I read a book by a doctor that said that peanuts contain testosterone. (He was suggesting that it could aggravate acne)
Now I have heard that eating high levels of the monounsaturated fat which is present in peanuts can raise testosterone levels, but this is the first time I have heard that peanuts-or any other food-actually contain testosterone. So do peanuts or any other food contain this hormone?
You have it right. They can have an effect on testosterone levels but they do not actually contain the hormone itself. If they did, you can be sure you would know about it and they would be used as a cheap source for testosterone used in testosterone replacement therapy. Bodybuilders would be eating them nonstop.
Sometimes even the pros get it wrong. In a similar gaffe, a friend of mine is a shrink and he once insisted that peanut butter was high in cholesterol. (A psychiatrist has an MD.) Vegetable products have zero, but the saturated fat can cause your cholesterol to go up.
More importantly, the effects are usually short term. Enough maybe to aggravate ACNE briefly (if testosterone levels are the source of the problem in a particular case). Long term, the effects are probably flat.
Eggs have a fairly high amount of cholesterol.
Studies on people who had eaten more eggs than average during a specific study perios revealed a steady or lowered cholesterol level.
Nutrition science is a hoot.