Sirtfood Diet: What Is It, Menu, Pros And Cons
Table of Contents
Sirtfood Diet: What is it?
The Sirtfood Diet is a 3-week meal plan that includes foods high in sirtuin proteins and reduces the calorie intake of your usual diet by 20%.
The Sirtfood Diet was developed by nutritionists Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten. In their book Sirtfood diet, they explain that eating certain foods activates the body’s production of sirtuins, proteins that protect cells from inflammation or death. Such a nutritional system contributes to the rejuvenation and detoxification of the body, weight loss, and the prevention of various diseases. Goggins and Matten also refer to the sirtfood diet as a “performance enhancer” and recommend it to professional athletes.
What does the sirtfood diet menu consist of?
The menu consists of products that can start the production of sirtuins:
- buckwheat;
- blueberry;
- capers;
- arugula;
- parsley;
- green apples;
- strawberry;
- grapes;
- bitter chocolate;
- walnuts;
- red onion;
- celery;
- garlic;
- dates;
- blueberries;
- turmeric;
- olive oil;
- shrimp;
- citrus fruits (orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc.);
- chicory;
- red wine in moderation;
- coffee;
- green tea.
How to properly adhere to the sirtfood diet
Just consuming the foods listed isn’t everything. The sirtfood diet consists of two phases.
The first is the fast phase, which you can lose weight by 3-5 kg per week. The first 3 days, you are allowed to consume no more than 1000 calories per day and the diet consists of one full lunch with an emphasis on sirtfoods. The rest of the time – only cocktails made from green vegetables. The next 4 days, your calorie intake increases to 1500 kcal per day. Two full meals and two obligatory green cocktails are allowed per day. Red wine and dark chocolate are prohibited during the first phase.
The second phase is gentler and more aimed at consolidating the result. It lasts the remaining 14 days. Three full meals are allowed with an emphasis on sirtfoods. It also includes one mandatory serving of green juice. At this stage, you can already consume dark chocolate and red wine. There are no calorie restrictions.
It is important to note that during this diet it is not necessary to eat only sirtfoods. You can eat fish, lean meat, cereals. But still try to focus on sirtfoods. And, of course, no fast food, convenience foods or sweets.
Pros and cons of the sirtfood diet
Among the benefits of the sirtfood diet are:
- the ability to quickly lose weight;
- permission to consume foods that are prohibited in other diets (chocolate, coffee, wine).
However, experts from the National Health Service of England criticized the sirtfood diet. Among the disadvantages are:
- restriction of calorie intake;
- meager menu;
- the presence of many contraindications: pregnancy, allergy to green vegetables, exacerbation of chronic diseases, etc.;
- lack of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of this diet.
So, if you need to lose weight in no time, you can try following the sirtfood diet. But before that, be sure to check with your doctor or dietitian. If you want to be in good shape all the time and feel great, then there is nothing better than to adhere to a correct and balanced diet.
