Sirtfood diet: a new way to lose weight before the wedding (and not only). Sirtuins and resveratrol prolong life - is it too good to be true? Sirtuins in foods

Quite quickly, the Internet was flooded with many pseudo-originals of this diet. But the fact is that its creators sell the original version of the diet, so the online version is more likely to be a fake. the site acquired the original version from the authors themselves in order to figure out whether this is really a revolution in dietetics or just another product intended only to enrich its creators.

Sirtfood from the authors' point of view

Sirtuin products

The point of the diet is that the menu should consist only of a combination of these products and... active fitness classes. The authors claim that this combination will lead to rapid weight loss and protect against disease.

Sirtfood as is

Ingredients:

• 75 g kale
• 30 grams arugula
• 5 g parsley
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 cm ginger
• half a green apple
• half a lemon
• half a teaspoon of matcha green tea

First phase The diet lasts 7 days and includes calorie restriction and lots of juice. During this time, weight is lost. If everything is done correctly, then on the 8th day you should lose about 3 kg.
During the first 3 days, calorie intake is limited to 1000 per day. Based on 3 glasses of juice and 1 meal.
From days 4 to 7, calorie intake increases to 1500: 2 glasses of juice per day and 2 meals (naturally, the food should consist only of sirtfood products).

Second phase lasts 2 weeks. There are no clear guidelines for calorie amounts, just 3 meals of the right food and 1 glass of juice.

The diet cycle can be repeated as many times as you like. The authors especially emphasize that in the future, after completing the diet, it is necessary to include sirtfood dishes in the menu more often, drink juice and do fitness.

Actually, this diet is more like an attempt to orient the reader towards lifestyle changes than a revolutionary word in dietetics.
So let's try to look at the facts.

Sirtfood: just the facts

Perhaps the only thing we can agree with is that the recommended products are each beneficial for the body in their own way. But the connection of this benefit with sirtuins is not obvious.
So far, only studies on animals and cell cultures have shown interesting results. For example, increased levels of sirtuins have been found to lead to increased lifespan in yeast, worms and mice.
Some, as yet unproven, evidence suggests that sirtuins may play an important role in reducing inflammation and slowing the progression of heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. However, sirtuins have not yet been tested in humans.

How healthy is this diet?
Absolutely not a fact. Like all diets, the sirtfood diet is restrictive, and in its process the body does not receive some of the vitamins and microelements necessary for normal functioning. Let's add here the need to purchase a juicer, an original recipe book and the exotic nature of some products... In this regard, it even loses to many other diets.
3 weeks is clearly not enough time for active consumption of the above products to have a serious impact on improving health. But it’s still worth adding these products to your diet, and without any diets.

The issue of possible side effects from such a diet is gently avoided. But for people with diabetes, restricting calories and drinking large amounts of juice during the first few days can cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar levels.

What is its effectiveness?
All evidence of the effectiveness of sirtfood is based only on the words of the authors themselves. The book presents the result of an experiment in which 39 people took part from visitors to their fitness center. The participants followed the diet for a week, exercised daily, and each, on average, lost a little more than 3 kg. Needless to say, the duration and number of participants cast doubt on the advertised effectiveness.
Any diet based on a sharp reduction in calories and increased physical activity will lead to exactly the same result. The problem is that after finishing such a diet and returning to your usual diet, even with the obligatory addition of “necessary” foods to the menu, the weight will return. This has long been proven and is a problem with all diets.

Considering all of the above, we make a diagnosis: sirtfood is not something truly revolutionary in nutrition. Any diet will lead to similar results, so whether to buy Sirtfood Original or not is your choice.

Everyone, without exception, including members of the royal family, wants to look especially irresistible on their wedding day. Recently, paparazzi often catch Prince Harry in Chelsea at the doors of the KX fitness club. Here, a year ago, Pippa Middleton perfected her figure before her wedding, but modern royals and the cream of British society prefer the establishment not only because of modern equipment and professional trainers. Visitors here are offered a special diet - Sirtfood Diet.

The Sirtfood nutrition system, developed by nutritionists Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten, is positioned not so much as a diet, but as an anti-aging express program that will bring the body, as they say, to its peak form. Goggins calls it a “performance stimulant” and especially recommends it to football players, rugby players and participants in sea regattas (in the early stages of popularizing sit-food nutrition, this was its main audience). An ideal option for newlyweds, taking into account the length and energy consumption of the wedding marathon!

The main thing about sirtfoods

Goggins and Marten, certified nutritionists (and Aidan is also a pharmacist), formed the basic principles of the diet after carefully studying the beneficial properties of the biologically active substance resveratrol. Resveratrol is found in the skins of grapes, and therefore in red wine, and gives the drink a bouquet of beneficial properties - antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, cardioprotective and even anti-cancer. Of course, we are talking about drinking wine in reasonable quantities and in compliance with age and therapeutic indications.

Resveratrol belongs to the sirtuin class of cellular enzymes. World scientists have long assumed that citruins are responsible for the body’s ability to resist stress, regulate the aging process, ensure the prevention of age-related diseases, and are responsible for life expectancy.

Each sirtfood has its own combination of biologically active substances that are already beneficial for the body, but nutritionists have gone further. They discovered that the combination of several foods high in sirtuins greatly enhances the effect, so they began to explore combinations and select those from which they could create a daily menu. So Goggins and Matten simultaneously found out that the composition of some products prevents the formation of fatty deposits, while others activate the utilization of existing ones (of course, with the necessary physical activity). They were impressed with the results: "We expected the subjects to lose weight, but we didn't think the average weight loss would be 50%."

Based on the results of research and reflection, nutritionists have compiled a seven-day nutrition plan based on sirtfoods. It is designed to help not just quickly lose weight, but to activate the body’s hidden reserves and give it a good boost, literally rebooting it. The good news is that many of the foods Goggins and Matten recommend appear on our table every day, and some (like chocolate, coffee and wine) don't even have to be given up.

So, the main sirtfoods are buckwheat, capers, celery, chili, dark chocolate (containing at least 85% cocoa beans), coffee, olive oil (of course, Extra Virgin), green tea (ideally matcha), kale (what they are, read here - “6 popular superfoods that can harm you”), garlic, dates, arugula, parsley, chicory, red onion, red wine (ideally Pinot Noir), soybeans, dark berries (cherries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries), turmeric, walnuts.

Sirtfood diet plan

It is conventionally divided into two phases. The fast phase, like a kind of forced march, will allow you to lose 3-3.5 kg in a week and quickly reboot your body. It is recommended to repeat it once every three months, even for those who constantly adhere to the principles of Sirtfood nutrition.

First, second and third day

You should drink three servings of green juice a day and have one full meal of sirtfoods. Maximum calories per day – 1000.

Fourth to seventh days

You need to stick to the following plan: two servings of green juice per day and two Sirtfood meals. Maximum calories per day – 1500. General rules: drink juices 1-2 hours before meals; do not eat after seven in the evening; do not drink alcohol (instead - plenty of water, coffee and green tea); for dessert - a piece of dark chocolate.

Green juice recipe (one serving - approximately 250 grams):

Mix 2 handfuls of kale, handfuls of arugula and parsley sprigs in a blender and puree well. Add a little celery (leaves are fine), half an apple and the juice of half a lemon and beat again. Season the green mass with ½ tsp. matcha tea powder and, if desired, dilute with water to a comfortable consistency.

The second phase is consolidation of the result. General rules: one serving of green juice per day (30 minutes before breakfast or instead of a pre-lunch snack) and three meals with maximum Sirtfood content. You need to have dinner no later than 7 pm. Semi-finished products are excluded from the diet, the amount of red meat is reduced (up to 500 grams per week). You can eat bread and rolls (whole grain) and drink red wine (2-3 times a week). Dinner no later than 7 pm.

The effectiveness of the Sirtfood diet

How effective is the sirtfood diet? If you believe sirtfood adherents (and judging by the changes in appearance - be it Adele, or Pippa Middleton, or Prince Harry), it is a great way to quickly get in shape, including losing a couple of extra pounds before an important event. But here it is necessary to take into account that the Sirtfood diet has been harshly criticized by the nutritionist community as not complying with the EatWell Guide - the recommendations of specialists from the National Health Service in England.

Firstly, it is confusing to sharply limit the caloric intake of the diet, which will certainly entail a slowdown in the metabolic rate. Honestly assess your strength: if you reduce your caloric intake by half and at the same time love to eat, be prepared that when you return to the previous nutritional parameters of the menu, the weight may return, and even with an increase. Secondly, the “taste” value of the diet ─ maybe wine and chocolate ─ is very insignificant, because given the calorie content of these products, their quantity will be minimal (if you follow the indicated range of 1000-1500 kilocalories). Thirdly, nutritionists advise not to forget that sudden weight loss in the first week is mainly due to the removal of excess fluid from the body. This means that the fat stored in reserve by the body will begin to melt only after the 7th day of the diet and subject to regular visits to the gym.

Photo: Getty Images, press service archives

Singer Adele has changed a lot! At the last Music Awards ceremony, the star amazed fans with her updated figure. How did she do it?

Adele does not hide the reason why she lost so much weight. She followed the sirtuin diet suggested by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten. Its essence is the use of foods that activate the body’s production of special proteins, sirtuins (SIRT1). According to the authors of this nutrition system, this allows you to lose weight by an average of 3.5 kg in the first week and by 0.5-1 kg in all subsequent weeks. And not only lose weight! Sirtuin has long been recognized as a longevity protein that resists many factors of aging in the body.

How appropriate is such a diet for weight loss and rejuvenation and is it suitable for everyone?

Sirtuins for weight loss and rejuvenation

The authors of the sirtuin diet claim that thanks to this nutrition plan you will lose fat, not muscle mass. What is the reason for this phenomenon? “The fact is that the protein sirtuin is involved in glucose metabolism,” says Vladimir Rolkov, general practitioner, valeologist. — According to recent studies, an abundance of foods with a high glycemic index in a person’s diet leads to excess weight gain. If fats still need to be broken down into their component parts for further processing, then glucose is a simple substance that can easily be stored in reserve. Sirtuin proteins rearrange metabolic processes so that part of the glucose entering the body is immediately sent to the muscles, where it is burned. Of course, you need to understand that simple sugars are utilized during movement or during muscle recovery after strength training. Therefore, without physical activity, sirtuins will not have an effect.”

The second aspect of the action of sirtuin proteins is the prolongation of youth and the prevention of age-related diseases. In this case, proteins work at the genetic level, activating certain sections of DNA and turning off those that are not needed at the moment (often these are defective genes that may not have the best effect on metabolism and cause excess weight gain or the development of age-related diseases) . “Currently, there is a lot of talk about protecting and repairing DNA (damage accumulates in it over time) with the help of certain foods,” says Mikhail Gavrilov, Ph.D., author of a patented method for correcting eating behavior and weight loss, member of the Institute functional medicine (IFM, USA). — Products that stimulate the production of sirtuin are just one of them. This protein ensures the activity and viability of genes that are responsible for DNA repair.”

What is the essence of the sirtuin diet?

It is based on healthy and tasty foods rich in substances that stimulate the production of sirtuin: all leafy and green vegetables, citruses, wild berries (blueberries, strawberries, blueberries), apples, soybeans, olives and olive oil, red onions, red wine and bitters. chocolate (85%). These are the ones that should be emphasized. And from the second week - supplement the menu with low-fat animal proteins (preferably fish or seafood, as well as light milk) and cereals (our favorite buckwheat is our favorite).

In total, the diet lasts three weeks. The first of them is the most ascetic. You limit your diet to 1000 kcal per day. Moreover, you can afford only one full meal per day, consisting mainly of the above-mentioned products. You should drink so-called green juices rich in sirtuin three times a day. You can compose them to your liking, combining greens, leafy vegetables and fruits, such as apples.

The remaining two weeks are a kind of light option. The calorie content of the diet can be increased to 1500 kcal per day. You will be given three full meals, each of which should contain foods that stimulate the production of sirtuin. Many of these dishes are quite filling, such as salmon steak with vegetables or buckwheat noodles with shrimp and green salad, and a small slice of dark chocolate for dessert. And again, you can’t do without sirtuin juice: you need to drink it once a day.

“This diet is often positioned in the media as a way to lose weight with the help of red wine and dark chocolate,” comments Katya Tsvetova, a nutritionist and athlete in the fitness bikini category. — I also don’t forbid my clients wine and chocolate at the stage of diet restructuring. But imagine how many of these products you can fit into 1000 or even 1500 kcal?

Simple mathematics: 100 g of chocolate is already more than 500 calories. So a piece of this delicacy in this case will be microscopic. Most of the time, people on this diet eat vegetables and greens.”

Pros and cons of the sirtuin diet

By reducing the caloric content of your diet and eating greens, apples, and low-fat animal products, you will, of course, lose weight. “If you reduce your diet to 1000 calories per day, and add physical activity, a person will begin to lose weight on any food,” adds Katya Tsvetova. - Even if he only drinks red wine and eats chocolate or something like that. You won’t last long on such a diet - it’s stressful for the body. That’s why they limited it to a week.”

It is a mistake to think that if there is a lack of calories, the body will immediately begin to waste fat reserves. During the first week you will lose weight mainly due to the removal of excess fluid. In the first few days, the body will receive additional energy by breaking down glycogen in muscle tissue. It's easier and faster than extracting it from fats. And only on the fourth or fifth day of the diet, fats will begin to melt.

Nutritionists are also confused by the significant restriction of calorie intake. With such a strong decrease, the body enters a mode of total economy, slowing down the speed of all metabolic processes. After increasing your caloric intake, you risk quickly gaining back the lost pounds. “Reducing the caloric content of your diet to certain reasonable limits is the key to your slimness and longevity,” explains Mikhail Gavrilov. — Reducing it below certain accepted norms must necessarily be agreed with a doctor. I would recommend practicing short periods of fasting (16 to 24 hours). This time is enough to remove biological debris from the cells - ballast substances that cause their damage and deformation. Such substances, for example, include homocysteine, amyloid peptides, cholesterol and many others.”

The main disadvantage of this power system is its short duration. It is not clear what to do after you have been on such a diet for three weeks. The authors of the sirtuin diet suggest resorting to it as needed for health improvement and weight correction. “The proposed diet can hardly be called satisfying,” comments Mikhail Gavrilov. — After such diets, breakdowns and the so-called yo-yo effect are inevitable. It won’t change your eating habits, but you should start by correcting them if you want to maintain your weight loss results for a long time.”

Of course, products with sirtuin are beneficial for our health and weight maintenance. However, you should not rely only on them if you want to maintain your slimness and youth. Be sure to include them in your diet, but do not forget about the basic rules of balanced nutrition.

During the first week, about 3.2 kg is lost; further – 0.5-1 kg per week.

What does it promise?

During the first week, about 3.2 kg is lost; further - 0.5-1 kg per week until the weight reaches the desired level. “What's most striking about this diet is that you don't lose muscle mass when you lose weight,” say Sirtuin Diet authors Aiden Goggins and Glen Matten. “In fact, those on this diet actually gained 0.5 to 1 kg of muscle mass.” Fat is removed from problem areas, especially in the waist area, and muscle tone is maintained normally.

Who founded it?

Pharmacist and nutritionist Goggins and nutritionist Dr. Matten. Information about the Sirtuin Diet was published this year. Adherents of the diet include sports stars such as heavyweight boxing champion David Haye and rugby player James Haskell.

How it works?

The sirtuin diet should begin with a seven-day “hyper-successful phase”, which will serve as a good incentive to get in shape. During the first three days, you need to consume 1000 kcal per day: drink green juices rich in sirtuin three times a day (cabbage, arugula, parsley, Japanese matcha green tea powder), and eat “sirtuin” food once (for example, fried king prawns with buckwheat noodles and dark chocolate containing 85% cocoa).

From the 4th to the 7th day, the daily consumption of kilocalories increases to 1500; the diet includes two green juices and two meals (for example, breakfast could consist of wheat muesli, dates, strawberries and natural yogurt).

The second phase of the diet is called “maintenance” and lasts 14 days. It consists of three meals a day of sirtuin food and one dose of green juice. The first and second phases must be repeated periodically, regardless of whether there is excess weight. The "top 20" foods rich in sirtuin include cocoa, coffee, red wine, soy and strawberries.

Scientific confirmation

"The sirtuin diet is based on a recently discovered group of foods rich in sirtuin, which can speed up the body's metabolism, allowing you to effectively burn fat," Goggins and Matten say. “The way they work is that these products activate specific genes called sirtuins, known as ‘weight loss genes’ - the same genes that are activated during exercise and fasting.”

The sirtuin diet protects and stimulates muscles, thereby promoting a slim figure. This diet makes our cells healthy and strong, and we, in addition to everything, get clear skin, increased strength and good health.

Results in a short time

Focus not on what you removed, but on what you added to your diet. Continue to eat your favorite foods, and for better results, include sirtuin foods in your diet, such as dark chocolate (85%), green tea and coffee.

Summer Fitness Tips

“There is no need to spend hours on the treadmill or use additional equipment: you only need 15-30 minutes of exercise to achieve results. The diet will do the rest. Combine aerobic exercise with resistance training, such as knee raises, push-ups, lunges, arm exercises, and moving your body from side to side. Perform each exercise for 20 seconds, then take a 40-second break. After each block of exercise, rest for 60 seconds. Repeat each block 4-6 times. Find yourself a buddy - doing exercises together is more fun - and go ahead!