The hearty body type isn’t limited to only men. A woman can be as hearty as a man, and a man can be as delicate as a woman. [What’s your body type?]

The hearty body type is called the endomorph body type in biomedicine.

Hearty individuals tend to suffer more intensely with short-term problems. Or, problems of “too much” will be more common than those due to “not enough”.

An example of “too much” includes constipation. When you’ve got too much poop stuck in your large intestine, the delicate body type will barely notice, but the hearty body type will feel severe discomfort. Not surprisingly, Chinese and Kampo medicine favor the use of Da Huang (Rx. Rhei, rhubarb root) in many of the formulas for the hearty body type.

Da Huang (Rx. Rhei, rhubarb root) is a purgative, it empties that large intestine, but when one isn’t constipated, it should be used cautiously. Da Huang also has other functions that still make sense for the hearty body type, but these formulas should only be used for the types that are listed for each individual formula.

Formulas for acute problems (short-lived but intense) are best taken with a higher dosage. A high dosage depends on how much you weigh, but a typical high dosage would be something like 6 capsules or a teaspoon of the powder, 4 times daily.

For chronic problems (long-term, low-grade) that have been around for a while, don’t expect the herbs to work overnight. However, with a slow, low dosage, you can see improvement. A typical low dosage is 1-2 capsules or 1/2 teaspoon of the extract powder, 3 times daily.

For more on how long it may take for your herbs to work, please see the prognosis self-test.