What is it the Sirtfood diet?
So, the Sirtfood Diet has landed. But what is it exactly?
Written by expert nutritionists Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten – the guys behind 2012 book The Health Delusion – their latest book looks at a newly discovered plant-based food group that is rich in a special nutrient called sirtuin activators.
Over the past few years, fasting diets have been the biggest craze, notably ones like the 5:2 diet, which was the-diet-to-do in 2015.
But the Sirtfood plan is supposed to mimic the weight loss effects of a fasting diet – but without compromising on health, fitness, muscle mass or food satisfaction, thanks to new research into this food group. Just in case 500-calorie Mondays (AKA starving-all-day Mondays) weren't really working out for you.
However, although being an effective weight loss regime, the writers are keen to stress that it isn’t simply a diet plan, but a wellbeing and fitness regime.
The book says:
“It doesn’t require calorie restriction, nor does it demand gruelling exercise regimes (although of course, staying generally active is a good thing. It’s neither expensive nor time-consuming, and all the foods we recommend are widely available.”
And yes, in that list includes dark chocolate (cocoa) and red wine - rejoice!
It’s the buzz diet of 2016, and already a favourite among celebrities, with everyone from Jodie Kidd to Lorraine Pascal loving it.
Lorraine named it “a non-faddy diet that offers incredible health benefits and weight loss.”
Jodie said: "Since following it, I feel unstoppable.”
But how exactly do these foods work to achieve such super results?
How the Sirtfood diet works
Sirtfoods work by activating so-called “skinny gene” pathways in the body, the same genes that’s activated when we exercise or fast.
This helps the body to burn fat in a way that mimics calories restriction, but without the nutrient loss or other shortcomings.
An average loss of 7 pounds of weight in 7 days was reported by the sample of people testing the diet, alongside increased muscle mass and reports of feeling full and satisfied with food intake.
The book outlines that the Sirtfoods work in the following way:
“Sirtfoods act as master regulators of our whole metabolism, most notably having effects on fat burning while simultaneously increasing muscle and enhancing cellular fitness.”
During their research, Goggins and Matten discovered that many of the foods that fall into the Stirfood category are already often associated with the healthiest diets in the world - like the typical Mediterranean diet.
There are two phases to the plan listed in the book, with the first being the more intense '7ibs-in-7-days' part, and the second looking more into the maitenence side of things.
Want to try it yourself? Here's how to get started...
What are Sirtfoods?
The top 20 sirt foods are listing as the following, and more are named inside the book.
For the full list, see the book.
Sirtfood diet recipes
We've selected three of our favourite recipes from the book to get you started.
**Breakfast: Sirt Muesli **
**Ingredients: **
20g buckwheat flakes
10g buckwheat puffs
15g coconut flakes or desiccated coconut
40g Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
15g walnuts, chopped
10g cocoa nibs
100g strawberries, hulled and chopped
100g plain Greek yoghurt (or vegan alternative, such as soya or coconut yoghurt)
** Instructions:**
Mix all of the above ingredients together, only adding the yoghurt and strawberries before serving if your making it in bulk.
Lunch: Tuscan Bean Stew
Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50g red onion, finely chopped
30g carrot, peeled and finely chopped
30g celery, trimmed and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp herbes de Provence
200ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tin chopped Italian tomatoes
1 tsp tomato purée
200g tinned mixed beans
50g kale, roughly chopped
1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
40g buckwheat
Intructions:
Place the oil in a medium saucepan over a low–medium heat and gently fry the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, chilli, if using, and herbs, until the onion is soft but not coloured.
Add the stock, tomatoes and tomato purée and bring to the boil.
Add the beans and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the kale and cook for another 5–10 minutes, until tender, then add the parsley.
Meanwhile, cook the buckwheat according to the packet instructions, drain and then serve with the stew.
**Dinner: Aromatic Chicken Breast with Kale, Red Onion, and Salsa **
Ingredients:
120g skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 tsp ground turmeric
juice of ¼ lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
50g kale, chopped
20g red onion, sliced
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
50g buckwheat
Insructions:
To make the salsa, remove the eye from the tomato and chop it very finely, taking care to keep as much of the liquid as possible. Mix with the chilli, capers, parsley and lemon juice. You could put everything in a blender but the end result is a little different.
Heat the oven to 220ºC/gas 7. Marinate the chicken breast in 1 teaspoon of the turmeric, the lemon juice and a little oil. Leave for 5–10 minutes.
Heat an ovenproof frying pan until hot, then add the marinated chicken and cook for a minute or so on each side, until pale golden, then transfer to the oven (place on a baking tray if your pan isn’t ovenproof) for 8–10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Meanwhile, cook the kale in a steamer for 5 minutes. Fry the red onions and the ginger in a little oil, until soft but not coloured, then add the cooked kale and fry for another minute.
Cook the buckwheat according to the packet instructions with the remaining teaspoon of turmeric. Serve alongside the chicken, vegetables and salsa.
Recipes and info taken from The Sirtfood Diet by Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten published by Yellow Kite (£7.99), which you can purchase here.
Food photographs copyright of Hannah Hughes.
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