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Djokovic credits his transformation to Dr. Igor Cetojevic, a "skinny, grayhaired, mustachioed" Serbian nutritionist living in Cyprus. Dr. Cetojevic persuaded the tennis star to give up gluten by administering a simple test: He told Djokovic to put his left hand on his stomach, hold out his right arm and resist as the doctor pulled down on his arm. Then Dr. Cetojevic gave Djokovic a slice of bread and told him to hold that against his stomach and repeated the test.
"This seemed like madness," Djokovic writes. "And yet, there was a noticeable difference."
When an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test showed Djokovic had a strong intolerance to wheat and dairy, he went without gluten for 14 days and felt great. Then the doctor asked him to eat a bagel. "I felt as though I'd woken up with a hangover," he writes. Djokovic swore off gluten for good and ended up losing 11 pounds. He says he feels faster, more flexible and better able to concentrate.
Since he started his new diet, he writes, "My allergies abated; my asthma disappeared; my fears and doubts were replaced by confidence." He adds: "I have not had a serious cold or flu in nearly three years."
Want to roll like the world's top men's tennis player? Start by drinking loads of warm water all day long, as well as shakes made with pea protein concentrate. Avoid dairy and stay away from alcohol during tournaments. Eat lots of avocados, cashew butter and very little sugar. Banish caffeine, other than the occasional energy gel bar before matches. Be sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, meditate, do plenty of yoga and tai chi, take melatonin supplements, hook yourself up to a biofeedback machine that measures your stress level and, when you have a free moment or two, keep a diary. Feel free to unwind with a cup of warm licorice tea.
In the book, Djokovic reveals one of his heretofore unknown obsessions: manuka honey from New Zealand.
Incdentally, my integrative medicine doc did the same test on me, only with my cell phone. My strength was noticeably reduced when my cell phone was on my belly. WHY??
Clearly, you're sensitive to cell phones. Be sure you don't take even a nibble in a weak moment.
I have an hunch that test result would be the same regardless of what you held on your stomach. Have you tried it with other objects? How about trying it with a slice of GF bread? I'm guessing the result would be the same.
I'm going to theorize that when we hold an object against our stomach, we are less likely to tense our entire upper body, and especially our back muscles (out of fear of damaging the object), and that reduces our overall ability to resist the force applied to our outstretched arm. I'm not sure whether to attribute that to a knowledge of physiology on the doctor's part, or a propensity to utilize slight-of-hand tricks, but IMO it has nothing to do with detecting gluten sensitivity.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I should mention I was laying down. And we did the same test with several objects. One was a vial of sea water which I later drank for dizziness issues with success. There was a very clear difference between the cell phone strength versus other harmless objects. We even repeated it with the same result each time. It was freaky.
Is your integrative medicine doc a magician in his spare time? I wonder if he had one of those boxes where he saws women in half stashed somewhere in a back room. He may be working on developing another career to fall back on in case medicine turns out to be just a passing fad.
That's interesting, though.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I was once given "nutrition testing" by a chiropractor, which entailed that same arm strength test, with various things placed on my belly as I laid on the exam table. I was giggling because I thought it was ridiculous at the time. The doctor prescribed the supplements that my body seemed to agree with, and told me that my calcium-magnesium-zinc supplement was definitely something I shouldn't take, because of my arm weakness when testing it. I continued to take it anyway.
Fast forward eight years, and this spring I had to stop taking my calcium and magnesium because my mouth was going numb every time I took them...oral allergy syndrome? Anyway, I now have to admit that maybe there was something to the "nutrition testing"! It just seems unscientific and silly.
Pat
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
It is unscientific and silly. He was just utilizing his knowledge of supplements and playing the odds. That one is a no-brainer. Zinc is notorious for causing numbness.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
That's what I thought, too, Tex. That's why I kept taking it for so long. I had recently been taking Calcium+D, and also Magnesium, as two separate pills, no zinc. But I still had the numbness even without the zinc. I'm sure it's because of something else used as a filler in the supplements.
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
Do you still have the numbness? Sometimes such nerve damage, can be persistent. If you still have it, you might try vitamin B-12. B-12 can often reverse minor numbness or paresthesia issues. Be sure that there is enough folic acid in your diet, also, because B-12 is unavailable to the body if folic acid is deficient.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex
i am not sure that it is Silly - it may come across as unscientific (then again big pharma call themselves scientists and look what they output??!!!)
Muscle testing is used in multiple disciplines such as acupuncture, kinesiology etc. I have had FANTASTIC results via practitioners using this method
and i am pretty sure Nancy and Kari have also attained great information via muscle testing.
in conjunction with the muscle testing, quite often they are holding your wrist and checking pulse as well.
at this point i would say - Dont knock it unless you have tried it!
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
By "muscle testing" I would hope that you are referring to something more scientific than simply manual resistance (strength) testing.
If not, then as Gilda Radner's Emily Litella character used to always say, after she stuck her foot in her mouth, "Never mind".
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
About 15 years ago I saw a Chinese acupuncturist who did muscle resistance testing. She placed vials in my hands and then tested my muscle resistance by pressing down on my arms. From the results of that she made dietary recommendations. Because it made no logical sense to me I did not follow her advice. I have forgotten what that advice was but I am sure that whatever she told me to eat or not to eat was probably healthier than what my diet was at the time and if I had followed it perhaps things would have improved. At the time I was experiencing a lot of nausea if I remember correctly. Since my history of gastrointestinal troubles goes back many decades it is hard to remember what was bothering me when. Her muscle testing methodology made no logical sense to me and it still doesn't but her dietary advice may have been sound. I cannot argue with anyone who says that they got better following the results of this method but I can wonder why. I also don't follow a lot of the so-called scientific advice given by western medical professionals. I am an equal opportunity skeptic.
Since I seem to have left an unintended impression, I'd like to clarify my position on this issue by adding some detail about my thoughts:
I believe that much/most of the advice handed out by alternative practitioners is sound. Maybe even better (sometimes much better) on some issues than much/most of the health advice handed out by mainstream doctors. Why they choose to use a lot of hocus-pocus to support their claims, I can only guess. Probably they recognize that some sort of "testing" procedure makes their advice more believable, and more importantly, more memorable. I'm sure that most patients who have a powerful visual memory imprint tend to more consistently comply with treatment recommendations.
And I'd like to point out that alternative practitioners don't have the market cornered on mysterious methods, either. We have to remember that the concept of "practicing medicine" began a couple thousand years ago, shrouded in mystery, and powered by blood-letting as the primary treatment for whatever ailed a patient. Mainstream medical practitioners have always done their best to preserve and maintain an aura of mystery surrounding their profession. They even insist on using their own quaint language with a unique vocabulary, "doctorspeak", to try to keep patients in the dark regarding their notes in their records and conversations with their colleagues.
The bottom line is, while they use different methods for helping patients, and they have different areas of specialty, as far as I can tell, alternative practitioners for the most part are basically as legitimate as allopathic practitioners, and most of their methods are probably no weirder on the average than a lot of the foolishness associated with mainstream medicine. And just as we find in mainstream medicine, there are "good" alternative medicine practitioners, and there are "bad" ones. One huge advantage that the alternative doctors have though, is that they all seem to actually listen to their patients, and empathize with them. Mainstream docs could learn a lot from them in that area.
At least that's the way I see it.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Zizzle, When, I got my new blackberry I read the the instruction book. The safety warnings were not to use it for long conversations or keep it in my pocket. It recommended buying a case that attaches to the belt. Research reports show that the electronic devices break down the blood barriers and allow contaminates from the blood stream to enter the cells. Electronic devices also effects our body energy causing a blockage. Example, I drive a van and used to keep my cell phone on the engine cover under the radio. You could hear the signals on the radio from the cell phone, also six inches below the engine cover is the electronic control sensor. I had to replace it twice because it was damaged from the cell phone. When, I placed the cell phone on the seat I never had to change it again. The sensor would make the van engine speed increase without stepping on the pedal. Electronic polution is just as bad as air polution. In most homes today, there may be multiple computers connected to a router or printer. Each one sends a signal back and forth. Jon
You don't have to convince me. I think cell phones are evil, and are a likely cause of DNA damage, not to mention ear and brain tumors. I make my husband shut his off before bed, I avoid streaming music or video, especially in the car, I declined a wi-fi router near the bedrooms in our house, i rarely talk (mostly text), etc. We will know in due time, how much they are damaging our health. There was an interesting study conducted by students who tried to grow a plant from seed in their school, one in a room next to a wi-fi router, one is an equivalent room without wi-fi. The ones next to the router never grew. They died.
Clearly, you're sensitive to cell phones. Be sure you don't take even a nibble in a weak moment.
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