The other day I received an email regarding gluten-free diets and athletes. The emailer wanted to know if there were any performance benefits of a gluten-free diet. Here's my thoughts, which are strictly based on my thoughts and experiences from athletes except for the info regarding celiac disease which is from my Medical Therapy textbook: As far as the gluten-free diet, most people who are advised to adhere to a gluten-free diet suffer from celiac disease. Celiac disease has a lot of symptoms including diarrhea, anaemia (due to poor absorption of iron, folate and B12), indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating, weight loss, fatigue, and infertility. When celiac disease athletes suffer from these conditions a gluten free diet can help alleviate the symptoms. However, for the majority of athletes who don't have celiac disease, a gluten-free diet may or may not improve performance. First off, the symptoms of bloating and stomach distress are common in athletes who consume a lot of s...
3x Author, Board Certified Sports Dietitian, Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, 2017 IM CHOO Amateur Female Champion, 19xIronman finisher including 6xIM World Championship finisher, Triathlon Coach, 30-year Vegetarian.Trimarnicoach.com