Tennis is one of my favorite sports to play and watch.
I was so sad to hear that Maria Sharapova admitted to doping. She was definitely one of my favorite tennis players and a role model to so many people.
Many people wonder what doping is...so I thought I would break it down for you.
Doping is when an athlete uses a certain drug/substance to boost their performance/activity level. Think of it as a product that provides an energy rush or high.
There are many forms of doping, but I will specifically talk about blood doping today since Sharapova used a medication that works by way of enhancing muscle performance by way of red blood cells.
Sharapova was using a drug called Meldonium. Meldonium helps to increase blood flow to muscles which improves exercise capacity.
Blood doping involves increasing the number of red blood cells in your body. Red blood cells are important in carrying oxygen. The more red blood cells that you have the more oxygen your body can deliver to muscles.
When you exercise your muscles need oxygen for energy.
The more oxygen that can be delivered to your muscles during strenuous exercise, the less likely the muscles get tired. Blood doping helps to improve oxygenation to muscles so that your muscles are ready to win tournaments (literally).
Other blood doping agents include:
-Eythropoetin (aka EPO)
EPO is actually a hormone made by the kidney that stimulates red blood cell production. This drug causes an increase in red blood cells. The more red blood cells you have, the more oxygen your muscles can receive.
-Synthetic oxygen carriers
These are very creative chemicals that were made to carry oxygen. They were created for emergency situations -- mainly to deliver oxygen to patients who are having a massive bleed and human blood is not available. Its meant to hold patients over until a human blood transfusion is available.
-Blood transfusions
This involves receiving a large amount of blood into the veins to help increase one's red blood cell count.
There are serious side effects to doping agents which include:
-Blood clots anywhere in the body
-Heart problems (like a heart attack)
-Strokes (blood clots in the brain)
I hope this information helps you understand why some athletes do the things they do....sadly.
Please feel free to ask any questions & ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
I was so sad to hear that Maria Sharapova admitted to doping. She was definitely one of my favorite tennis players and a role model to so many people.
Many people wonder what doping is...so I thought I would break it down for you.
Doping is when an athlete uses a certain drug/substance to boost their performance/activity level. Think of it as a product that provides an energy rush or high.
There are many forms of doping, but I will specifically talk about blood doping today since Sharapova used a medication that works by way of enhancing muscle performance by way of red blood cells.
Sharapova was using a drug called Meldonium. Meldonium helps to increase blood flow to muscles which improves exercise capacity.
Blood doping involves increasing the number of red blood cells in your body. Red blood cells are important in carrying oxygen. The more red blood cells that you have the more oxygen your body can deliver to muscles.
When you exercise your muscles need oxygen for energy.
The more oxygen that can be delivered to your muscles during strenuous exercise, the less likely the muscles get tired. Blood doping helps to improve oxygenation to muscles so that your muscles are ready to win tournaments (literally).
Other blood doping agents include:
-Eythropoetin (aka EPO)
EPO is actually a hormone made by the kidney that stimulates red blood cell production. This drug causes an increase in red blood cells. The more red blood cells you have, the more oxygen your muscles can receive.
-Synthetic oxygen carriers
These are very creative chemicals that were made to carry oxygen. They were created for emergency situations -- mainly to deliver oxygen to patients who are having a massive bleed and human blood is not available. Its meant to hold patients over until a human blood transfusion is available.
-Blood transfusions
This involves receiving a large amount of blood into the veins to help increase one's red blood cell count.
There are serious side effects to doping agents which include:
-Blood clots anywhere in the body
-Heart problems (like a heart attack)
-Strokes (blood clots in the brain)
I hope this information helps you understand why some athletes do the things they do....sadly.
Please feel free to ask any questions & ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
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