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10-05-2004, 07:53 AM
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Rumble in the jungle
What do all those stomach noises mean?
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
Special to MSN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's noon and you're sitting in your office poring over paperwork when you hear it, that telltale low, quaking rumble in your belly. You glance at your watch and chalk it up to hunger. It's lunchtime, after all, so when the stomach makes noises it must be a signal that it's time to eat, right?
Not so fast, says Dr. Herbert Lim, a gastroenterologist at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. "I don't think there's always a correlation between hunger and the rumbles in your stomach," he says. "It might be mostly in your head, or your belly, no pun intended." That's because the notion that the stomach is louder than it ordinarily is when you need to eat goes against the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract.
The ABCs of borborygmi
Stomach noises actually have an official — and some say funny-sounding — name: borborygmi (pronounced BOR-boh-RIG-mee). And although these noises may appear to come from the stomach, they're actually generated by the intestines, which undulate in a wave-like motion called peristalsis. This moving of food particles, acid and gas from one end of the intestines to the other produces a sometimes-discernible sound often likened to a gentle grumble. "Different things cause it to speed up or slow down," says Lim. "A lot of it is air and gas produced by carbonation or bacteria. It's normal functioning."
Doctors like to know that the GI tract is actually making noises, especially those bass-like rumblings. "You want to be sure that you can hear bowel sounds because that means everything's working," says Dr. David Robbins, an advanced fellow in endoscopic ultrasound at the Medical University of South Carolina. Contrary to popular belief, however, hunger alone doesn't necessarily trigger the stomach to move faster or be more raucous. "It doesn't make sense because it's when you eat that it's most active," he says.
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Rather than being brought on by the actual need to eat, the gut may grow restless and active at the sight or thought of food. Experts describe this chain reaction as positively Pavlovian. "Your appetite is controlled by your appetite center in the brain's hypothalamus," says Robbins. "You think about eating that cheeseburger and it stimulates acid secretion in the bowels." That very act then encourages the GI tract to move more, hence the noises.
Good old indigestion or something worse?
If you're nowhere near famished and the din is accompanied by some discomfort, you may have eaten something that doesn't agree with you. Dairy products are common culprits, especially if you're lactose-intolerant and are having trouble digesting what you ate. Or, you may have had too much of a good time; carbonated beverages such as beer and soda can cause diarrhea and loud stomach noises. "It could be something as benign as too much partying or ice cream," says Lim.
In essence, peristalsis happens all the time -- but it's louder during certain periods, such as when we're digesting something or if we have indigestion and food isn't settling well with us, causing gas and other symptoms.
Experts weigh other accompanying symptoms to better assess what's causing your belly to bellow. They want to know if the sounds are different from the run-of-the-mill cacophony you usually hear. If it's a high-pitched, melodic drone, similar to the sound of someone letting air out of a balloon slowly through a tiny hole, and you're also saddled with dull pain in the abdominal area and have a distended belly, you may have a stricture that's getting in the way of the gut's natural movements. You may have a partial bowel obstruction in which your GI tract continues to contract but matter passing through has to go through a smaller opening since the tube is blocked.
A too-quiet belly is far more frightening, however. "The absence of bowel movements can speak to a serious problem, especially if there's pain in the abdomen," Lim says. You may have appendicitis, for example, or a gallstone in the bile duct that's causing inflammation and irritating the small intestines.
If you're concerned that your gut is making a strange racket and don't feel well, check in with your doctor. While it's likely to be nothing, it's best to leave the diagnosis to the experts who can translate your digestive tract’s foreign language with an interpreter's ease.
Rumble in the jungle
What do all those stomach noises mean?
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
Special to MSN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's noon and you're sitting in your office poring over paperwork when you hear it, that telltale low, quaking rumble in your belly. You glance at your watch and chalk it up to hunger. It's lunchtime, after all, so when the stomach makes noises it must be a signal that it's time to eat, right?
Not so fast, says Dr. Herbert Lim, a gastroenterologist at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. "I don't think there's always a correlation between hunger and the rumbles in your stomach," he says. "It might be mostly in your head, or your belly, no pun intended." That's because the notion that the stomach is louder than it ordinarily is when you need to eat goes against the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract.
The ABCs of borborygmi
Stomach noises actually have an official — and some say funny-sounding — name: borborygmi (pronounced BOR-boh-RIG-mee). And although these noises may appear to come from the stomach, they're actually generated by the intestines, which undulate in a wave-like motion called peristalsis. This moving of food particles, acid and gas from one end of the intestines to the other produces a sometimes-discernible sound often likened to a gentle grumble. "Different things cause it to speed up or slow down," says Lim. "A lot of it is air and gas produced by carbonation or bacteria. It's normal functioning."
Doctors like to know that the GI tract is actually making noises, especially those bass-like rumblings. "You want to be sure that you can hear bowel sounds because that means everything's working," says Dr. David Robbins, an advanced fellow in endoscopic ultrasound at the Medical University of South Carolina. Contrary to popular belief, however, hunger alone doesn't necessarily trigger the stomach to move faster or be more raucous. "It doesn't make sense because it's when you eat that it's most active," he says.
advertisement
Rather than being brought on by the actual need to eat, the gut may grow restless and active at the sight or thought of food. Experts describe this chain reaction as positively Pavlovian. "Your appetite is controlled by your appetite center in the brain's hypothalamus," says Robbins. "You think about eating that cheeseburger and it stimulates acid secretion in the bowels." That very act then encourages the GI tract to move more, hence the noises.
Good old indigestion or something worse?
If you're nowhere near famished and the din is accompanied by some discomfort, you may have eaten something that doesn't agree with you. Dairy products are common culprits, especially if you're lactose-intolerant and are having trouble digesting what you ate. Or, you may have had too much of a good time; carbonated beverages such as beer and soda can cause diarrhea and loud stomach noises. "It could be something as benign as too much partying or ice cream," says Lim.
In essence, peristalsis happens all the time -- but it's louder during certain periods, such as when we're digesting something or if we have indigestion and food isn't settling well with us, causing gas and other symptoms.
Experts weigh other accompanying symptoms to better assess what's causing your belly to bellow. They want to know if the sounds are different from the run-of-the-mill cacophony you usually hear. If it's a high-pitched, melodic drone, similar to the sound of someone letting air out of a balloon slowly through a tiny hole, and you're also saddled with dull pain in the abdominal area and have a distended belly, you may have a stricture that's getting in the way of the gut's natural movements. You may have a partial bowel obstruction in which your GI tract continues to contract but matter passing through has to go through a smaller opening since the tube is blocked.
A too-quiet belly is far more frightening, however. "The absence of bowel movements can speak to a serious problem, especially if there's pain in the abdomen," Lim says. You may have appendicitis, for example, or a gallstone in the bile duct that's causing inflammation and irritating the small intestines.
If you're concerned that your gut is making a strange racket and don't feel well, check in with your doctor. While it's likely to be nothing, it's best to leave the diagnosis to the experts who can translate your digestive tract’s foreign language with an interpreter's ease.