Novak Djokovic and Sabine Lisiki have both been seen a recent surge in number of victories, and both are crediting their gluten-free diets. Although you may not be familiar with their names, you surely have heard of Superbowl MVP Drew Brees who is also gluten free. Many of you who read my blog, know Tina at Carrots n Cake, who is giving it a try since a recent health diagnosis. Tina tweeted just yesterday:
Tina is 100% right. The health police on the internet look for people who are ditching gluten for the weight loss benefit thanks to a few Hollywood celebs. Going gluten-free is not a performance enhancement unless you have the intolerance!
To go gluten free undiagnosed, is dangerous. Many doctors are reluctant to test patients for this, so do a trial on your own. If you do not suspect any allergy, again, this is not necessary. You must know your facts. If you are not intolerant to gluten, it really is not beneficial for your health. The athletes mentioned above have done well in their respective sport because they were diagnosed and took the necessary steps towards getting healthy and strong. Celebrities on the other hand have abused the gluten-free fad and glorified it as a great way to lose weight (which it is not unless you have a disease). The people Tina is talking about above are the health police on the internet who think anyone going gluten free is doing so because of the celebrity weight loss effect. Tina and the athletes above are not.
Last month, Lisicki collapsed after losing a match at the French Open and had to be taken off on a stretcher (She also lost a huge lead)! If it sounds dramatic, it was. The following day she posted this on her website, “I am sad that my body let me down. Doctors recently discovered that I am intolerant to gluten — meaning I can’t eat e.g. pasta, one of my biggest energy sources.”
“My body needs to adjust to the big change and needs some time. It is good that we found out and it will only make life better in the long run.”
That was a month ago. She just lost to Maria Sharapova in the Semi’s at Wimbledon but what a comeback from someone who had to qualify to play. Most people are simply ranked high enough they are just invited.
There is another side of this argument that I am not going to get into, but a professional bikini team actually goes gluten free while competing. They say it enhances performance. I don’t buy this argument to be honest, but it is worth a look for sure. All I know is that Michael Phelps does not eat eat gluten free.
