Higher Testosterone Level Found in Men Who Like Spicy Food

Men who prefer spicy food tend to have higher testosterone level than men with milder tastes, according to a new study.

Researchers at France's University of Grenoble found in their new study titled "Some Like It Hot" that men with higher testosterone levels are inclined to use seasonings to spice up their meals. To test this correlation, a survey was conducted on 114 men from age 18 to 44 on whether or not they liked spicy foods, and were later served a dish of mashed potatoes which they were allowed to season with however much hot sauce and salt they wanted, writes SBS.

A saliva test revealed that the men who consumed higher levels of hot pepper sauce and showed preference for spicier potatoes had a more increased level of testosterone.

"These results are in line with a lot of research showing a link between testosterone and financial, sexual, and behavioral risk-taking. In this case, it applies to risk-taking in taste," Laurent Begue, an author of the study said according to Science Times.

Although results show that men with higher testosterone levels tended to use more hot sauce, there was no relationship between testosterone and the amount of salt used.

Testosterone is a steroid hormone produced in abundance in men, and is responsible for their muscle mass, strength, bone density; the maturation of sex organs, deepening of the voice, and basically everything else that men go through during puberty, according to the Medical Daily. A high testosterone level in men is linked to dominant and competitive traits.

The researchers noted that there is no definite conclusion about the hot sauce-testosterone connection. They speculated that spicy food can help boost testosterone level. Two other reasons may be that the men with higher testosterone could have been attracted to the hot sauce, with its aggressive red color (a previous study revealed that men who prefer red over blue tend to have higher testosterone level) or maybe they just grew up eating spicy food.

The study will be published in the Physiology and Behaviour journal next year.