Exercise is encouraged  but is not a critical part of the weight loss diet.