<p>Existing sociological theories of the positive relationship between resources and health emphasize the fundamental causes and social-structural forces that shape health outcomes, but focus less on intervening mechanisms and the processes by which those resources ‘become’ health. We present the theoretical framework of ‘<i>chains of exchange’</i>: iterative processes of transformation that resources undergo along a causal pathway to ultimately affect embodied health for better or for worse. The choice to pursue a particular chain of exchange is conceptualized as a function of several interactive factors: the inherent characteristics of resources, the individual’s life course history and resource endowment, the gatekeeping practices of institutions, and the social desirability of the exchange. The <i>chains of exchange</i> framework explicitly incorporates countervailing mechanisms and choice architecture into the resource-health relationship by emphasizing individual agency in the process of selectively using resources to affect health. Our aim is to provide a tool, for social determinants of health research and practice, to facilitate the investigation of how interventions at different points of resource exchange and causal proximity to health can have varying levels and kinds of success in shaping health outcomes.</p>