He might be rich, but he's probably not happy. Probably.... Actually, if we are being honest here he does look pretty contented to be fair, and it turns out his test levels are likely to be in pretty good shape
As if those with plenty of money didn’t have enough going for them, a new U.K study now shows a strong link between our bank and hormone balances. It seems testosterone and money go hand in hand.
Basically, the healthier your cash flow is the more likely your testosterone flow is to match. In fact these researchers suggest that lower male hormone may be a reason why, in Britain at least, the less well-off can expect to die an average of 8 years earlier than richer people.
The study, from University College London and published in the the journal of Social Science and Medicine, compared T samples from those in low income households – earning under £6000 (approx. $8,500) a year – against others bringing in more than £30,000 ($42,000). It found that the men who were struggling for money typically had up to 10% less testosterone.
This is important because lower T is connected with a range of serious health risks such as; depression, osteoporosis, weight gain and loss of muscle, More recently it has also been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The trial of 1,880 subjects also included women in both categories. Poorer girls were found to have 15% higher T, which in a female body can increase the chance of problems, including early puberty, infertility and polycystic ovaries.
Differences in T levels wasn’t the only thing picked up on in the study. They also found those from further down the social scale had lower levels of insulin-like growth factor. This is another incredibly important hormone which we need to stay healthy and the lack of it can result in issues like impaired mental function or even cancer. UCL findings were a gap of 8% for working class men and 16% for women.
Diana Kuh who was part of the team said, “…disadvantage across life, based on father’s social class and the study member’s education, social class and income, was associated with an adverse hormone profile”
“These hormones are thought to work together to ensure healthy development and also have many different roles in regulating health in older age. These socio-economic differences in hormone systems may play a role in explaining social inequalities in health as we age.”
None of this is great news for all of us trying to keep up performance (not to mention pulse) levels on a tight budget. It also doesn’t help that the most famous way of boosting testosterone is hormone replacement therapy, which is highly controversial and costly.
Don’t start those funeral plans just yet though, the good news is there are useful low cost ways you can keep that T (and pulse) pumping. An active lifestyle, healthy diet and reasonably priced natural boosters are all proven ways to safely raise the body’s own hormone production.
Your ticket to a fit, healthy and long life doesn’t need to have ‘Lottery’ printed on it.
One comment
Testosterone In Business: Face Facts - Testosterone Resource says:
[…] nothing else this study adds to a growing understanding of how money affects testosterone and vice […]