The Myth of Djokovic's Gluten Free Diet

Gluten free Diet got its heroic status once Djoko started his unbeaten run in 2011, fans all over the world claimed Gluten-free as Nole spinach to success, but how exactly did Gluten Free diet helped him out? and would it have worked wonders for every player to try it? I personally doubt it.

I met my friend who graduated from University of Toronto [a Medical student] to discuss about this gluten free diet myth and see how successful this forumula could be on me, but to my surprise my friend laughed at me, he said firstly I am vegetarian and secondly Gluten is very good for health as the contain essential protein and vitamin blocks necessary for the body, and gluten diet is inbred in most vegetarian diets, so he questioned me why should I consider this formula of gluten free when gluten is actually good for my body. However he put an argument citing .Celiac disease, gluten free would help all those who have this danger associated with the body but outside that gluten he confirmed helps body to perform at its best as it acts as energy cells.

So how exactly Gluten free diet helped Djoko? we all know he suffered with some respiratory issues early on his career, but I don't think that's anywhere related to Celiac disease, so how exactly it helped Djoko enhance his performance, is this just a myth that the gluten free diet played a big role in improvement of Djoko's performance? or did Nole's team used it as a secret technique to divert media and fans attention on something which didn't need much attention and hence his secret to sudden rise still remain mystery? or did it really played a pivotol role in enhancing Nole's performance if so do anybody have a clue how it played its part?

I personally think Nole's team was smart enough to divert the attention on gluten-free diet and hence his sudden metoric rise secret still remain as secret and hence he could use it as an advantage till the myth is out

I will be the first to put my neck on the line and say that I have always believed it to be total hogwash.. gluton free diet pft !!!! not on your life.
Whatever his secret it certainly is not that imo
Whatever played a part in his enhanced performance may well be to do with his respiratory problems or new contact lenses !!!!

Try the fact that he got technically better, you can look at Novak Djokovic's serving numbers in 2010 and 2009 and realize that Novak attained world #3 with a WTA serve, and once he worked those issues out he would get a lot better. I think in 2010 he had way more doubles than aces, this year he has serveal times more aces than doubles. Anyone who watched Djokovic serve in 08 and then watched him serve in 09 and 2010 could see he changed his technique and it didn't work and that he reversed back to his old motion, which had been a good delivery in 07 and 08. Novak made a dramatic improvement in his serve and the rest of his game. Yes diet and fitness played a role but it wasn't the sole or in my mind even the principal reason for his success in 2011. Prior to glutten diet he played 4 hours against Nadal in Madrid and should have won on clay in 09. It helped him but it didn't transform him like popeye's spinach as many people think.

Only those with an agenda to smear ignore the obvious improvement in Novak's serve. Seems like Haddie and IC are suffering from sour grapes. Because if you watched tennis in 2010 you could not but help notice that Djokovic had major yips on serve, something that destroyed Guillermo Coria. I love it you can't beat him, so smear him. Wow very classy Invisible.

Haddie-nuff wrote:I will be the first to put my neck on the line and say that I have always believed it to be total hogwash.. gluton free diet pft !!!! not on your life.
Whatever his secret it certainly is not that imo
Whatever played a part in his enhanced performance may well be to do with his respiratory problems or new contact lenses !!!!

Exacctly HN , and I don't how media and fans bought this theory when it was sold to them, I wanted to start this thread for quite sometime and I am pleasantly surprised not to see this being discussed on most forums. Would certainly like to hear from other valuable members and how they think about this myth.

The guy who made up the lie that Novak cheated is a little upset with the rising costs of walrus meat in Canada or something and has decided he craves Socal's special attention, you got buddy.

Socal if you can control your language and avoid words like morons if would be appreciated, its a gentle thread opened for discussion not agression.

socal1976 wrote:The guy who made up the lie that Novak cheated is a little upset with the rising costs of walrus meat in Canada or something and has decided he craves Socal's special attention, you got buddy.

You're kidding??!! Walrus meat has gone up in Canada??

socal1976 wrote:Only those with an agenda to smear ignore the obvious improvement in Novak's serve. Seems like Haddie and IC are suffering from sour grapes. Because if you watched tennis in 2010 you could not but help notice that Djokovic had major yips on serve, something that destroyed Guillermo Coria. I love it you can't beat him, so smear him. Wow very classy Invisible.

For one bit do you ever read a thread and answer? rather than shouting and yelling at me and other members why not stay away from threads you don't like to discuss, I no where in this thread said Djoko didn't deserve any success , the theme of the thread is with respect to "Gluten-free diet myth", please stick to the topic, thats better for everybody.

JuliusHMarx wrote:

socal1976 wrote:The guy who made up the lie that Novak cheated is a little upset with the rising costs of walrus meat in Canada or something and has decided he craves Socal's special attention, you got buddy.

You're kidding??!! Walrus meat has gone up in Canada??

I guess he mean "Walrus MEET "

Haddie-nuff wrote:I will be the first to put my neck on the line and say that I have always believed it to be total hogwash.. gluton free diet pft !!!! not on your life.
Whatever his secret it certainly is not that imo
Whatever played a part in his enhanced performance may well be to do with his respiratory problems or new contact lenses !!!!

However I am giving the gfd a try just in case it works!!!

emancipator

sportslover wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:I will be the first to put my neck on the line and say that I have always believed it to be total hogwash.. gluton free diet pft !!!! not on your life.
Whatever his secret it certainly is not that imo
Whatever played a part in his enhanced performance may well be to do with his respiratory problems or new contact lenses !!!!

However I am giving the gfd a try just in case it works!!!

I would go to specsavers first or try a spinhaler

sportslover wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:I will be the first to put my neck on the line and say that I have always believed it to be total hogwash.. gluton free diet pft !!!! not on your life.
Whatever his secret it certainly is not that imo
Whatever played a part in his enhanced performance may well be to do with his respiratory problems or new contact lenses !!!!

However I am giving the gfd a try just in case it works!!!

Which was exactly my idea, but unfortunately most Veggie foods have gluten in it and thats the main component thats gonna keep me healthy. GFD is close to zero Diet for me.

Socal.. Im making no allegations about Djoko I merely have stated his gluton free diet is a myth... you have filled in the gaps for yourself.

Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

emancipator wrote:





emancipator

Emaci explain this post of yours

Two guys fighting [1st smiley]
They are having Gluten free diet [2nd smiley]
and after the drink their performance got enhanced like Ghost [3rd smiley]

So you indirectly believe GFD

JuliusHMarx wrote:Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

Fine Julius no problem

What I always thought was odd about it was that Djoko's condition was diagnosed by a doctor he didn't know watching him play a match on TV, who then got in touch with his camp.

Im still trying to work out who has smeared who.
For my part there was no hidden agenda.. and no insinuations were made by me either intentionally or unintentionally. Wow I feel like Ive been mowed over by a tractor.. Anyone walking my way

The increase in stamina he showed was nothing short of remarkable....and yet the fingers are always pointed at Nadal...

Haddie-nuff wrote:Im still trying to work out who has smeared who.
For my part there was no hidden agenda.. and no insinuations were made by me either intentionally or unintentionally. Wow I feel like Ive been mowed over by a tractor.. Anyone walking my way

Can you point one insult I have posted in this thread? I have indeed requested several times to stick to the topic to someone diverting from it.

You have been mowed over just by a tractor, but me I a getting mowed by a tractor driven by an elephant, may be I can get my energy back with glass of gluten-free diet drink.

JuliusHMarx wrote:Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

I really don't think you should do this, unless the posts are libellous.

Members should be accountable for their declarations, and that includes having their statements stay on display.

lydian wrote:The increase in stamina he showed was nothing short of remarkable....and yet the fingers are always pointed at Nadal...

But do you believe GFD was anyway responsible for his increase in stamina? or GFD was just a myth?

ic I know what you mean and I was the fool that answered your article first...
hey lets have a glass of whatever your drinking ic ...

bogbrush wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

I really don't think you should do this, unless the posts are libellous.

Members should be accountable for their declarations, and that includes having their statements stay on display.

Is it bothering you BB ?? cos it aint bothering me. Can we not complicate matters any more than they already are.

invisiblecoolers, sounds like you were given the answer but disregarded it.

Your friend tells you, quite correctly, that going gluten-free can help people with celiac disease.

Djokovic has celiac disease.

Sometimes things really are that straight forward!

Haddie-nuff wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

I really don't think you should do this, unless the posts are libellous.

Members should be accountable for their declarations, and that includes having their statements stay on display.

Is it bothering you BB ?? cos it aint bothering me. Can we not complicate matters any more than they already are.

Nothing's 'bothering' me , I've not made any of these posts in question, but I do think its better to let posters stand by their posts, not have someone covering them. I don't think your post was even the subject.

bogbrush wrote:

JuliusHMarx wrote:Haddie, I've removed some posts, so yours now looks a bit out of context - I'm going to edit it to make it more relevant to the topic. Hope that's OK.

I really don't think you should do this, unless the posts are libellous.

Members should be accountable for their declarations, and that includes having their statements stay on display.

Well thats exactly the case, he was libelous and thanks to JHM for taking actions.

I removed posts that broke the house rules - then edited/removed a couple of post that referred drectly and only back to one of the deleted posts. That's all.
Would really like ALL posters to keep this thread on-topic.

HM Murdoch wrote:invisiblecoolers, sounds like you were given the answer but disregarded it.

Your friend tells you, quite correctly, that going gluten-free can help people with celiac disease.

Djokovic has celiac disease.

Sometimes things really are that straight forward!

Im not so sure about the accuracy of this.. needs further investigation.
I have seen quotes that say Novak does not have celiac disease.. he is gluton sensitive which is an entirely different thing. I dont think Novak would be playing at the level he is had he actually got the disease but then Im no medic. Perhaps i.c.-s friend might know the answer to that

invisiblecoolers wrote:
So how exactly Gluten free diet helped Djoko? we all know he suffered with some respiratory issues early on his career, but I don't think that's anywhere related to Celiac disease

Oh dear dear me.
Another ridiculous poorly researched article.
A week later after accusing Djokovic of winning a point he actually lost, you now say his gluten-free diet is not helpful as he 'suffered from some respiratory issues early on in his career' but it's not 'anywhere related to Celiac Disease.'
Oh dear.
http://tennisconnected.com/home/2011/04/27/djokovic-attributes-celiac-disease-to-new-found-form/
http://www.celiac.com/articles/22827/1/Australian-Open-2012-Has-a-Gluten-free-Diet-Made-Novak-Djokovic-Tennis-New-Alpha-Male/Page1.html
http://www.glutafin.co.uk/blog/article/will-wimbledon-help-raise-the-profile-of-coeliac-disease

Now one could imply that the whole 'celiac disease' in itself is a cover-up; but that would be a totally different accusation.
What you're saying is fundamentally different- that 'we all know he suffered with some respiratory issues early on his career, but I don't think that's anywhere related to Celiac disease'.

Haddie-nuff wrote:Im not so sure about the accuracy of this.. needs further investigation.
I have seen quotes that say Novak does not have celiac disease.. he is gluton sensitive which is an entirely different thing. I dont think Novak would be playing at the level he is had he actually got the disease but then Im no medic. Perhaps i.c.-s friend might know the answer to that

Whether he has celiac disease or just has an allergy to gluten doesn't really matter. Whichever option it is, he will still feel better for cutting out gluten.

Of course, that in itself doesn't explain his huge improvement but there is no mystery at all about why he went gluten-free.

But did anyone beyond a few lazy headline writers really believe that a gluten-free diet was the only reason behind his improvement? Are we to ignore rather more obvious factors like a massively improved serve, greater confidence, greater experience, the fact he is hitting the age when tennis players are at their peak, etc etc?

Also - http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/is-a-glutenfree-diet-behind-djokovics-smash-success-2285004.html

However, this - http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/health/we-cant-all-shun-gluten-like-novak-djokovic-6419008.html - says "It is not clear whether he is allergic to gluten, has an intolerance to it or has the more serious condition, coeliac disease." And it's written by a doctor.

As my old Dad is fond of saying, Doctors are plumbers who bury their mistakes.

He's sometimes a bit extreme that way.

bogbrush wrote:As my old Dad is fond of saying, Doctors are plumbers who bury their mistakes.

He's sometimes a bit extreme that way.

Oh I luv your Dad

HM Murdoch wrote:invisiblecoolers, sounds like you were given the answer but disregarded it.

Your friend tells you, quite correctly, that going gluten-free can help people with celiac disease.

Djokovic has celiac disease.

Sometimes things really are that straight forward!

I never disregarded it, it came from a Wiseman and he is a doctor and noways I will discard his advice, my query is regarding the hype surrounding GFD.

Haddie-nuff wrote:ic I know what you mean and I was the fool that answered your article first...
hey lets have a glass of whatever your drinking ic ...

Red Wine.

Cheers ic

@IMBL there is really no point in involving any meaningful discussion with you and Socal, so as usual most of them here including me discard any meaningless posts.

invisiblecoolers wrote:

HM Murdoch wrote:invisiblecoolers, sounds like you were given the answer but disregarded it.

Your friend tells you, quite correctly, that going gluten-free can help people with celiac disease.

Djokovic has celiac disease.

Sometimes things really are that straight forward!

I never disregarded it, it came from a Wiseman and he is a doctor and noways I will discard his advice, my query is regarding the hype surrounding GFD.

No, I mean he told you it could help with celiac disease but for some reason you dismissed this for Djokovic?

Anyway, if you are querying the hype, it's because people like exciting explanations.

"Player surges to number 1 on special diet" attracts more readers than "Player who was already #3 sorts out some technical issues, gets some confidence and climbs to number 1".

I doubt gluten free is the no #1 reason for Djokovic's improvement from 2010 to 2011 unless it was psychological, like a placebo.

I think we saw improved mental focus which came about as a result of his Davis Cup win in part, which I guess as the #1 reason. and some physicality improvement (he stopped taking retirements or getting tired, and faffing about with content lenses) which I guess as the #2 reason. This led to him being able to improve his defence, consistency and overall shot making as well. I think a few improvements to his game were also made, in addition to a less poor, or at least less erratic, second serve, I think his volleys, while still not fabulous by the standards of a #1 player, became a little better as well.

"did Nole's team used it as a secret technique to divert media and fans attention on something which didn't need much attention"

By the way, this is a clear insinuation that he is doing something dodgy, presumably you mean to insinuate performance enhacing drugs (PEDs). Well maybe he is taking them and maybe he isn't, but you have no evidence, so I think you probably shouldn't say that.

For one thing, doing slightly off kilter stuff like gluten-free and oxygen chamber actually does (very slightly) give the impression that he is trying to cover something up, and certainly wouldn't make such speculation LESS likely. Therefore if he were doing PEDs why would he come up with such a silly cover story. Better just to keep quiet or say something mundane about improved mental focus and a better serve surely? I would argue that this gluten/egg chamber stuff is NOT an argument for PED use, unless he is a fool, or takes everyone else for fools?

At no point did IC mention PEDs or suggest that Djoko was on them.
HB you are free to interpret IC's comments as you like, but there is no 'clear insinuation" IMO and you state "you probably shouldn't say that" when nothing was said.

lol JM I think it's pretty clear what this article is hinting at, if you don't choose to see it you don't have to.

I'm sure it's clear to those with suspicious minds - either suspicious of IC or suspicious of Djokovic.
Perhaps it's not so clear to more impartial readers.
I've just checked the reported posts - no-one has reported the original post for any libellous content.

When did I say anything about libellous content

What's being hinted is pretty clear, although it's not directly mentioned. I'm not sure whether you can see that or not.

It Must Be Love wrote:When did I say anything about libellous content

What's being hinted is pretty clear, although it's not directly mentioned. I'm not sure whether you can see that or not.

When did I say anything about you saying anything about libellous content

I think you see what you want to see. And so do I, of course. It's subjective, there is no right or wrong, but I admire your self-confidence to presume that you must be right. Perhaps that is the gift of youth.

Henman Bill wrote:"did Nole's team used it as a secret technique to divert media and fans attention on something which didn't need much attention"

By the way, this is a clear insinuation that he is doing something dodgy, presumably you mean to insinuate performance enhacing drugs (PEDs). Well maybe he is taking them and maybe he isn't, but you have no evidence, so I think you probably shouldn't say that.

For one thing, doing slightly off kilter stuff like gluten-free and oxygen chamber actually does (very slightly) give the impression that he is trying to cover something up, and certainly wouldn't make such speculation LESS likely. Therefore if he were doing PEDs why would he come up with such a silly cover story. Better just to keep quiet or say something mundane about improved mental focus and a better serve surely? I would argue that this gluten/egg chamber stuff is NOT an argument for PED use, unless he is a fool, or takes everyone else for fools?

Pathetic reading of the article HB.

Nole's secret technique could be anything, the way he developed his team, the way he changed his diet, the way he practiced or change of technique, or change of equipment anything for that sake.

Before you jump me on with ridiculous assumptions, I hope you don't end up summoning somebody for your false assumption. I never ever in the article questioned Djoko's technique for that sake my article is not even written with that theme, its way to clear I question the hype surrounding Gluten Free, I don't know whether Djoko had Celiac disease or not, but I felt that's not his secret to success but it was casted such a way to protect whatever his secret is.