Re: Why is my sister Jordynn stomach growl so loud and all the time?

Hi, Madison,

     This question made me chuckle...partly because I wasn't sure how I 
should answer it.  So, I decided to do what many of my nutrition students 
here at the University of Hawaii/Manoa do...surf the web.  You and one of 
your parents can do the same, unless you have access to a computer on your 
own.

     Mom/Dad/Madison:  Try a search with 'stomach growl' as the search 
words and you'll find a lot of interesting stuff.  There's even another 
answer on the MadSci Network (Prudence Risley, 1996). Also, there are 
answers from 'Ask Cecil' and 'Ask Earl' sites. 

     Apparently what is going on, as I suspected, is that much of the 
noise is normal and healthy.  Jordynn may just have a very active 
digestive system and/or swallow a lot of air when she eats.  The hollow 
tube that has a lot of muscle in it (your digestive tract) contracts most 
of the time (the process is called 'peristalsis').  This helps mix and 
churn the food you have eaten, moves the slimey substance (mucus) that the 
digestive tract produces around, helps break the food into smaller 
particles, and maybe even moves the bacteria around (that you will get, no 
matter how clean you think your food is) so that they can be destroyed by 
substances in the digestive tract (like the acid made in the stomach).  
The 'stuff' all moves down the digestive tract...from stomach through the 
small and large intestines, and eventually out the anus as feces or a 
bowel movement.

     Sometimes the noises are louder than other times...and this may be 
due to air swallowed while eating.  So, Jordynn may think she's hungry 
because of all the rumbling and grumbling of her tummy, even right after 
she's eaten.  Most likely, it's just the air bubbles getting bumped 
around.  If Jordynn hasn't eaten for a while, it could be her digestive 
tract telling her that it's empty, too.  By the way, as several of the 
websites I visited correctly report, the scientific name for the noises is 
borborygmi...pronounced bor-bor-rim-ee.  Something for both Madison and 
Jordynn to impress their friends with?

     Thanks for sending such an interesting and entertaining question.