Let me first explain why I am about to bash your favorite alcoholic beverage. It is not just beer though. Beer is simply the worst offender. It destroys your T levels... Why should you care? Testosterone makes your stomach flatter, helps you heal faster live longer and god willing keep your hair in your head where it belongs. Still afraid to blame the booze? Read on if you dare.
" Hops contain a substance called 8-prenylnaringenin which acts as a phytoestrogen, mimicking the effects of natural estrogen in the body. Being sedative, hops may actually help with insomnia. But for a male, the combination of “sedation” and “high levels of estrogen” are deadly, leading to low sex drive, lower energy, man boobs, and abdominal fat."
Source
- http://renegadehealth.com/blog/beerwine
This source recommends men drink Wine instead but...
- " The metabolism of ethanol lowers the amount of the coenzyme NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) inside liver and testes. NAD+ is essential part of the electron donoring process needed in the production of testosterone and various other androgens, hence why it’s believed that alcohol lowers testosterone in a dose-dependent manner.
- Alcohol stimulates the brain to release beta-opioid endorphins, which are the reason why you get really relaxed after few beers. Sadly those endorphins are also notorious for their negative effect on testosterone synthesis.
- Alcohol consumption causes oxidative damage in the testicular leydig cells and various other bodily tissues, which leads to local reduction of testosterone inside the ballsack, and also to the destruction of some testosterone molecules already in circulation, due to the effects of the stress hormone: cortisol.
- Chronically high alcohol consumption can significantly increase estrogen levels. This is due to the fact that it boosts the activity of the aromatase enzyme, which works by converting the male sex hormone: testosterone, into the female sex hormone: estrogen. "
a) It has been noted in several rodent studies that consumption of alcohol lowers testosterone levels significantly (study, study, study, study). One study in particular is rather alarming, since it showed a 50% reduction in testicle size in rats who were fed a diet with 5% of calories coming from ethanol.
b) Multiple human studies have found that heavy consumption of alcohol reduces testosterone levels (study, study, study, study). It’s also seen that men who suffer from alcoholism have significantly lower testosterone levels, and higher estrogen levels, than men without alcohol problems, even if they have a perfectly functioning livers (study, study, study, study).
c) But how much is too much then? It might come as a relief to some that a low-dose (0.5 g/kg) of alcohol has actually been shown to slightly increase testosterone levels. And a moderate-dose (equivalent to 1,5 glasses of red wine) only lowered testosterone levels by 7%. Even more surprising is that in this study, 1g/kg of alcohol (that’s about half a glass of vodka for most men) taken post-workout, was able to increase testosterone levels by ~100%! Take that study with a grain of salt though, since another one found out that if you work out drunk or in hangover, the testosterone lowering effects of alcohol will significantly increase in duration.
d) It’s also worth mentioning that beer is probably one of the worst alcoholic beverages to enjoy, if you’re interested in not fucking up your testosterone levels. This is because the hops of which most beers are made from contain a very potent phytoestrogen called: 8-Prenylnaringenin. In fact, hops are so estrogenic that the women who pick them up by hand, often experience menstrual problems. Another not so awesome compound in beer is called xanthohumol, which can impair hormone signaling.
Source
