Sirtuins and Weight Loss

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "diet"?  Obviously, the majority of people think of losing weight and food restriction.  There are literally hundreds of weight loss methods on the market and if you have had a constant battle with your weight, you've probably heard of most of them, and there's a new one nearly every week.

Sometimes I write about them in my blog as a new diet may have a new twist that might help some people, other times because they sound too good to be true.  However, what most diets come down to is exactly what most of us think they are, calorie restriction and HUNGER.

We know that diets, like the 5:2, or "fasting" activate the so called skinny gene... it works for some people, but the bottom line is that if you are hungry, you will probably be very bad tempered and even suffer from lack of attention which can not only be a problem at work but can even be dangerous.  Personally, I have nothing against the 5:2 which can be very useful for people who find everyday calorie restriction a problem.  But, very restrictive diets have a very high abandon rate, the dieter gets fed up too quickly and gives up.

Which is why I was surprised to read about the "latest fad diet",  The Sirtfood Diet.  Apparently, by eating a diet rich in sirtfoods you can mimic the effects of fasting and exercise and lose weight to the tune of 7lbs in a week.  The Sirtfood Diet is based on an ancient family of genes called sirtuins that controls our ability to burn fat and stay healthy.  Both fasting and exercise activate sirtuin genes, but certain "sirtfoods" also do the same.

So, what are sirtfoods?

The top 20 of sirtfoods are: extra virgen olive oil, red onions, parsley, rocket, bird's eye chili, kale, strawberries, capers, celery, tofu, red chicory, cocoa, green tea, Medjool dates, buckwheat, turmeric, walnuts and coffee, amongst others such as red wine and even chocolate.

According to the science, sirtfoods act as master regulators for our whole metabolism, promoting fat burning and increasing muscle and enhancing cellular fitness.  They also mimic the effects of restricting calories.  The good news is that the highest amounts of sirtfoods are found in the diets of those who have the lowest incidences of disease and obesity.

Curiously, the extra virgen olive oil, leafy greens, berries, red wine, herbs and dates which are all highly rated sirtfoods, also happen to be some of the habitual components of the Mediterranean Diet which is considered one of the healthiest diets in the modern world for weight loss/ maintenance and disease prevention.

So, why is the sirtfood diet better than other fasting or calorie restrictive diets?  Well, most restrictive diets or fasting means that you may lose weight quite quickly but you will also lose muscle mass and will probably quit sooner.  According to the authors of The Sirtfood Diet, Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten, they tested their diet on 39 volunteers who after seven days had lost an average of 7lb, however, 64% had maintained  or even increased their muscle mass.  Muscle is very important as the more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even at rest, it's also easier to burn fat, it also prevents the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis.

However, at the end of the day 39 volunteers is not a very wide spectrum of analysis and the diet is extremely restrictive.   Phase 1 or 7lb in seven days means that your calorie intake is restricted to 1000 calories per day during the first 3 days, consisting of three sirt-rich green juices, and one full meal also rich in sirtfoods.  For the following 4 days, your calorie intake will increase to 1,500 calories a day including 2 sirt-rich green juices and 2 meals rich in sirtfoods.

Then comes Phase 2, which is a 14-day maintenance diet which is also meant to keep you losing weight.  Each of the 14 days include 3 meals rich in sirtfoods, one green juice to be consumed first thing in the morning and 1-2 optional sirtfood "snacks".

Call me a sceptic, but this sounds difficult and fussy to me.  Fine if you work from home, but preparing juices and a limited ingredient list and restricting calories to 1000 - 1500/ day could make this difficult for some.

However getting to know the healthy foods out there that can help with better health is a great thing, so you can incorporate more of them into your daily diet.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com