I seem to be unable to master this lesson. Just when I think I have it down, I hear a repeated sentence from three of my closest friends: “You don’t sound right. Are you okay?”

And apparently my spouse can better hear my body alarm than the person carrying around all the viable organs. Just this morning he reminded me that it’s simply impossible to work out like Michael Phelps when you work full time and have children as “spirited” as ours, who, you know, need a few more directions than the average kid.

So, I encourage you to read her savvy piece, “What Your Body Is Telling You,” by clicking here. I have excerpted below.

The body speaks volumes about what ails it — from obvious warnings like a fever that accompanies an infection to subtle clues like losing hair on the toes, which can be an early sign of vascular disease.

Some signs that seem alarming may actually be harmless: Bright-red stools are more likely to come from eating beets than from intestinal bleeding. But some that seem minor can warn of a serious disorder. Small yellow bumps on the eyelid, for instance, may be fatty deposits that signal high cholesterol, which in turn raises the risk of heart disease.

Other signs seem to make no logical biological sense: Eyebrows that no longer extend over the corners of the eyes can indicate an underactive thyroid, and a diagonal crease in the earlobe seems to herald a heightened risk of heart attack.

Some body signs can have a confusing range of meanings: Does that bulging tummy signify middle-aged spread or the beginning of ovarian cancer?

The problem is that many of us don’t recognize the warnings, even when they’re staring us in the face. Medical writer Joan Liebmann-Smith was losing weight rapidly. Her hair was falling out. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t sleep. She chalked up her symptoms to the stress of having a new baby, while a psychiatrist she consulted for insomnia told her to just “count sheep.”

(Image: Getty Images)

To continue reading “What Your Body Is Telling You,” click here.

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