The Pros and Cons of the Sirtfood Diet

The Sirtfood diet has become the ‘new’ fad of 2016 and has gained recognition from celebrities like TV chef Lorraine Pascale. It is famously known for allowing you to have dark chocolate and red wine and still lose weight, sounds a bit crazy right? If you’re like me and own a healthy scepticism about the latest diet trends, let’s without further ado, find out more and take into account The Pros and Cons of the Sirtfood Diet!

Pros:

  • The ‘sirt foods’ supposedly activate the sirtuin in your body which is a type of protein that helps to protect your cells from dying and developing illnesses, as well as regulating your metabolism
  • It’s based on a study of 40 gym-goers who each lost on average 7lb in one week without losing muscle mass
  • You can have moderate amounts of dark chocolate and wine on a regular basis without feeling guilty!
  • It contains foods that are generally healthy and nutritious such as buckwheat, blueberries, walnuts and green tea
  • It’s designed to be long term and keep you healthy for life as well as slowing down the ageing process

Cons:

  • For the first week there is a calorie restriction that will no doubt force most people to lose weight, regardless of what food is consumed. This means it may be due to the calorie restriction itself that the participants lose weight. For the first three days you only consume 1,000 calories a day and the following four days are made up of 1,500 calories per day
  • Drastically restricting your calorie intake can be dangerous if your body is not used to it and can make you feel lethargic
  • There isn’t enough evidence that it follows through on its promises, especially the speeding up of your metabolism. A study on 40 people isn’t large enough to say that it will definitely work as a healthy way to lose weight
  • You can only have foods on the sirtfood list such as ‘sirt juices’, rocket, soy, green tea and walnuts
  • As a result of the above, there’s less emphasis on getting a variety of foods into your diet in order to look and feel great. For example eating a rainbow of fruit and veg every day ensures you get a range of vitamins and minerals into your diet

Although at first the promise that you can have red wine and dark chocolate has lured us into this intriguing new diet, there’s very little evidence to support its claims. Until a study is conducted on a much larger group of people, it’s far more advisable to speak to your GP or local nutritionist if you want to lose weight. Plus, don‘t forget that balance is key to living a healthy happy life!

Safia Yallaoui

Safia is a lifestyle blogger and coach at the fitness membership company MoveGB. She also has an MA in journalism and has done a variety of freelance work in print, radio and online. After losing 14lbs a few years ago Safia got into health and fitness realising the most important thing about clean eating is nourishing your body. She loves to keep in shape with weight training and going to fitness classes. Whilst training to be a Nutritional Therapist she is learning how to alleviate health problems by including or omitting certain foods and has a keen interest in the affects of sugar on a person's physical and mental health.

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