Sports Coaching - Energy Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet

By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

The Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic is on fire. After winning 43 straight matches, including 41 in 2011-- something that hasn't been done since 1984 -- he plowed through the quarter finals then the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year. Even if he had not won Wimbledon, his winning streak would have given him enough points to put him in the top spot, ranking him as the number one men's tennis player in the world. But, of course, he did win.

So what did Djokovic do to initiate such a dramatic energy boost? A gluten-free diet has been credited for the recent successes, according to the Wall Street Journal. As recent as last year, his on-court struggles with a lack of stamina and energy were evident when closing out matches. His serve became sloppy and his movement lacked the energy to hit closing shots. The shift to a gluten-free, low starch diet has left Djokovic feeling energized throughout his entire matches. As a result, he is not only sharper physically but also more importantly, mentally.




Even if you are not gluten sensitive, when you eliminate starch-based, refined and processed non-foods such as pizza, bread, pretzels, chips, pasta, potatoes, legumes, rice, and other high carbohydrate foods, you allow the body to reset itself metabolically. As a result, it stops drawing all its energy from sugar (all starchy carbohydrates are converted to sugar in the bloodstream), and begins to draw its source of energy from ketones, found in healthy fats and proteins. This is kind of similar to the way the Atkins diet works, and the same urinalysis strips can be used to test to make sure you are burning fats and not carbs.

The body (especially the brain) operates much more efficiently on ketones and so much so that your energy levels tend to skyrocket after you make the dietary shift. It takes time, however, usually about four to six weeks before the dreaded carb (sugar) cravings subside, but when it happens, don't be surprised if you'll feel as if you've transformed into Superman!

If you are gluten sensitive then you'll not only want to eliminate all foods containing gluten (such as all wheat-based products), but it would be wise to eliminate "cross-reactive" foods to gluten as well. Cross-reactivity is the reaction to substances that are either genetically or structurally similar to gluten because your immune system tends to associate them with gluten. Some of the most common cross-reactive substances are: casein (found in milk and cheese AND many off the shelf protein powders), oats, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, yeast products, coffee, and milk chocolate. Sugar is always sugar no matter what it looks like before you eat it. All starchy foods such as grains and legumes will be metabolized by the body as sugar.

Here's the bottom line. When we return to the diet of our paleolithic ancestors, the high fat and protein low carb diet that we, as the homo sapiens species followed consistently, day after day for over 250,000 years, our body's metabolism will become more compatible with our genetic physiology. It's all about the genes folks. The human body is simply not designed for this type of modern food onslaught we put it through.

Whatever sport you practice from Basketball to Yachting, a gluten free diet can help boost your energy levels, alertness, and stamina. Try it soon - it could be your next big thing!

Personal Life Coach, Jason Lincoln Jeffers, is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company dedicated to teaching Spiritual Enlightenment to the world.