Gluten free diet - Naturopathic ''Elimination'' Diet

[Anonymous]

But while following this forum I have noticed many snide/belittling comments concerning JV, Allen Lim and Garmins take on dietary manipulation and how it affects performance. Specifically I am referring to the Gluten free diet and how it appears that some forum members feel it is a weak attempt at covering an illicit program and that it cannot be responsible for performance gains.

I gave a quick search of the forum to look for any citations or scientific evidence (posted by forum users) that would prove that dietary manipulations, such as gluten/allergen reduction, would not increase performance and I found no such information. As well, I saw a complete lack of intelligent discussion surrounding this form of performance manipulation. What I did see was a quick reaction that it cannot do anything, based on what appears to be a lack of information, therefore, they are doping.

Start by providing a study that shows such a gluten/allergen reduction WOULD increase performance and maybe your protestations would have more weight?

Secondly, the diet was never the issue. As has been said, if a true allergy exists, then removal from the diet of those substances would certainly benefit the health of the rider, though that does not necessarily mean there would be an increase in performance.

Lastly, there has never been a debate of this particular topic. It has been mentioned in posts regarding Garmin, but never given singular scrutiny. You have changed that, so don't be surprised or act all wounded because everyone didn't take your singular example that lacks any real data other than "weight loss increases performance" as proof positive that JV is on to something. I see nothing wrong with the diet, just the idea that it accounts for major gains in performance cycling. Though, it you have a study that shows those gains, please stop withholding it from us.

I am also willing to bet that if Contador joins, he will eat the same way he did last year...

 

[BroDeal]

BroDeal you are the untimate cynic! There is nothing magic about a Gluten Free diet. I have been a coeliac (gluten free diet) for the last 20 years and there is definately no advanatge in a Gluten Free diet particualrly for long stage races where your body can't get enough carbs in. I'm not sure what evidence exists or where the questions were raised re the link between a Gluten Free diet & doping but it sounds rediculous.

It is simply smart team management to closely monitor elite athletes diets closely when competing at the levels the Pro Tour guys do for weeks on end. Great job Garmin but I still wouldn't recommend a Gluten Free diet unless it was necessary!

What is ridiculous is the excuses to cover drug fueled performance gains that we have seen over the years. Did not Gianni Bugno give lactose intolerance as his excuse for winning the 1990 Giro from start to finish? Claudio Chiappucci decided he needed to do a few more days a year training and racing to turn himself into a top three Tour de France contender. Miguel Indurain lost some weight, which not only allowed him to outclimb climbing specialists but also improved his time trialing to such a degree that he was able to put four minutes into the other TdF GC contenders in a single time trial. Lance Armstrong's excuses have become the punchlines of jokes. The reasons given for large, sudden performance increases in cycling should always be looked at with extreme skepticism.

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him? You gave us your tale of woe about being a coelliac, but you never addressed the obvious questions that the rest of us have. How is it that these "sick" riders became pros in the first place? How is that Garmin ended up with a handful of riders who could all make giant leaps in performance by changing their diets? Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

Why should we trust anything Vaughters has to say? He wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand he is leading the revolution in clean cycling. On the other hand he maintains omerta by keeping Team Postal's secrets. It is like Bernie Madoff's right hand man setting up a hedge fund, giving interview after interview calling for an honest Wall Street, but at the same time protecting his old employer by refusing to give evidence about Madoff's crimes. Would anyone trust such a man to manage their money? I would not. I would not give such a person a bent nickel.

Now Vaughters has hopped on Pat McQuaid's band wagon. According to the official line there is no more doping in cycling--or so little that clean riders can win. McQuaid has announced that there will be no more positives at the Tour for years to come. Vaughters has said that it is now time for his young and clean team to win the Tour de France. Fans all over are rejoicing that the bad old days are behind us and now we should all believe. We have arrived at the promised land--or it is in within sight.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

 

[Cobber]

What is ridiculous is the excuses to cover drug fueled performance gains that we have seen over the years. Did not Gianni Bugno give lactose intolerance as his excuse for winning the 1990 Giro from start to finish? Claudio Chiappucci decided he needed to do a few more days a year training and racing to turn himself into a top three Tour de France contender. Miguel Indurain lost some weight, which not only allowed him to outclimb climbing specialists but also improved his time trialing to such a degree that he was able to put four minutes into the other TdF GC contenders in a single time trial. Lance Armstrong's excuses have become the punchlines of jokes. The reasons given for large, sudden performance increases in cycling should always be looked at with extreme skepticism.

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him? You gave us your tale of woe about being a coelliac, but you never addressed the obvious questions that the rest of us have. How is it that these "sick" riders became pros in the first place? How is that Garmin ended up with a handful of riders who could all make giant leaps in performance by changing their diets? Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

Why should we trust anything Vaughters has to say? He wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand he is leading the revolution in clean cycling. On the other hand he maintains omerta by keeping Team Postal's secrets. It is like Bernie Madoff's right hand man setting up a hedge fund, giving interview after interview calling for an honest Wall Street, but at the same time protecting his old employer by refusing to give evidence about Madoff's crimes. Would anyone trust such a man to manage their money? I would not. I would not give such a person a bent nickel.

Now Vaughters has hopped on Pat McQuaid's band wagon. According to the official line there is no more doping in cycling--or so little that clean riders can win. McQuaid has announced that there will be no more positives at the Tour for years to come. Vaughters has said that it is now time for his young and clean team to win the Tour de France. Fans all over are rejoicing that the bad old days are behind us and now we should all believe. We have arrived at the promised land--or it is in within sight.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

+1........ great post

 

[blackcat]

What is ridiculous is the excuses to cover drug fueled performance gains that we have seen over the years. Did not Gianni Bugno give lactose intolerance as his excuse for winning the 1990 Giro from start to finish? Claudio Chiappucci decided he needed to do a few more days a year training and racing to turn himself into a top three Tour de France contender. Miguel Indurain lost some weight, which not only allowed him to outclimb climbing specialists but also improved his time trialing to such a degree that he was able to put four minutes into the other TdF GC contenders in a single time trial. Lance Armstrong's excuses have become the punchlines of jokes. The reasons given for large, sudden performance increases in cycling should always be looked at with extreme skepticism.

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him? You gave us your tale of woe about being a coelliac, but you never addressed the obvious questions that the rest of us have. How is it that these "sick" riders became pros in the first place? How is that Garmin ended up with a handful of riders who could all make giant leaps in performance by changing their diets? Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

Why should we trust anything Vaughters has to say? He wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand he is leading the revolution in clean cycling. On the other hand he maintains omerta by keeping Team Postal's secrets. It is like Bernie Madoff's right hand man setting up a hedge fund, giving interview after interview calling for an honest Wall Street, but at the same time protecting his old employer by refusing to give evidence about Madoff's crimes. Would anyone trust such a man to manage their money? I would not. I would not give such a person a bent nickel.

Now Vaughters has hopped on Pat McQuaid's band wagon. According to the official line there is no more doping in cycling--or so little that clean riders can win. McQuaid has announced that there will be no more positives at the Tour for years to come. Vaughters has said that it is now time for his young and clean team to win the Tour de France. Fans all over are rejoicing that the bad old days are behind us and now we should all believe. We have arrived at the promised land--or it is in within sight.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

+ 2 Bros.

Remember, we are told by the fanbois, 131313, I am looking at you dude, you and your Boulder training mates, that Vaughters should be applauded for his transparency.

But I think Landis ran a "wiki defense" which must be the most stupid counsel ever offered to a doper. I think he even went onto another forum, at Daily Peloton. Should we applaud Fraud Landis, and his FFF.

Seems this argyle armada is pure spin, like Obama. Just spin. Dont change the patriot act, dont close G-Bay, dont stop doping, etc etc.

false prophet and fraud.

when one suggests they have blind faith in Contador, and really are not all concerned at Wiggins transformation and hemoglobin pattern at the Tour, man... the fan feels angry, at being duped. Being spun.

 

[mikkemus23]

What is ridiculous is the excuses to cover drug fueled performance gains that we have seen over the years. Did not Gianni Bugno give lactose intolerance as his excuse for winning the 1990 Giro from start to finish? Claudio Chiappucci decided he needed to do a few more days a year training and racing to turn himself into a top three Tour de France contender. Miguel Indurain lost some weight, which not only allowed him to outclimb climbing specialists but also improved his time trialing to such a degree that he was able to put four minutes into the other TdF GC contenders in a single time trial. Lance Armstrong's excuses have become the punchlines of jokes. The reasons given for large, sudden performance increases in cycling should always be looked at with extreme skepticism.

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him? You gave us your tale of woe about being a coelliac, but you never addressed the obvious questions that the rest of us have. How is it that these "sick" riders became pros in the first place? How is that Garmin ended up with a handful of riders who could all make giant leaps in performance by changing their diets? Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

Why should we trust anything Vaughters has to say? He wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand he is leading the revolution in clean cycling. On the other hand he maintains omerta by keeping Team Postal's secrets. It is like Bernie Madoff's right hand man setting up a hedge fund, giving interview after interview calling for an honest Wall Street, but at the same time protecting his old employer by refusing to give evidence about Madoff's crimes. Would anyone trust such a man to manage their money? I would not. I would not give such a person a bent nickel.

Now Vaughters has hopped on Pat McQuaid's band wagon. According to the official line there is no more doping in cycling--or so little that clean riders can win. McQuaid has announced that there will be no more positives at the Tour for years to come. Vaughters has said that it is now time for his young and clean team to win the Tour de France. Fans all over are rejoicing that the bad old days are behind us and now we should all believe. We have arrived at the promised land--or it is in within sight.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

+ 1 000 000!
Your post really connected the dots, thanks!

 

[sniper]

What is ridiculous is the excuses to cover drug fueled performance gains that we have seen over the years. Did not Gianni Bugno give lactose intolerance as his excuse for winning the 1990 Giro from start to finish? Claudio Chiappucci decided he needed to do a few more days a year training and racing to turn himself into a top three Tour de France contender. Miguel Indurain lost some weight, which not only allowed him to outclimb climbing specialists but also improved his time trialing to such a degree that he was able to put four minutes into the other TdF GC contenders in a single time trial. Lance Armstrong's excuses have become the punchlines of jokes. The reasons given for large, sudden performance increases in cycling should always be looked at with extreme skepticism.

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him? You gave us your tale of woe about being a coelliac, but you never addressed the obvious questions that the rest of us have. How is it that these "sick" riders became pros in the first place? How is that Garmin ended up with a handful of riders who could all make giant leaps in performance by changing their diets? Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

Why should we trust anything Vaughters has to say? He wants to have his cake and eat it too. On one hand he is leading the revolution in clean cycling. On the other hand he maintains omerta by keeping Team Postal's secrets. It is like Bernie Madoff's right hand man setting up a hedge fund, giving interview after interview calling for an honest Wall Street, but at the same time protecting his old employer by refusing to give evidence about Madoff's crimes. Would anyone trust such a man to manage their money? I would not. I would not give such a person a bent nickel.

Now Vaughters has hopped on Pat McQuaid's band wagon. According to the official line there is no more doping in cycling--or so little that clean riders can win. McQuaid has announced that there will be no more positives at the Tour for years to come. Vaughters has said that it is now time for his young and clean team to win the Tour de France. Fans all over are rejoicing that the bad old days are behind us and now we should all believe. We have arrived at the promised land--or it is in within sight.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

good post indeed.

more interesting posts in this thread.
worthy of a bump.

there's some great science behind Garmin's recovery diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVdkeHAxo-0
(that's team chef Sean Fowler)

 

[blackcat]

So when Vaughters tries to sell the public on a gluten free diet being responsible for his team's rise, should we believe him?

dont ignore Lim's rice cakes. and burning the right store of energy from fats and not carbs. if you are inuit you may find difficulty in burning fats not carbs so we need to change your diet.

Why have not the other teams used similar dietery monitoring to turn their middle of the packers into contenders for the TdF podium?

St Moritz pre-Tour training camp. That is where the water is pure.

The curious thing is that I am not really clear when this remarkable transformation is supposed to have taken place. Was it in 2006 after Operation Puerto and Floyd Landis? Was it in 2007 after the UCI picked a team to persecute and busted all its top riders, plus Rasmussen was prevented from winning the Tour? Was it in 2008 when a quarter of the TdF stage winners were using CERA? Maybe it was in June of this year, right after Di Luca put on a fabulous show at the Giro. I cannot see that anything has changed other than the UCI is more determined than ever to convince everyone that cycling has turned the corner.

Its the Zeno's Parodox o' cycling. Cycling always changes, it keeps getting clean, it never repeats the dark ol' days.

Since I cannot see that anything has changed and some of Team Garmin's riders seem to have undergone an Armstrong-like mid-career change then you had better believe I will be cynical about how it was accomplished. When such changes are accompanied by suspicious cover stories, I am twice as cynical.

mitochondria from XX chromosome.

JV has some jedi yoda mindtrick power because he can disable the market efficiency theory like when Bruyneel does the eye test to look into his riders eyes to see if they have any eye disease or jaundice or cataracts or keratoconus, or glaucoma or macular degeneration, Bruyneel can discern by just looking into your eyes and seeing if you are doing PEDs, well so can JV, and he can deactivate market efficiency with his competitors matching his Tour winning marginal gains with his jedi mind trick like yoda these are not your marginal gains and the marginal gains you are looking for.

 

[blackcat]

there's some great science behind Garmin's recovery diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVdkeHAxo-0
(that's team chef Sean Fowler)

that is genius. have Garmin trademarked that?

listen to your body. give your body everything it needs.

i have so much more respect for Garmin now. This chef is the cipher for Garmin. They will be winning the Tour with Talansky surely. The way he abused Gerrans just tells me, the guy has that killer instinct like Armstrong. none of the other stuff tho! cos garmin cleans!

 

[DirtyWorks]

JV has some jedi yoda mindtrick power because he can disable the market efficiency theory ..

What market? The UCI has a worldwide monopoly and IOC money coming in if absolutely no billionaire hobbyists threw money at the sport.

As for the jedi yoda mindtrick, I'm right there with you.

I think Cookson wants to emulate either Blatter or Ecclestone. It's obvious looking at the reforms plans they are getting closer every year to a F1-style calendar... and all of F1's problems trying to get a complete grid of contenders, and a parade instead of a race, and races in places no one goes. (Sochi)

Instead of growing, the sport churns through fans. As soon as anyone gets sufficiently involved, then the ridiculousness of the sport is apparent and they quit. This is fertile ground for fads like gluten free. Did you know that's how those riders got skinny? True story!!!

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

Why is there a kook diet proselytizing thread in the doping forum?

 

[DirtyWorks]

Why is there a kook diet proselytizing thread in the doping forum?

It's cycling. OF COURSE it's a kook diet responsible for podiums.

 

[blackcat]

What market? The UCI has a worldwide monopoly and IOC money coming in if absolutely no billionaire hobbyists threw money at the sport.

As for the jedi yoda mindtrick, I'm right there with you.

I think Cookson wants to emulate either Blatter or Ecclestone. It's obvious looking at the reforms plans they are getting closer every year to a F1-style calendar... and all of F1's problems trying to get a complete grid of contenders, and a parade instead of a race, and races in places no one goes. (Sochi)

Instead of growing, the sport churns through fans. As soon as anyone gets sufficiently involved, then the ridiculousness of the sport is apparent and they quit. This is fertile ground for fads like gluten free. Did you know that's how those riders got skinny? True story!!!

the sport defies monetizing.

it is built around one race, and amaury makes the coin. Armstrong made the money on his Tiger Woods style endorsments on cats p!$$ michelob and subaru cos overweight middle aged chiropracters like Hombre would buy everything that Armstrong "endorsed". and a culture in the lowlands and smoking in tents a x-cross or 6-days while drinking Duvel tripel and then going home and benchpressing their missus

 

[centri]

I don't want to hijack this awesome thread, but to throw in my 2 cents, anybody around me who I have convinced to do three weeks off of gluten* has found similar results to what the OP has posted, myself and my wife included.

My own anecdotal evidence, n = 10 people, more or less, is that most people are affected by gluten in some manner, and most improve in some manner (including gas and intestinal discomfort) when they let it go (not all of these people were training).

I have yet to find anyone take the challenge and not feel better and perform better. However many go back to eating normally because its just too easy to eat normally, or they don't want it bad enough etc etc.

* many people in the area say that it can take up to a year for the body to sort itself out. YMMV.

 

[skippythepinhead]

I don't want to hijack this awesome thread, but to throw in my 2 cents, anybody around me who I have convinced to do three weeks off of gluten* has found similar results to what the OP has posted, myself and my wife included.

My own anecdotal evidence, n = 10 people, more or less, is that most people are affected by gluten in some manner, and most improve in some manner (including gas and intestinal discomfort) when they let it go (not all of these people were training).

I have yet to find anyone take the challenge and not feel better and perform better. However many go back to eating normally because its just too easy to eat normally, or they don't want it bad enough etc etc.

* many people in the area say that it can take up to a year for the body to sort itself out. YMMV.

Far be it for me to question your bona fides, but the science of "gluten free" suggests the benefit which your anecdotes appeared to experience was not due to the presence or absence of gluten. In re: the question of completely unexpected remarkable pro-cycling performances, "gluten-free" might as well be "intestinal bioflora aligned with performance goals," or "crushed moon rock smoothies," or even "eating backwards to bypass energy-sapping digestive process and bring nutrients directly to liver."

 

[sniper]

"Gluten free" is a decoy, me thinks. At least for Wiggins 2009 it was.

Check all the blogs and interviews with Nigel Mitchell (Sky) and Sean Fowler (Garmin) about losing weight and how they fuel the riders.
No mention of Gluten Free whatsoever.
http://roadcyclinguk.com/racing/interview-nigel-mitchell-fuelling-team-sky.html#wbAMwKiMFM8Qemoy.97
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/in.../izn20141208-Road-Avoiding-Stomach-Problems-0
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/in...0106-Eating-on-the-bike-Cycling-Weight-Loss-0
http://rouleur.cc/journal/performan...ell-team-sky-and-british-cycling-nutritionist

Here's the program of a 2014 conference on sports nutrition, starring Stephane Bermon, Sir Chris Hoy, Haile Gebreselassie and Nigel Mitchell:
http://www.isenc.org/daily-schedule.html
Not a single paper on gluten free.

It seems to have been a 2009 Garmin thingie.
Lim in 2009:

Their [Garmin riders'] diets are generally gluten free.

Wiggins in 2009:

He went gluten free in January and February

Reality is more sobering, me thinks.
If you are gluten intolerant, you'll benefit massively from gluten-free.
Otherwise there seems no apparent reason for athletes to go gluten-free.

If you are considering going gluten-free, first try consulting a doctor to see if you are generally intolerant. Clearly, if you are, you?ll see benefits almost instantly. For the other 99% of us, cutting out the amount of processed foods and consuming your gluten in less refined versions of breads and pastas will make sure you?re consuming the right amount of gluten and give you a more steady energy release.

http://www.tenpilates.com/article-gluten-free-diets.html

So for athletes with gluten intolerance, gluten-free is probably indispensable to get an optimal performance. For everybody else the benefits are marginal at best, and there is definitely nothing revolutionary about gluten-free nutrition, otherwise the academics and scientists that deal with sports nutrition would be all over it, me thinks. And that's not the case:

I've entered "gluten" in search engine of the online
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
http://www.jissn.com/search/results?terms=gluten
just one article where the term appears, and not even in the context of "gluten free".

In this IOC manual for sports nutrition not one mention of gluten free, not even in the section on 'gaining muscle and losing body fat'.
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_833.pdf
Same for IAAF's guide to athlete's nutrition:
http://www.google.pl/url?sa=t&rct=j...=bGhUzYHpck3GjRzCYCxVcg&bvm=bv.85970519,d.ZWU

another high profile conference on sports nutrition:
nothing on gluten free.
http://www.biocare.co.uk/content/BC/docs/PeakPerformanceFlyer.pdf?LoadIntoBrowser=True

I do find a lot of mention of "gluten free" in pseudo-scientific sources, though. Case in point:
https://books.google.pl/books?id=fY...&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=djokovic&f=false
On p.4, the book describes how Djokovic went from just one of the world's best players to THE world's number one, in a fortnight, thanks to his gluten-free diet.

 

[sniper]

i've entered "gluten" in search engine of the online
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
http://www.jissn.com/search/results?terms=gluten
just one article where the term appears, and not even in the context of "gluten free".

In this IOC manual for sports nutrition not one mention of gluten free, not even in the section on 'gaining muscle and losing body fat'.
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_833.pdf
Same for IAAF's guide to athlete's nutrition:
http://www.google.pl/url?sa=t&rct=j...=bGhUzYHpck3GjRzCYCxVcg&bvm=bv.85970519,d.ZWU

another high profile conference on sports nutrition:
nothing on gluten free.
http://www.biocare.co.uk/content/BC/docs/PeakPerformanceFlyer.pdf?LoadIntoBrowser=True

I do find a lot of mention of "gluten free" in pseudo-scientific sources, though. Case in point:
https://books.google.pl/books?id=fY...&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=djokovic&f=false
On p.4, the book describes how Djokovic went from just one of the world's best players to THE world's number one, in a fortnight, thanks to his gluten-free diet.

For athletes with gluten intolerance, gluten-free is probably indispensable to get an optimal performance. For everybody else the benefits seem marginal at best.

 

[centri]

I don't subscribe to the idea that gluten free has powered cyclists to equal doping levels of performance.

"So for athletes with gluten intolerance, gluten-free is probably indispensable to get an optimal performance."

Yes and no. My wife has gluten intolerance, she might as well be a gluten testing device Give her something with gluten and she's zapped for energy for the rest of the day.

Me on the other hand, I can eat it, and if I eat it consistently I notice nothing. But if I drop it for a consistent amount of time, and then go back to it, I notice the 'downgrade' in my performance. I wouldn't say that I am intolerant, just that eating it hinders my performance/recovery etc.

This is a weird, misunderstood area, imo. What I do know is that there is a benefit. Its not doping (comparing it to, say, ventolin or an ACE stack), but you feel and recover much better.

For me its like an IQ test: If you are racing you'd be stupid not to try dropping it. ;-)

 

[TANK91]

This is what stopped Djokovic being tyred in 5 set matches