Viagra might have other uses

Weirdly, this is going to be another post on athletic stuff, which I usually ignore strenously.

Turns out that Viagra might improve breathing in low oxygen situations.

Viagra works by dilating blood vessels, and this effect might be the reason for the improvements. The heart can pump blood through the lungs more efficiently.

Methinks that we might have another doping scandal brewing, especially considering that Viagra is probably easier to get than steroids or those other drugs that improve endurance that bicyclists especially all take. I wonder if they can detect Viagra in a blood test.

It's weird, because I was just thinking about doping while reading earlier comments on my post about the Olympics. I too have heard that Lance Armstrong gets booed by some French bicycling fans during the Tour de France. While I'm sure a lot of it is just plain ol' nationalism, I have also heard that they resent him because he is adamant in his claims that he doesn't dope even though he wins by beating tons of people who do dope. To be fair, his claims stretch the bounds of credibility, considering that he had to take a common doping drug legally for awhile due to his cancer treatments.

I feel dirty now, since I've cast a shadow over a local hero. I will say that I have no idea whether Armstrong dopes now or ever has in the past. But I can see why the French might be skeptical and how this might inform their opinions of him.