If you’re seeking a new trendy weight loss plan, you may have heard about the Sirtfood diet. Creators of the diet claim it helps you shed pounds quickly by activating the same “skinny gene” pathways induced by fasting and regular exercise. Knowing more about the Sirtfood diet will help you determine if trying it is really worth your while.
What is the Sirtfood Diet?
Creators of the Sirtfood diet say that foods rich in polyphenols (antioxidants) turn on “skinny” genes in your body that mimic exercise and fasting, jump-start weight loss, boost metabolism, increase mood and improve aging. Examples of polyphenol-rich foods the Sirtfood diet encourages you to eat include green tea, dark chocolate, coffee, red wine, and kale.
Sirtfood Meal Plans
When you follow the Sirtfood diet, you’ll begin with phase 1—which lasts for seven days. During the first three days of the diet, you’ll drink three Sirtfood juices and have one Sirtfood-rich meal for a daily total of 1,000 calories. On days four though through seven you’ll consume 1,500 total calories, drink two green juices and eat two healthy Sirtfood-rich meals. This completes phase 1.
Phase 2 lasts 14 days and allows you to eat three balanced Sirtfood-rich meals and one green juice daily. After phase 2 is complete, you’ll follow a more normal way of eating—but are encouraged to incorporate sirtuin-activating foods into regular meal plans. You can re-enter phase 1 and 2 any time you need to lose more weight or body fat.
Foods You Can Eat
You’ll probably want to purchase a juicer when following the Sirtfood diet. The following foods and drinks are encouraged:
- Green juices (containing matcha green tea, lovage and buckwheat)
- Green tea
- Coffee
- Cocoa powder
- Dark chocolate
- Turmeric
- Kale
- Onions
- Parsley
- Ginger
- Olive oil
- Red chicory
- Soy yogurt
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Walnuts
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Turkey
- Seafood
- Whole-grain pitas
- Cheese
- Hummus
- Buckwheat noodles
- Red wine
Steer clear of dairy foods when following the Sirtfood diet.
Does the Diet Work?
Researchers examined effects of Sirtfoods (sirtuin-activating foods) on health and weight management. One 2013 study found that diets rich in Sirtfoods appear to help with healthy aging and chronic disease prevention. A 2017 review concluded that polyphenols appear to help lower body weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure—but more research is needed in this area.
One reason you’ll likely shed pounds if you follow the Sirtfood diet correctly is because you’ll reduce calories (at least in phase 1) to 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day, which is an almost surefire way to drop weight.
The bottom line is while you don’t have to eat sirtuin-activating foods to shed pounds (simply lowering your overall calorie intake should do the trick), the majority of Sirtfoods are healthy, appear to lower disease risks, and aid in healthy weight management.
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