A recent study has revealed a particular novelty linking caffeine-based sodas and testosterone levels, here’s what Chinese researchers have discovered.
Scholars from Northwest Minzu University in China have published their findings on Acta Endocrinol, making known the effects that drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have on the human reproductive system.
Scientific research and surveys have so far only highlighted the negative effects that carbonated drinks bring to the body, but the new study will lead to a better understanding of the functioning of the human body, which seems to benefit from the intake of caffeine-based carbonated drinks.
In the introduction of the publication it can be read that carbonated drinks can lead to cardiovascular problems, type 2 diabetes, obesity and risks related to the increase in the likelihood of the appearance of malignant breast tumors, there are also many studies that demonstrate the effects that caffeine contributes to fertility.
The team of experts, wanting to study more accurately the consequences of the constant intake of caffeine-based carbonated drinks, in fact discovered that the mice examined during the research, fed Coca-Cola and Pepsi, reported not only high levels of testosterone but also an enlargement of the testicles.
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The study was conducted by 6 researchers, lasted 15 days and involved 150 mice divided into 5 groups:
- the first group drank a diluted solution of Pepsi and water
- the second group drank Pepsi exclusively
- the third group drank a diluted solution of Coca-Cola and water
- the fourth group drank exclusively Coca-Cola
- the fifth group or the control group finally drank only water.
The mice were monitored continuously and tested on days 0, 5, 7, 10, 13 and 15. The groups’ testosterone levels and testicular mass were taken into consideration during the analyses. In preliminary studies, the group of researchers has also shown how Coca-Cola and Pepsi can affect not only the growth of follicles but also the reduction of the thickness of the ovarian cortex.
The results of the various tests brought to light an important increase in the size of the testicles and in the level of testosterone in the mice that had taken the caffeine-based carbonated drinks exclusively, questioning all the research carried out previously, with which it was thought that the consumption of these substances could instead inhibit fertility.