Is Red Wine the New Way to Increase Testosterone?

Red wine contains a compound that could potentially boost testosterone levels in your body by inhibiting its excretion from the body, new research in Nutrition Journal suggests.

Testosterone exits the body when an enzyme called UGT2B17 attaches itself to the hormone, enabling it to be transported through urine. Now, researchers at Kingston University in London have discovered that quercetin, a flavonol in red wine, blocks UGT2B17 in lab studies. This suggests that drinking red wine could potentially inhibit testosterone from leaving the body via urine, causing elevated levels in your bloodstream.

Although, more research needs to be done before you start downing wine like shots. “[There] are many steps that need to be taken to see if these findings can be translated to humans,” says Michael Joyner, M.D., an exercise researcher at the Mayo Clinic.

Note, this is just one of the ways testosterone exits the body and even if wine does cause elevated levels, it probably only works in controlled doses. “Chugging wine—or any alcohol for that matter—could tank your T levels, not boost them,” warns Men’s Health.

H/T Men’s Health