Can red wine be used as doping by athletes?

TheRed winecanincrease the performance of athletes and sportsmen on the field of playincreasing the amount of available testosterone, a hormone that significantly improves physical performance. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Kingston (United Kingdom) in a recent study. Also, sincedrinking wine reduces the amount of testosterone excreted in the urine, the study authors say that it coulddistort doping test results.

ThetestosteroneIt is a natural steroid hormone that both men and women possess. It can increase muscle mass, one of the reasons why su consumption is considered as doping(artificial improvement of physical test results) and is prohibited to athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency. However, red wine is not a substance included in the controlsanti-dopingDespite the fact that, as Declan Naughton and his colleagues have just shown, it has the ability to alter the body’s levels of testosterone. Specifically, its effects are due toquercetin, an antioxidant substance (flavonoid) that partially blocks the action of the enzyme UGT2B17, which is responsible for the kidneys to expel testosterone. If this enzyme is blocked, the amount of hormone eliminated by the body is lower and the concentration in the blood increases, as the researchers report in the journalNutrition.

Naughton had previously observeda similar effect after the consumption of green tea.