June 20, 2025, 2:03 am | Read time: 6 minutes

Lose weight, feel fitter, and still enjoy red wine and chocolate? That sounds like an unbeatable combination. According to two British nutrition experts, it can actually work. Their developed Sirtfood Diet activates “skinny genes.” FITBOOK nutrition expert Sophie Brünke explains what the Sirtfood Diet is really about.

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What is behind the Sirt diet?

The Sirt diet focuses on a specific group of enzymes–the so-called sirtuins. These are signaling proteins that play important roles in metabolism, immune defense, aging, and weight loss. The diet is often marketed with slogans like “weight loss turbo” or “anti-aging diet.”

The inventors of this dietary trend–Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten–claim that their diet can specifically activate the Sirt proteins. This is supposed to work through a high intake of polyphenols. These are a group of secondary plant compounds that significantly influence the color and taste of plant foods and also have many positive health properties.

The unique aspect of this diet: Not only healthy foods contain many polyphenols, but also red wine and dark chocolate, which is why these “diet sins” actually appear on the menu in this diet.

Also interesting: Expert explains what the ketogenic diet offers 

How does the Sirt diet work?

Overall, the dietary trend can be divided into four stages, with the first three phases corresponding to a calorie-reduced diet and the last phase described as a long-term dietary change.

Dark chocolate and red wine are indeed allowed, but only in small amounts and not right at the start. Initially, the focus is primarily on fruit and vegetable smoothies.

• Phase 1: The first phase of the Sirt diet lasts only three days–but it’s intense! Only 1,000 calories are allowed per day, divided into two Sirt juices and one Sirt meal.
• Phase 2: Here, 1,500 calories are consumed over four days, slightly more than during the initial days. Instead of one meal, there are now two–with a continued focus on foods high in secondary plant compounds. Additionally, two Sirt drinks are allowed in between.
• Phase 3: The third phase is a kind of transition phase, where you can have three meals and one Sirt juice. A glass of red wine or chocolate (but only with a very high cocoa content) is also occasionally allowed.
• Phase 4: In the long term, you should no longer consciously restrict your energy intake but generally focus on a healthy lifestyle. This includes as many Sirt foods as possible, along with plenty of exercise and sports.

Sirt foods with high concentrations of secondary plant compounds

According to the diet’s inventors, the following foods are particularly recommended:

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Buckwheat
• Strawberries
• Green tea
• Kale
• Coffee
• Capers
• Garlic
• Turmeric
• Olive oil (cold-pressed)
• Passion fruit
• Parsley
• Red wine
• Arugula
• Celery
• Tofu
• Walnuts
• Dark chocolate (cocoa content of at least 85 percent)
• Onions (red)

Are Sirt foods the new superfoods?

Sirt foods are indeed healthy, there’s no doubt about that. They contain many vitamins, minerals, and also plenty of secondary plant compounds.

Green tea, for example, has a high polyphenol content, which protects cells against free radicals, likely reducing the risk of cancer and chronic cardiovascular diseases.¹

Berries have similarly positive effects. Research results also suggest that high consumption positively impacts heart health.²

Even dark chocolate, due to its high cocoa content, has quite positive health properties. These include an antioxidant effect against free radicals and positive effects on elevated cholesterol levels.^3,4

But does that make Sirt foods superfoods? There are certainly plenty of other foods not included in the Sirt diet that are also healthy: oatmeal, broccoli, whole grains, lentils, beans, low-fat dairy products–to name just a few alternatives–are not mentioned in the Sirt books.

What is behind the Sirt proteins?

Researchers generally agree that Sirt proteins indeed regulate many important processes that are significant for our metabolism and health.

There are seven Sirt proteins in total, with the Sirt-1 protein being the most extensively researched. It is involved in the mobilization of white adipose tissue and the regulation of sugar metabolism. Additionally, it reduces cellular damage from free radicals and plays important roles in the immune system.

Can Sirt foods positively influence the activity of these important signaling proteins?

A group of Dutch researchers evaluated the scientific evidence on polyphenols and weight loss in 2015 as follows: “Initial research results on isolated cell structures and animals were very promising. They raised hopes that polyphenols could help with metabolic disorders and weight loss. However, when looking at study results with humans, the promising results could not be replicated so far.”

Further animal experiments on mice, worms, and yeast showed that an increased content of certain sirtuin proteins leads to a longer life expectancy. Another study on mice found that an increased sirtuin level leads to fat loss.

However, although many foods included in the Sirt diet have health-promoting properties, there are currently no long-term studies on humans that would demonstrate measurable health effects of the diet itself. A 2022 review concluded, based on the current state of research, that while Sirt foods have the potential to alleviate metabolic disorders, further research is needed to avoid unforeseen negative consequences for diet users.

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Conclusion on the Sirt diet

The Sirt diet doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It recommends reducing daily calorie intake and eating healthier overall. Exercise and sports are also recommended. So, like almost all diets. That you lose weight with these tips should not be a big surprise!

The Sirt proteins are indeed–as claimed by the diet’s inventors–involved in many relevant metabolic reactions. However, based on current research, the claim that polyphenols directly activate the Sirt proteins and thus trigger the weight loss turbo cannot be confirmed.

You can probably still lose weight successfully with the Sirt diet. However, this is likely due more to the targeted calorie reduction and subsequent “step-by-step” dietary change than to the magical activation of certain enzymes.