Why liking hot curries really does make you the alpha male: Men who enjoy spicy food have higher testosterone levels

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It is a scene repeated in curry houses around the world - male customers trying to prove their manhood by eating the hottest curry on the menu.

But now is seems this rite of manliness may actually be based on scientific fact after researchers have shown that only real men go for the spiciest food.

Physiologists at the University of Grenoble, in France, have found that men with a taste for spicy foods tend to have higher levels of the hormone testosterone.

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Eating a beef vindaloo while out for a meal may do more than make you sweat - it can prove that you have higher testosterone levels, according to the research by scientists at the University of Grenoble

Testosterone is known to make men more adventurous, aggressive and sexually active. Those with the highest levels tend to be more dominant, or the alpha male, of a group.

The researchers believe that by eating hot curries, men may also be boosting their hormone levels as chili peppers have been shown to increase testosterone levels in rats.

Professor Laurent Begue, who led the study, said: 'We demonstrated a positive correlation between salivary testosterone and the quantity of hot sauce male participants voluntarily and spontaneously consumed with a male.

'Additionally, testosterone levels correlated with participants' perceptions of the spiciness of their meal after a tasting task.

'This study provides new insights into the biology of food preference by expanding our understanding of the link between hormonal processes and food intake.'

The chemical in chilli peppers that creates heat is called capsaicin and binds with the pain receptor to produce the characteristic burning sensation.

This is known to cause physiological changes in the body, raising the heart rate, increasing perspiration and releasing endorphins and adrenalin.

It is this that produces the uncontrollable sweating that can sometimes accompany eating really hot food but some research has also shown it can trigger the release of hormones involved in happiness.

The researchers involved in the lastest study, which is published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, tested 114 men between the ages of 18 and 44 from from Grenoble after advertising for participants to take part in food tasting panel for a food research company.

They were asked to indicate their preferences regarding spicy food and had the levels of testosterone in their saliva measured.

They were then asked to season a sample of mashed potatoes with Tabasco hot pepper sauce and salt before then evaluate the spiciness of the meal.

The researchers found that those with higher levels of testosterone tended to put more chili sauce on their potato while there did not seem to be any correlation with salt.

Professor Begue said it could be that the higher levels of testosterone are leading men to seek thrills and take risks by eating hotter food.

Previous research in rats has shown that eating chili may also increase levels of testosterone, particularly if they consumed a regular diet containing capsaicin during adolescence.

Writing in their paper, titled 'Some like it Hot', Professor Begue and his colleagues said that further research would be needed to see if a preference for spicy food produced similar changes in humans.

The Brick Lane Curry House in Manhatten, New York, serves a curry contains eight of the hottest chilis in the world including the Bhut Naga Jolokia, which is used by the Indian military to make tear gas

Watch Gordon Ramsay and Alan Carr try the hottest curry in the world (Warning: contains some mild swearing) 

Heat in chilis is measured using the Scoville heat unit scale, with the hottest known rated at 2.2 million SHU

They said: 'To our knowledge, this is the first study in which a behavioural preference for spicy food has been linked to endogenous testosterone.

'Future administration studies will be necessary to evaluate the causal relationship between elevated testosterone and preference for spicy foods.'

There are several restaurants around the globe that lay claim to serve the hottest curry in the world.

The Bindi restaurant in Grantham, Lincolnshire, sells a dish it calls the Bindi, which is made with 20 Naga Infinity Chilis, the second hottest on the planet.

The fumes it produces are so potent that it needs to be prepared by chefs wearing facemasks and the curry has been rated at more than six million units on the Scoville Scale.

The Crocodile Inferno at the Dilshad restaurant in Cannock is so hot it is reputed to cause halicinations in those that eat it.

It contains the Ghost chili pepper, The Trinidad scorpion Butch T. chili pepper and the Carolina Reaper.

Brick Lane Curry House in New York serves the Phaal curry, which is around 200 times hotter than Tobasco sauce and is rated at 1 million units on the Scoville scale. 

While the effect of hot peppers on women is still to be tested, testosterone does also play an important role in the female body, so it may also affect them.

The latest findings may also lead to an ever more competitive edge to in curry houses as men attempt to show off their virility and manliness. 

However, it could also just lead to a lot more indigestion.