The sirtfood diet is a diet based on including as many polyphenol-rich foods in the diet as possible. Food polyphenols activate sirtuins - proteins called the "youth gene" and "thinness gene", which are to help reduce body weight, improve well-being and he alth. Sirtuins may have a beneficial effect on the body, but there are no human studies that would confirm their slimming effect.

Contents:

  1. Diet sirtfood - a new trendy way of eating
  2. Sirtfood diet - recommended products
  3. Sirtfood diet - rules
  4. Sirtfood diet - diet stages
  5. Does the sirtfood diet really lose weight?
  6. Importance of sirtuins for he alth

Diet sirtfood - a new trendy way of eating

The sirtfood diet is a diet developed by two alumni of the University of Surrey in England with a Master's Degree in Nutritional Sciences - Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten. Their plan is to combine caloric restriction and drinking green smoothies with increasing the proportion of foods rich in sirtuin activators in the diet.

Sirtuinsis a type of protein found in the body of mammals that is potentially of great importance for quality and life expectancy. They have even been called the "longevity gene" and the "thinness gene".

The enormous interest of researchers in sirtuins began at the beginning of the 21st century, when it turned out that their increased concentration is associated with the extension of yeast viability.

The authors of the sirtfood diet used scientific reports and developed a plan based on them, which they included in the book "The Sirtfood Diet" published in January 2016. Since then, the diet has been gaining more and more popularity, especially due to celebrities using it.

Sirtfood diet - recommended products

According to the authors of the diet, its key principle is not what to get rid of from the menu, but what products to include. The basis of the sirtfood diet are vegetables, fruits, spices and nuts rich in polyphenols that activate the action of sirtuins in the body, thanks to which there is a better use of energy, faster fat burning and protectioncells against aging and disease.

The 20 most powerful sirtuin activators are:

  • Bird's eye chili pepper,
  • buckwheat,
  • capers,
  • celery with leaves,
  • cocoa,
  • coffee,
  • extra virgin olive oil,
  • green tea,
  • kale,
  • lovage,
  • Medjool dates,
  • parsley,
  • red chicory,
  • red onion,
  • red wine,
  • arugula,
  • soybeans,
  • strawberries,
  • turmeric,
  • walnuts.

As a result of the cooperation of the authors of the diet with the chef, a cookbook was created, offering recipes for dishes rich in sirtfood products, e.g. sirt muesli, chicken breast with kale, red onion and tomato and chili salsa, or truffles with walnuts and dates.

Many people who try different diets may be satisfied that the long-term sirtfood diet is not restrictive and allows or even recommends including red wine and dark chocolate with more than 85% cocoa in the diet.

Sirtfood diet - rules

The sirtfood diet assumes a strict nutritional plan only for the first three weeks of the diet. At a later stage, you should not focus on the caloric content and proportions of macronutrients in the diet, but on choosing the best possible he alth products.

Although the authors emphasize that the calories are not important on the sirtfood diet, the first stage of the diet is very restrictive. The diet begins with a three-day diet providing 1000 kcal. It contains three green smoothies that can be prepared with kale, celery, arugula, parsley, green tea and lemon, as well as one full meal proposed by the authors of the book.

In the next four days, the menu is 1500 kcal and consists of two shakes and two sirtfood meals a day. You can lose three kilos for the first week.

The second stage of the diet lasts 14 days, in which you eat three meals a day and drink one cocktail. According to the authors, this guarantees a constant weight loss. After three weeks, he no longer follows a specific nutritional plan, but only takes care to eat as many sirtfood products as possible.

During the diet, the last meal should be eaten by 7 p.m., and the intervals between meals should not be less than 1.5 hours. You should give up products commonly considered unhe althy: shop sweets, fast-food food, instant products and white flour preparations.

The authors of the sirtfood diet argue thatthat it is not just a weight loss diet, but a diet that should become a lifelong diet as it allows you to look better, have more energy and feel he althier. It is also recommended as an ideal solution for people who love food.

Sirtfood diet - diet stages

Stage I
1-3. day

1000 kcal; 3 shakes + 1 meal
4-7. day

1500 kcal; 2 cocktails + 2 meals
Stage II
8-14. day

no caloric indications; 1 cocktail + 3 meals
Stage III
From day 15no strict recommendations; the largest possible share of sirtfood products in the diet
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Author: Time S.A

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Does the sirtfood diet really lose weight?

Goggins and Matten conducted an experiment in which they showed that physically active people following the sirtfood dietlost an average of 3 kg in a weekwithout losing muscle mass. Some even saw an increase in muscle mass, and all study participants reported a marked improvement in well-being.

Nutritionists, however, are skeptical about the result of the experience, because fat loss is a long process, and reducing its content in the body by 3 kg in such a short time is practically unrealistic.

They suggest that the weight loss was largely due to the loss of glycogen and its associated water. In addition, the use of a 1000 kcal and 1500 kcal diet by exercising people will always lead to weight loss and the effect is mainly due to the reduction of calories, not eating sirtfood products.

Of course, the use of a menu based on products rich in polyphenols is very beneficial for he alth and certainly will not hurt anyone. Polyphenols have a very wide positive effect on the body, which has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies.

It is believed, however, that the mere inclusion of them in the diet will not cause weight loss and to achieve the effect you need to combine sirtfood products with calorie restriction. According to specialists forThe slimming effect of the diet corresponds mainly to the first week that imposes caloric restrictions.

Sirtuins, which are activated in the body by polyphenols, can accelerate metabolism and promote fat burning. They participate in the metabolism of fats and glucose and play a large role in extending the life of cells associated with insufficient energy supply.

These reports sound very promising, but so far there has been little research to confirm the slimming effect of sirtuins, and all have been done in mice, yeast or human stem cells. There is a lack of human studies that would confirm the effect of sirtuins on body weight.

Worth knowing

The importance of sirtuins for he alth

Sirtuins play a large role in the aging process and in regulating life expectancy. They participate in the replication and repair of damaged genetic material, the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, deactivate free oxygen radicals and, under appropriate conditions, slow down the aging process.

Sirtuins are activated when you are on a low-calorie diet that provides 30-50% less energy than the body needs. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that some polyphenols, e.g. red wine resveratrol, have the same effect as a low calorie diet. Research is underway on the use of sirtuins and substances that activate them in the treatment of age-related diseases.

The beneficial effect of sirtuins on fat loss may result from their influence on the decrease in blood glucose levels and increasing insulin sensitivity of cells (excess insulin circulating in the blood promotes the conversion of glucose into adipose tissue).

Reduced insulin secretion in response to glucose in the presence of sirtuins was found in mouse studies. An increased intensity of energy production processes as a result of activation of sirtuins has also been noticed.

How to lose weight he althily - advice from psychodietetics

Each of us dreams of a slim and shapely figure. However, not all methods of losing weight are good for our he alth. How to wisely and he althily lose weight? Listen to our expert - psychodietician and he alth coach Elżbieta Lange.

About the authorAleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietician Food technologist, dietitian, educator. A graduate of Biotechnology at the Gdańsk University of Technology and Nutritional Services at the Maritime University. A supporter of simple, he althy cuisine and conscious choices in everyday nutrition. One of my main interests is building permanent habit changesand individual composition of the diet in accordance with the needs of the body. Because the same thing is not he althy for everyone! I believe that nutritional education is very important, both for children and adults. I focus my activities on spreading knowledge about nutrition, analyze new research results, and make my own conclusions. I adhere to the principle that a diet is a lifestyle, not strict adherence to meals on a sheet of paper. There is always room for delicious pleasures in he althy and conscious eating.

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