Novak Djokovic regularly goes 16 hours without eating

Novak Djokovic has always given great importance to healthy eating, considering it one of the main keys to his success. In the latest episode of 'Conscious Living', the World number 1 conversed Dr. Dragan Ivanov, a professor at the College for Teacher Education and specialist in internal medicine in a clinic in Novi Sad. During the aforementioned chat, the 17-time Grand Slam champion talked about his unusual diet to achieve maximum fitness. Despite being an athlete of the highest level who needs high doses of energy, Nole has confessed to spending 16 hours without touching food. This process, known as 'autophagy', seems to have benefited him greatly in the past year and a half.

Djokovic on his unusual dietary practices

"In the new episode of "Conscious Living", I talked with the respected Professor, Dr. Dragan Ivanov. Dr. Ivanov is a specialist in internal medicine, a professor at the College for Teacher Education and has his own practice (clinic) in Novi Sad. Dr. Ivanov shared some basics of healthy eating that he advocates. I really enjoyed the conversation, and I hope you will too. Cheers. Going 16 hours a day without food has contributed to improvements in my digestive system. I have better sleep and more energy during the day" - Novak Djokovic explained. On being asked about his views on autophagy, Dr. Ivanov elaborated: "If we don’t ingest anything for 12 hours, our brain looks for food reserves. It finds a microorganism, a pathogenic bacterium and destroys and recycles it. The brain then finds a mutated cell which produces extra energy from decomposed materials. The body derives extra fuel from previously dysfunctional cells," Dr. Ivanov added. "If we have lunch at 2 or 3 pm, 12 hours later, autophagy is activated. It cleanses our body and prepares fuel for the next day. But the process takes 12 to 16 hours depending on individuals. The secretion of melatonin will be higher if we do not have food in our intestines," Dr. Ivanov stated. "When we fast, our body cells regenerate and recover. As a lifestyle, it is ideal to have breakfast in the morning, have lunch from 2 to 3 and then eat nothing until breakfast the next day. This routine would prevent many diseases." Novak, who was unbeaten in 2020 before the suspension of the circuit, ended up in the eye of the hurricane for the ways in which the Adria Tour took place. The absence of social distancing and the presence of a large audience contributed to the spread of the contagion, so much so that Djokovic himself tested positive after undergoing a tampon in Belgrade.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Z8rwQz