The Body Quiz-Men’s Health

As we continue our #NoMeds focus on men’s health during the month of June, I want to look at body fat distribution (possibly not the most common blog subject, but important for your health nonetheless).

I am an avid people watcher and observe daily that people come in all shapes and sizes. I have recently noticed visible patterns of fat distribution on the bodies of people who have various organs that are toxic, overloaded and burned out. The following are the most common body types for both genders, with men tending to have the “toxic liver” body type most often. There is a quiz at the bottom, add those scores up to help determine if you have one of these body types.

The Thyroid Type

Some people carry their weight all over the body, which suggests thyroid gland distress. These individuals might also have cold hands and feet, high cholesterol and be constipated. Their estrogen (in males, too) may be elevated. Whether they are natural or sourced from chemicals, high estrogen levels impair thyroid function and congest the liver/gallbladder relationship, resulting in a stagnant gallbladder bile flow and congestion.

The Adrenal Type

Your adrenals supply many critical hormones for our existence, one of which is cortisol. When you are under stress, your cortisol levels are up and you will have a tendency for the carbohydrates you eat to be converted to body fat. Practice members of mine who are stressed and eating a lot of carbohydrates and stimulants tend to have more of their extra tissue hanging around as a “spare tire” around the waist–the adrenal pattern.

The Liver Type

Intentional or unaware consumption of toxic food and drink, including artificial sweeteners, taste enhancers, preservatives and even prescription medications, can overload your liver-detoxification system. Someone who has a huge protruding belly with “humpty-dumpty” bean-pole legs will generally have a liver that has expanded and is in a compromised state and currently not working to its full potential.

The Estrogen-Saturation Type

One body shape I am beginning to see more of in males of all ages is literally the “female body type” that can develop at any age once the secondary male sexual characteristics appear. I have observed that men today over 55 often have more estrogen in their system than their female mates of the same age do. This is a real travesty, the extent of which very few realize.

It’s important to identify your body type, especially if you would like to lose weight, more of this in my “Men’s Health-The Basics” Chapter Six. For the BODY TYPE QUIZ, circle the answer that best fits you. If you experience more than one symptom, circle the one that is most prominent.

1. Do you:

A. crave sweets, breads and pasta?

B. crave salt

C. crave deep-fried foods or potato chips?

D. crave ice cream, cream cheese, sour cream or milk?

2. Are you:

A. often depressed or feeling hopeless?

B. a worrier or often anxious and nervous?

C. irritable, moody or grouchy in the morning?

D. moody or irritable?

3. Do you:

A. feel better on fruits and berries?

B. need coffee or stimulants to wake up?

C. experience a tight feeling over your right, lower stomach area or rib cage?

D. experience constipation?

4. Do you have:

A. brittle nails with vertical ridges?

B. to wear sunglasses on a cloudy day?

C. pain/tightness in right shoulder area?

D. pain in right or left lower back/hip area?

5. Do you have:

A. a weight problem more evenly distributed?

B. a pendulous abdomen, meaning hanging, sagging and loose?

C. a protruding abdomen (potbelly)?

D. excess fat on thighs and hips and a lower stomach bulge?

6. Do you have:

A. dry skin, especially hands and around elbows?

B. swollen ankles; socks leave creases on ankles?

C. flaky skin or dandruff in eyebrows and scalp?

D. hair loss?

7. Do you have:

A. indentations on both sides of your tongue where the tongue meets the teeth?

B. atrophy (shrinkage) of the thigh muscles with difficulty getting up from a seated position?

C. dark, yellow urine?

D. trouble sleeping through the night?

8. Do you have:

A. a loss of hair on the outer third of the eyebrows?

B. dizziness when getting up too quickly?

C. hot or swollen feet?

D. brain fog?

9. Do you have:

A. to sleep with socks on at night of feeling cold?

B. chronic inflammation in body?

C. headaches or head feels heavy in the morning?

D. breasts that are getting larger or growing (i.e “man boobs)

10. Do you have:

A. puffiness around your eyes?

B. an unusual feeling of being “out of breath” while climbing stairs?

C. skin problems (psoriasis, eczema, brown spots)?

D. low sex drive?

11. Do you have/Are you:

A. excessive skin sagging under arms?

B. twitching under or on top of left eyelid?

C. not a morning person, yet feel more awake at night?

D. cyclic weight gain

12. Do you:

A. have dry hair and hair loss?

B. wake up in the middle of the night (2 a.m. – 3 a.m.)?

C. have a deep crevice (deep crease appearance) down the center of you tongue and/or a white film on your tongue?

D. have an upper body that is thinner than your lower body?

13. Do you experience:

A. a loss of the curly locks you had as a kid?

B. cramps in the calves at night?

C. more itching at night?

D. water retention, “boggy” wrist, feeling swollen

14. Do you:

A. becomes excessively tired in the early evening (7:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.) and more awake in the early morning?

B. have a more active bladder at night than during the day?

C. have a yellow tint in the whites of your eyes?

D. consume non-organic meat?

15: Do you have:

A. a lack of get-up-and-go (vitality)?

B. calcium issues or deposits-bursitis, tendonitis, kidney stones, heal spurs, early cataracts?

C. major moodiness if you skip a meal?

D. difficulty losing weight?

16. Do you have:

A. a history of being on low-calorie diets?

B. low tolerance for stressful situations, getting easily irritable and on edge?

C. stiffness and pain more in the right shoulder and right side of your neck?

D. pain and tightness inside the heels?

Count up the total of each:

Total A. Thyroid  _____

Total B. Adrenal  _____

Total C. Liver       _____

Total D. Estrogen _____

Tally up your results and look at the organ or gland correlation. If you have several points in all or even one of the areas, you need to get that area under control. Any of the glands, when fatigued or compromised, can sabotage your ability to lose weight and keep it off. Weight loss is almost certainly one of the chief obstacles strangling every facet of our existence and negatively impacting our society today.