Beer, Testosterone & Men
What every man needs to know
As a middle-aged man inching closer to age 40 with each passing day, I’m beginning to notice the changes that come with aging. I can’t exercise at the same intensity and frequency as in my youth. I experience random aches that seem to appear without explanation. Although I still love beer, I can’t drink the quantities I previously did without significant consequences. On the surface, being able to consume less might seem like a bummer. However, with the knowledge I’ve gained on alcohol and its effects on health, it might be a blessing in disguise. The data consistently point to light drinking as the safest way to drink, should you decide to imbibe. This rings especially true for today’s topic, testosterone in men, and how alcohol consumption affects it.
Around age 40, men typically start to see a steady decrease in testosterone levels that lasts for the rest of their lives. Some see such a significant drop that they require testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to maintain normal levels. Myriad factors include diet, body composition, environmental hazards, smoking, physical activity or lack thereof, and alcohol consumption. Beer, and any other alcoholic beverage, all have long-term side effects when consumed in excess. The most well-known is the infamous ‘beer belly,’ liver damage, and increased risk of heart disease. However, another issue that isn’t as well known is how alcohol consumption affects hormones, specifically testosterone. Like many variables associated with alcohol consumption, the answer can vary greatly depending on how much and how often one chooses to drink.
To no one’s surprise, heavy drinkers or those with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) suffer from lower-than-normal levels. With that, let’s focus on moderate to light consumption and clarify what that means — definitions provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Heavy Drinking: 15 or more drinks per week for men, eight or more for women. If you’re drinking this much, you’re most likely suppressing testosterone and damaging the other organs and systems within the body. This should be avoided if you want to maintain optimal testosterone levels.
Moderate Drinking: two drinks per day or less for men and one or less for women over a week.
Light Drinking: Three drinks or less in a week.
Alcohol disrupts the production of testosterone by interfering with hormone signaling. Hormones and their regulation within the body are immensely complicated and dependent upon many factors, so for brevity, I’ll give you the quick and dirty version of testosterone production. The hypothalamus releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which then acts on the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland releases luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In response to this, the testes produce testosterone. Alcohol throws a monkey into the whole process by disrupting every step and causing less of said hormones to be released, resulting in less testosterone to be made. The endocrinology lesson is over, thankfully.
FIRST, THE BAD NEWS
Research has shown that testosterone can drop 30 minutes after ingestion of alcohol but returns to baseline after drinking ends (1). Conversely, some studies have shown that small amounts of alcohol can increase testosterone before returning to baseline (2). It should be noted that these minor and transient changes to testosterone levels won’t significantly affect your testosterone over the long term, so focusing on consumption and testosterone levels over the lifespan should be the priority. Yet another study took a group of healthy control men and compared them to chronic alcoholics and measured testosterone before and after a 30-day intervention. The men in the intervention group were then given the equivalent amount of alcohol found in a 16-ounce bottle of whiskey for 30 days straight! Unsurprisingly, the 30 days of drinking caused the previously normal testosterone levels in the healthy group to drop and correspond with the levels in the alcoholic control group (1). This example is extreme, but it demonstrates how excessive alcohol can muck things up.
Excess alcohol can also lead to weight gain and obesity, which is another factor that can cause testosterone levels to drop. Chronic intake can also cause cortisol levels to remain consistently elevated, which can also cause testosterone levels to decrease. Alcohol also hinders the production of the coenzyme NAD+, which is found in every cell in your body and is necessary for testosterone production. Less NAD+ equals less testosterone. By now, it should come as no surprise that the longer you abuse alcohol, the greater the potential damage.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS
Testosterone levels may rise again if you stop drinking, but this could take about six months, assuming you’ve done no permanent damage to the liver or testes. The older you are, the longer it will take for levels to rebound. Light to moderate alcohol consumption doesn’t appear adversely affect testosterone levels in men. There is fewer data on moderate to light consumption cared to heavy drinking. Even so, keeping your alcohol intake low won’t cause you to have lower testosterone than men who abstain.
The Takeaway
Too much booze negatively impacts testosterone levels. The longer you abuse, the worse the damage, but stopping allows levels to return to normal. One drink or less per day is most likely a safe way to drink without negatively affecting testosterone levels.
- Duca Y, Aversa A, Condorelli RA, Calogero AE, La Vignera S. Substance Abuse and Male Hypogonadism. J Clin Med. 2019 May 22;8(5):732. doi: 10.3390/jcm8050732. PMID: 31121993; PMCID: PMC6571549.
- Sarkola T, Eriksson CJ. Testosterone increases in men after a low dose of alcohol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Apr;27(4):682–5. doi: 10.1097/01.ALC.0000060526.43976.68. PMID: 12711931.
