Many years back, when I started taking French lessons in Geneva, I encountered a highly skilled French teacher who, amidst language lessons, sometimes shared nuggets of linguistic history. One such nugget was around the history of the phrase “comment vas-tu,” the amicable equivalent of asking “how are you” in French. For those of you that have not studied French, the term “vas” originates from the verb “aller", meaning “to go”.

The story she painted was around Napoleon’s era as the Emperor of France. According to her narrative, Napoleons daily toiletry routine held significant importance among his attendants. Actually, the most important health query of the day revolved around whether he had successfully “gone” to the toilet or not..

Thus, according to this teacher, the origins of the expression “comment vas-tu” is linked to this historical anecdote (though its modern usage bears no connection to toiletry inquiries today so don’t be shy to ask “comment vas-tu when in France😁 ).

While its historical accuracy may not be definitively verified, the essence of her story echoes through time as there is so much gut related research going on right now. Our gut, often the harbinger of discomfort, can be an indicator of deeper imbalances within our bodies. How often do we not use the expression ”trust your gut feeling”?

I am currently studying a module around gastrointestinal health from the institute of functional medicine. One out of many things that I picked up on is the importance to view diagnoses not as conclusions but as gateways to understanding. A diagnosis should ideally not be an endpoint but a starting point. Just because we have label of a disease or malfunction, it does not mean that we should stop to ask questions here. On the contrary, it should be the starting point for more questions. (Note that I am not speaking about acute, serious diseases here that require instant treatment).

This made me think of a previous professional project where I applied a methodology with a tool called “5Y”; a method where you repeatedly ask "why" to unearth the root cause of a problem rather than merely patching the symptoms. “Instead of temporary plugging the holes in the dam, let’s try to divert the river”..

Let's consider a scenario: a diagnosis of XYZ due to common symptoms like constipation or diarrhea and pain. Instead of stopping at the diagnosis, we probe deeper:

·        Why the constipation? Perhaps irregularand specific carbohydrate-heavy eating habits..

·        Why irregular eating? It might stem from poor sleep and eating when awake..

·        Why poor sleep? Stress from a demanding work environment and childcare responsibilities..

·        Digging deeper, what drives this workstress? Risk of loosing job..

·        Why this risk of loosing the job? Poor relations at work..

·        And so on..

This is not rocket science. Quite often this will  will reveal that the root cause of a diagnosis or a problem in general might extend far beyond the symptoms exhibited.

I do believe that some healthcare systems strive to follow this type of approach, yet most healthcare systems today struggle with overwhelming pressure (and we are NOT getting healthier), and relatively often need to resort to patchwork solutions.

Can we as individuals take greater responsibility and pay more attention to our gut's messages?

One simple yet insightful test for colon health involves measuring bowel transit time. All you need is whole-kernel sweetcorn (frozen or fresh)🌽. By tracking the time between ingesting corn and its appearance and disappearance in your stool, you can gauge your colon transit time and get a sense for part of your gut health.

People living in rural African and Asian societies have a colon transit time of between 12 to 24 hours. In our culture, the average colon transit time is longer, usually between 24-36 hours. If a long transit time is found (above 36 hours), it indicates suboptimal colon health. If a very rapid transit time is found, it may indicate poor absorption and assimilation of nutrients.

In many cases, we will be able to normalize the transit time by changing how we eat. So “just” focusing  on dietary adjustments might help to avoid later pharmaceutical interventions. For example, IBS patients have been shown to benefit from avoiding specific carbohydrates that can be difficult to absorb. It means for example that this person is better off eating Brazilian nuts than almonds or cashew nuts as snacks or choosing eggplant over asparagus for dinner.

In our pursuit of healthier and happier lives, I hope we can shift more of the “plugging holes” towards redirecting rivers. Let's listen closely to our gut, asking the right questions, give it some love and nurturing our bodies to balance! ‍

À bientôt!