Thursday, 4 February 2016

#89 Why do our stomachs rumble? (English)

You may notice that your stomach seems to rumble when you are hungry. In fact, the rumbling may not only come from the stomach, but also the small intestine. Furthermore, the stomach is actually rumbling all the time, not only when we are hungry. This sound is associated with hunger because we normally are only able to hear it on an empty stomach. This is because the noises are louder when there is nothing inside the stomach and small intestine to muffle the sound.

The gastrointestinal tract is an organ system responsible for transporting and digesting foodstuffs, absorbing nutrients, and expelling waste. When we swallow food, for example, the walls of muscle in the gastrointestinal track are activated and use peristalsis to move food, gas, and liquids from the back the throat to the stomach. Peristalsis creates this rumbling sound that we hear when we are hungry, but it is muffled by the food and liquids in our system. For example, if we take a water bottle and fill it completely with water and shake it, there will be very little noise. However, if we only fill the bottle 1/8 of the way full and shake it, there will be a lot of noise. The rate and force of peristalsis is normally strongest when there is food. However, activity also increases if the stomach has not had food for at least two hours. The stomach is able to sense that there is not enough food by creating waves of electrical activity called MMC's that move along the stomach and small intestine and cause hunger contractions. The MMC's also remove extra food, mucus, and bacteria to prevent them from accumulating in one place.

In order to prevent the noise of your stomach doing this, it is recommended that instead of eating three large meals in a day, we should eat many small meals. Another way to prevent these rumbles is to take a deep breath and hold the air in 20 to 15 seconds before you know your stomach will growl. When your lungs are completely expanded, they press down on your stomach which lessens the chance that there will be a noise.

PoS

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