Novak Djokovic: Gluten-free and Gumbyesque
May 24, 2014 2 Comments
The season for Grand Slam tennis is upon us, and at CJSM we are duly excited!
The draw for the French Open is set. We’re looking forward to the Men’s and Women’s competitions at Roland Garros, which begin tomorrow. The top two seeds in the Men’s draw (Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic respectively) have had some difficulty in the run up to Roland Garros. Is it Nadal’s knees? Is it Djokovic’s wrist?
Tennis is a sport for which I have great admiration, and is a regular subject on this blog. It’s a regular subject in the journal as well (take a look at the May issue’s epidemiologic study on tennis-related injuries in the United States).
Today, we re-visit a post from 2013 where I explored some factors which might account for Djokovic’s supreme athleticism and give you all a chance to weigh in on the poll: gluten-free diets, helpful, harmful, or neutral for the athlete?
Have a great weekend.
Novak Djokovic at the Aussie Open
The Wimbledon Championships end tomorrow, with the Gentleman’s Singles Final pairing now set: either Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray will raise the Championship Silver Cup by day’s end, barring rain delay or marathon tennis match…..
It has been another great fortnight of tennis, highlighted by Djokovic’s historic semi-final win over Juan Martin del Portro yesterday. Djokovic seems to get involved in these epic five-set Grand Slam matches, having just been on the losing end of such a match at the French Open. His opponent that day, Rafael Nadal, was quoted as saying: “‘I learnt during all my career to enjoy suffering, and these kind of matches are very special….I really enjoy suffering.” This statement was given, mind you, by the victor!
I remain impressed with Djokovic’s supreme athleticism and his ability to inflict suffering on others on the tennis court!…
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Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine Blog 
Thanks for the article. There’s a lot of hype on gluten-free, but I believe the main reason for it’s success and popularity is the elimination of refined and processed carbohydrates in the diet. Looking at studies in irritable bowel syndrome, a low FODMAP diet can help IBS symptoms. FODMAP is simply removing processed carbs out. So the studies are coming… here’s are some: Low FODMAP Diet improves GI symptoms in patients with IBS: a prospective study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23701141
And a good review: Evidence based dietary management of functional gastrointestinal symptoms: The FODMAP approach. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20136989
Overall though, I think removing all processed carbs from the diet (including sugar) helps with weight loss, improves body composition and athletic performance. Of course there are little, if any, studies on low-carb diets in athletic performance, but there are many on its effect on weight loss and body composition.
thanks for that thoughtful response, thanks for the citations!