Even on the diet side, trends are emerging every year. So after the boom in paleo or low-carb diets, here is one of the latest discoveries on the Slimming planet: the Sirtfood diet. His promises? Losing 3 pounds in a week, a healthy diet, lasting results, is it too crazy to be true? We asked a nutrition and food balance pro to better understand this diet and … to capture its limits.
Losing 3 pounds in a week – that's the flagship promise of the Sirtfood diet that the British Aidan Goggins and Glen Metten are behind. A diet that was first highlighted by Pippa Middleton before her marriage, but which especially made a big splash more recently, when the singer Adele (and her coach Pete Geracimo, appeared with 45 pounds less. also hit the headlines, highlighting the fact that we could lose weight by eating chocolate and drinking red wine.
So what is the Sirtfood diet and what should we see behind these sensational elements? The dietitian-nutritionist Corinne Fernandez * brings us her insights and her expertise so as not to get started without knowing.
The principle of the Sirt Food diet
The Sirtfood diet, also called the "Sirt diet", is based on a key principle: like the Low Carb diet (low in carbohydrates), a diet rich in protein is preferred. But beware, you should not jump on the first rib of beef, but choose your food well. Because the proteins here in question are not just any proteins, they are sirtuins, that the creators of the Sirtfood diet readily call "the genes of slimming". According to them, a diet rich in sirtuins, combined with a restricted calorie food bowl, would promote weight loss, and even strengthen the immune system.
The action of sirtuins
Sirtuins are indeed a group of proteins with specific action, observed in particular for their anti-aging properties, because they act on cellular protection. Aidan Goggins and Glen Metten based their diet on the fact that sirtuins are activated when you eat fewer calories.
And as proteins, sirtuins help maintain muscle mass and … also have a fat-burning effect. Why use the conditional here? Because this fat-burning effect still suffers from a lack of solid evidence. It would have been observed on rodents but no serious study allows to apply this belief to the human body.
In addition, sirtuins play a role in reducing stress, and like all proteins, they have a satietogenic effect, which means that a protein food helps reduce cravings. Interesting, when you have to drastically reduce your food bowl as recommended by the Sirfood diet.
The three phases of the Sirtfood diet
So is it simply a matter of eating protein-rich foods first? Obviously, no! Because it is necessary to pay attention not only to the quality (therefore a chosen diet) but also to the quantity of what we eat.
Regarding caloric intake, the "sirt" diet is divided into three phases.
- PHASE 1 (from day 1 to day 3), we consume only 1000 kcal, and this, in the form of three green juices and a main meal. Of course, only foods that contain a lot of sirtuins end up on the plate. In juices, there are obviously recognized foods rich in sirtuins such as arugula, celery, parsley or apples.
- PHASE 2: the caloric intake is increased to 1500 kcal. On a daily basis, we consume two green juices and two main meals. This phase is maintained until the target weight is reached.
- PHASE 3: the last phase of the Sirtfood diet consists in stabilizing the weight achieved, but one does not however exceed a daily calorie intake of around 1800 kcal. Of course, many "sirt" foods are still on the menu here, but other foods are slowly being reintroduced into its menus, to re-train the body.
Important : The third phase can be maintained as long as you wish, according to your taste. In the long term, you must take care to change your eating habits to ensure that you are eating a healthy diet, taking care to consume good sources of protein.
Foods rich in sirtuins
Unfortunately, the list of foods rich in sirtuins is not as extensive as one would like. However, rejoice, it does include dark chocolate and red wine, which have made the reputation of the Sirtfood diet.
To note : dark chocolate must have a cocoa content of at least 85%. As for red wine, yes it does contain sirtuins but not to the point of justifying its festive consumption: moderation remains a key word. Why? Because wine contains carbohydrates, and alcohol can also paralyze metabolism and slow fat loss.
The list of foods interesting for their sirtuin content
- Buckwheat
- Nuts
- Parsley
- Saffron
- Garlic
- Soy
- Green tea
- Celery
- Rocket
- Kale
- Capers
- Cold pressed olive oil
- Red onions
- Kale
- chilli pepper
- Coffee
- Red wine
- Dark chocolate (at least 85% cocoa)
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
What to think of the Sirtfood diet?
This diet is restrictive, especially in the early days, since you can only eat very few calories. In its first phase, the Sirtfood diet exposes you to a high risk of frustration. And even thereafter, the daily caloric intake remains limited to 1500 then 1800 calories, which is a level lower than the recommended energy intake. The famous yoyo effect is almost inevitable when you stop the diet.
On the other hand, a menu based on fresh and healthy foods, including a good share of green vegetables can only prove to be interesting from a health point of view.
If you lose your dummy hair, due to long-term dietary change recommendations and to maintain health and balance. The weight of weight takes a little longer, the more is more durable
Your Sirtfood bibliography
- The Sirtfood diet: Increase your metabolism and burn your abdominal fat thanks to the Sirtfood diet, by Pietro Montemurro. A book at an ultra reasonable price which gives recipes adapted to the different phases of this diet. To order online here, € 7.95
- Sirt Diet: The Lean Gene Diet, The Secrets And Ways To Lose Weight And Lose Weight Fast, by Elizabeth Anderson, supplied with a recipe booklet and a weekly diet plan. To order here, € 12.90
The opinion of our dietician-nutritionist expert:
If we embark on this very low-calorie diet, we must bear in mind its possible consequences on basic metabolism: slowing down with a brake on weight loss in the long term. Any restrictive diet will disrupt stable biological functioning. However 1000 kcal per day is very little. This corresponds to about half of the caloric needs of a healthy and active adult woman.
> The first phase is similar to a period of fasting, which triggers a massive loss of water accompanied by a significant loss of muscle mass. Fortunately, this phase is very short (72 hours) but long enough (3 days) to be able to trigger cravings and therefore snacking.
> Phase 2 at 1500 kcal is still restrictive with 3 green juices (beware, these juices are based on apple juice so they are not without sugars!) And two meals a day, and it exposes you to long-term deficiencies term since it has no limit apart from that of the target weight to be reached.
However, the desired or targeted weight is not necessarily the right weight to stay healthy.
> Phase 3, of establishment, for whom? 1800 kcal is not enough to feed an active and / or athletic person. Energy intake must best adapt to energy expenditure. Someone who practices physical activity, which is highly recommended for health and weight, risks being malnourished with this diet for the long term and exposing themselves to deficiencies, chronic fatigue and a yoyo effect. with the continuation of yet another diet if the weight loss is not maintained.
Sirtfood is not suitable for everyone: you need to be in good health to start it, and preferably accompanied by a nutrition specialist if you are trying to maintain it over time.
Moreover, for any start of weight loss, it is better to be accompanied by a dietitian or a doctor-nutritionist who takes into account the context, the history of weight gain and the state of health of the person.
A good diet makes you aware above all of your eating behavior and the need to change it.
An effective diet makes you lose weight durably while keeping your morale and the pleasure of eating and above all does not make you lose muscles.
Sirtuins are part of a family of seven proteins (SIRT 1 to SIRT 7) very involved in cellular and physiological regulation processes. They are currently the subject of much research. For example, concerning aging and related pathologies such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers, they play a key role in the response to oxidative stress and its damage against the genome and DNA.
For weight, research has obtained results in the laboratory concerning an overexpression of the SIRT1 gene limiting weight gain in mice. But there are still few returns that show real effectiveness on weight loss in humans. There is still time to research in this area.
By making common sense work as a priority: because when it comes to weight loss, you should not starve yourself or put yourself in severe restriction.
Depending on the weight to lose, it is a real work on oneself which must be privileged and encouraged in the long term, with a full mental, psychic and physical investment. And a change in eating behavior with regular physical activity: this is the right recipe, one that bodes well for weight loss success.
Accompaniment with a nutrition professional for this remains essential, because we must encourage and nutritionally guide the person in their weight loss. I would add that family and friendly support also contributes a lot.
More information on Corinne Fernandez, dietitian-nutritionist here.