Why you need ‘sirtfoods’ in your life

Shhh! There’s a secret buzzword floating around health circles right now, said to help supercharge weight loss, boost your memory and even stave off disease – here’s why you need ‘sirtfoods’ in your life.

Sirtuins are special genes which are thought to control the way our bodies deal with fat and sugar. ‘Sirtuins are members of a protein family (known as silent information regulators), which are activated by caloric restriction. Sirtuins exert myriad effects aimed at preserving health—they stabilise chromosomes and DNA molecules, preventing breaks and damage that can lead to cancer, they promote DNA repair, and they regulate genetic functions that in turn control every activity in the living cell,’ says nutritionist Christine Bailey (christinebailey.co.uk).

Scientists have also recently discovered chemical compounds that actually mimic the action of sirtuin genes. Known as sirtuin activators, these compounds are naturally found in certain types of food and could well be the answer to all our wellbeing worries according to researchers. The are thought to help control appetite, regulate blood sugar levels and even mop up the free radical damage that has been linked to chronic disease onset. These powerful goodies, also called sirtfoods are found in greens like kale and parsley, as well as capers, cocoa, onions, olive oil, green tea and soy products. Love the odd tipple? Good news! The antioxidant resveratrol which is found in red wine is also a sirtuin activator. ‘Resveratrol has the remarkable ability to activate and promote sirtuin activity in virtually all cells, which has been shown to promote the repair and longevity functions,’ continues Christine. We’ll drink to that!

The sirtfood diet

Want to get more sirtfoods into your daily diet? Try this menu.

BREAKFAST

Green juice

Juice together 1 handful of kale, 1 handful of parsley, 1 handful of blueberries, 1 apple, 1 pear, half a lemon.

MID MORNING SNACK

Cup of green tea with 2 plain oatcakes

LUNCH

Tofu salad

Panfry 100g cubed tofu and mix into a salad of rocket, tomatoes, beetroot, red onion shredded cucumber and carrots. Dress in lemon juice.

MID AFTERNOON SNACK

Cup of miso soup

DINNER

Parsley pesto pasta

In a food processor, whizz together the following ingredients: 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of basil, a scattering of parmesan, crushed garlic and a drizzle of olive oil and pine nuts. Cook 70g wholemeal pasta, combine with the sauce and serve with an optional small glass of red wine.

DESSERT

2 Squares of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)

The SirtFood Diet can be downloaded from Amazon