DO YOU EVEN SPICE, BRO?
If not, you may not be nearly as “Alpha Male” as that other bro who loves the feeling of spicy food ravaging his taste buds. According to the Telegraph, scientists at the University of Grenoble in France have published a report entitled “Some Like it Hot,” suggesting that regular consumption of chili peppers may raise levels of testosterone. Testosterone being the hormone that makes men more sexually active and super macho.
114 men, ranging in age from 18 to 44 participated in the study in which they were presented with a plate of mashed potatoes and invited to add chili sauce to taste. Their testosterone levels were measured from saliva samples and findings showed that those who added the most hot sauce had the highest testosterone.
To me, there’s already a bit of a flaw in this experiment. Not sure how they do things in Grenoble, but who the hell puts chili sauce on their mashed potatoes? If anything, this tests the enjoyment of odd flavor combinations more than spice, but what do I know, I’m not a scientist and I don’t study at University of Grenoble. I’ll tell you one thing though, if liking spicy foods makes you the “Alpha Male,” consider me Hulk Hogan. When I order wings, I almost always order them “atomic” and I almost always finish more than half of the plate. I bet the rest of you nerds go with honey barbecue or teriyaki.
Laurent Begue, one of the authors of the study, is quoted as saying, “these results are in line with a lot of research showing a link between testosterone and financial, sexual and behavioural risk-taking.”
While there is no confirmation that the regular consumption of spicy food contributes to increasing testosterone levels (so far this has only been demonstrated on rodents, but scientists believe that it’s possible), this experiment is further proof that those with higher testosterone levels were more apt to take risks. In this case, the risk was in taste.
So next time you succumb to social pressures and feel like you need to compete for your “Alpha Male” rank in society, just whip out a jalapeño and down the whole thing. You’ll surely impress.
[via the Telegraph]
