Exercise Performance and Glutening

 

My late wife, Celia, could run 5km in 25 minutes at the age of 58. I have never been able to do anything like that at all, so recently I have bought a rowing machine to try and improve my fitness.

I row about “4 miles” on the machine and typically it takes me about five minutes to perhaps five minutes ten seconds. I aim to do this twice a day, except when I play an hour of tennis. I should say that I’m not showing much improvement, but perhaps my body is past the point of no return. On the other hand, my real tennis handicap has improved since I started taking the extra exercise. I always used to tail off towards the end of the hour, but now I seem to stay in there.

About two weeks ago, I was accidentally glutened in a pub probably because of some balsamic vinegar. (Why can’t they all use Aspalls?) My performance dropped alarmingly for two days and it was probably four before I got back to my normal performance level.

This is not a definitive test, but it did show me the alarming affects of gluten on someone like me who is by no means supersensitive.