Antony Haynes - The Insulin Factor - Can’t Lose Weight? Can’t Concentrate? Can’t Resist Sugar? Could Syndrome X Be Your Problem?

1 Family and Health History

2 Signs and Symptoms

3 Dietary Factors

4 Lifestyle and Exercise

5 Lab Test Results (not essential, but explanations are given so you can understand your results).

This is simple. You need to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each question, with the exception of the age question. Each ‘yes’ answer is awarded a single point. In the age question, you score more the older you are, with a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 0.

Do you have now or have you ever had in the past:

1 A family history of diabetes (type II), heart disease or stroke?

2 A family history of obesity or high cholesterol?

3 Type II diabetes (non-insulin dependent, adult-onset)?

4 High blood pressure (Hypertension)?

5 High blood sugar (Hyperglycemia)?

6 Low blood sugar (Hypoglycemia)?

7 Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?

8 Gout or arthritis?

9 Kidney stones?

10 A BMI of 30 or over?

11 Take the birth control pill (now, or for more than a year in the past)?

12 Exercise less than one hour a week?

13 Are you of South Asian, African, Polynesian, or Mexican origin?

14 Crash dieted to lose weight quickly?

15 What is your age? (60+ = 3, 50–59 = 2, 30–49 = 1, under 30 = 0)

Score out of 17 (women) =

Score out of 16 (men) =

Again, ‘yes’ answers score one point, but please note that if your BMI is equal to or over 33 then you score one point four times for the weight-related questions.

Do you have now or have you ever had in the past:

1 Is your BMI 33 or more?

2 Is your BMI 30 or more?

3 Is your BMI 27 or more?

4 Is your BMI 24 or more?

5 Difficulty losing weight despite exercise and/or a calorie-controlled diet?

6 An addiction to carbohydrates/sweets?

7 Inexplicable fatigue, tiredness, lack of energy?

8 Headaches, nausea or fatigue that is alleviated by eating?

9 A feeling of always being thirsty?

10 Need to eat every 3 hours or less?

11 Irritable after 4 hours without food?

12 Sleepy or fuzzy headed particularly after carbohydrate meals?

13 Suffer from afternoon fatigue?

14 Indigestion after meals?

15 Acne?

16 Physically unfit?

17 Hirsutism (excess facial hair or on the thighs)? (Women only)

18 Dry, flaky skin?

19 An earlobe crease in each ear?

20 Postural hypotension (your blood pressure drops when you stand up)?

21 Arcus senilis in your eyes? (This is a marking in the coloured part of the eye, the iris, where there is a white circle within the circumference, usually at the top of the iris under the eyelid (11 to 1 o’clock), but sometimes in the lower part too (4–8 o’clock), and sometimes around the whole iris)

Score out of 21 (women) =

Score out of 20 (men) =

Each ‘yes’ answer scores one point. Please note that if you smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day, then you score one point three times for the smoking-related questions. The same principle applies to the alcohol, water intake and vegetable intake questions.

Do you now or have you ever in the past:

1 Eat refined carbohydrates (e.g. white bread, white rice, sugar)?

2 Eat hidden sugars in foods or drinks?

3 Regularly eat large meals?

4 Smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day?

5 Smoke more than 8 cigarettes a day?

6 Smoke cigarettes every day or more than 10 a week?

7 Drink caffeinated drinks (with or without sugar) (e.g. coffee or cola drinks)?

8 Drink more than four cups of tea a day (with or without sugar)?

9 Drink more than 2 units/glasses of alcohol a day?

10 Drink more than 4 units/glasses of alcohol a day?

11 Eat fried food more than once a week?

12 Eat barbecued food more than once a month?

13 Eat processed foods regularly, including microwave or oven meals?

14 Eat protein foods (e.g. fish, white meats, eggs, meats) less than 3 times a week?

15 Are you a vegan (no meat or dairy products)?

16 Drink more than two glasses of fruit or vegetable juice a day?

17 Seldom eat oily fish, nuts and seeds? (see chapter 6)

18 Eat less than one portion of fresh vegetables a day?

19 Eat less than two portions of fresh vegetables a day?

20 Eat two meals a day or less?

21 Eat just one meal a day?

22 Drink less than three glasses of water a day?

23 Drink less than five glasses of water a day?

24 Drink less than eight glasses of water a day?

Score out of 24 =

Each ‘yes’ answer scores one point, except where indicated with regard to frequency of exercise. Exercise in this context means anything in which you are physically moving for at least 20 minutes at a time, be it aerobic, stretching or resistance work.

Are you now or have you ever in the past:

1 Regularly stressed or anxious?

2 A poor sleeper?

3 Always chasing appointments or deadlines?

4 Unable to relax without feeling guilty?

5 A person who has a persistent need for achievement?

6 Easily angered?

7 A sedentary person (e.g. office worker)?

8 A person who does anaerobic (e.g. weights only) and no aerobic exercise?

9 A person who exercises 3–4 times a week (score 1)?

10 A person who exercises 1–2 times a week (score 2)?

11 A person who exercises less than once a week (score 3)?

12 A very competitive person?

13 Irritable and impatient?

Score out of 16 =

Read through this section and answer any questions for which you have blood test results. Skip this section if you have not had a blood test done.

Do you currently have any of the following?

1 High fasting insulin

2 High fasting triglycerides

3 High triglycerides after a meal

4 Decreased HDL (good) cholesterol

5 Elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol

6 Elevated total cholesterol

7 Elevated systolic blood pressure (your first figure is over 139)

8 Elevated diastolic blood pressure (your second figure is over 89)

9 Elevated fibrinogen

10 Elevated PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1)

11 High uric acid (or gout)

12 Low Serum or Salivary DHEA (DHEA may have an inverse relationship with Cortisol and insulin)

13 Elevated testosterone in women (acute hyperinsulinemia increases testosterone blood levels and suppresses SHBG synthesis) (women only)

14 Low levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (women only)

15 Decreased testosterone (serum or saliva test) (men only)

Score out of 14 (women) =

Score out of 13 (men) =

If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, other than insulin itself, you should consider a fasting glucose and insulin test to rule out Insulin Resistance and diabetes. Also, make sure you discuss ‘positive’ results with your doctor. (See Resourcesfor laboratory information.)

Section five of the questionnaire determines whether you have Insulin Resistance or not, and to what degree. However, the sections one to four of the questionnaire help to quantify your risk and will show you which aspects of the Insulin Factor Plan you need to follow. The higher your score in the first four sections, the more advisable it is to have an Insulin Resistance test.