Being a dad lowers T, especially for those on CR/WFPB diet

[drewab]

I came across this gem - a cross sectional/correlational study on being a father and T levels. The reason I think it's important is that Tanzanian hunter gatherers are known to eat 100-150g of fibre daily, something many of us here do. In addition they have a low BMI and low energy intake.

 

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/276/1655/347

 

I'm typing this from my phone so my response has to be limited, but here were some points I picked up on:

-their T in general is far lower than Americans - 150 pmol vs Americans being 250-400pmol (I'm not familiar with this unit and google didn't help)

-caring for offspring closely lowered AM T by 30% and PM T by 50% (same trend not seen in America)

-more closely caring for children lowered T more, while distance parenting didn't

-fidelity lowered T

-T didn't vary by age in these groups, suggesting you can maintain some T as you age

 

Maybe this is why some CR practitioners like Paul McGlothin are able to maintain youthful T levels.

 

Thoughts?

[Dean Pomerleau]

Interesting study Drew. Thanks for posting it.

 

None of it seemed all that surprising to me. Nurturing, faithful dads had lower testosterone than warrior, philandering dads. I'm not sure what characteristics of these African folks you think is particularly applicable to Paul M and his apparently high(er) testosterone. The fact that he's not a dad?

 

Moreover, the question is still unsettled as to whether having low T is good or bad for overall health and longevity. Many suspect it may be good, but on the other hand T may be important for bone, heart and brain health. 

 

--Dean

[Alex K Chen]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3756938/indicates positive effects of circulating GnRH hormone in males (and GnRH is important for testosterone signalling). Could be related.