Does Adele’s rumoured ‘sirtfood diet’ really work? The Easy On Me singer denied her weight loss was due to any specific regime, but it hasn’t stopped the diet trending online
But recently Adele said in a Vogue interview that she hasn’t followed any particular diet, and “inside sources” claiming to have spoken to her were unreliable.
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“All these other people have come out saying that they trained me,” she told Vogue. She called them “weirdos”, adding, “I’ve never met them in my life!”
But her rumoured attachment to the diet still prompted immense interest, spiking sirtfoods to trend online each time Adele made waves on social media.
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The concept was popularised in 2016 in a book titled The Sirtfood Diet by the pharmacist Aidan Goggins and the nutritionist Glen Matten.
It involves eating foods that activate a protein called sirtuin, hence the name, and cutting calories for weight loss.
But, while the foods included in the diet are healthy, it could have some drawbacks by restricting what and how much you can eat, potentially making it tricky to follow in the long term.
Are sirtfoods good for you?
Blueberries, strawberries, red wine and dark chocolate are just a few examples of the most appealing sirtfoods you can (still) enjoy on the diet. Other foods and drinks that boost sirtuin include green tea, onions, celery, parsley, arugula, kale, walnuts, buckwheat and citrus fruits.
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There’s some research to suggest that sirtuin-boosting foods can help mediate metabolism and could have life-lengthening benefits, though there’s not yet enough data to fully understand how that might work.
Proponents of sirtfoods have also cited the fact that many of them (such as wine and leafy greens) are common in so-called Blue Zones, areas of the world where people tend to live the longest.
Many of these foods are high in healthy compounds, including vitamins and micronutrients called polyphenols, substances found in plant foods that research suggests can have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, helping to reduce the risk of many chronic illnesses and ailments associated with ageing.
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Be careful with your calorie count
While these foods are individually healthy and fine to include in your diet, there’s no evidence that specifically eating only sirtfoods is good for you. Plus, there’s a lot of foods and nutrients that are left out of that list, including protein sources from chicken to beans, healthy fats and whole grains.
And the calorie limitations of the diet could be a problem, too. The plan follows a seven-day cycle of just 1,000 calories a day for the first three days and 1,500 calories a day for days four through seven.
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Fewer than 1,500 to 1,200 calories can put you at risk of malnutrition, according to Harvard Health. Any diet that cuts calories so strictly is also very difficult to follow in the long term, says nutritionist Rachael Hartley.
“A thousand calories is under the daily amount recommended for a two-year-old. So for an adult eating that and expecting to fuel their day, you might not keel over, but you’re not going to have the energy to perform at your best,” Hartley said.
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It can also be risky for people with a history of eating disorders or who otherwise have a fraught relationship with food.
So, while it’s fine to include a little more green tea, berries, and yes, even wine with your daily meals, it’s still best to consult a nutrition expert, such as a registered dietitian, before jumping into the latest fad diet, whether it’s celebrity endorsed or not.
- Adele said in a recent Vogue interview that she hadn’t followed a diet and that people claiming to have trained her to get in shape were ‘weirdos’ she’d never met
- Nevertheless, unreliable ‘inside sources’ suggested her incredible transformation was due to the sirtfood diet, heavy on eating dark chocolate and leafy greens