Ever wonder what all that rumbling in your stomach is all about? It has a proper, if improbable, medical term: borborygmus, or the plural, borborygmi. This word is an example of onomatopoeia, a word that imitates the sound of something, like cuckoo or honk. Most of the time, this stomach noise is a perfectly normal natural sound the digestive system makes as it is processing.
One typical cause of borborygmus is digestion. As food moves through the digestive system getting broken down, gas from the this breakdown of undigested food makes a rumbling noise. Incomplete digestion triggers noises as the body works to process certain components that can irritate the digestive system, like lactose or gluten intolerance. Hunger also creates borborygmus. Hunger affects hormones that trigger a secretion of gastric juices and promotes muscle movement in the stomach.
Most bowel sounds are normal, but there are abnormal bowel sounds and other symptoms that could point to underlying medical conditions. Noise with distention or abdominal pain, nausea, irregular bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation), vomiting, either excessive or lack of flatulence, and bloody stool can all be symptoms of some underlying medical conditions, such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), Crohn’s disease, food allergies, gastrointestinal bleeding, or ulcerative colitis. If you are experiencing digestive distress that seems out of the ordinary, see a medical doctor to have blood tests, an abdominal CT scan, an x-ray, endoscopy, or colonoscopy to rule out certain problems and determine what is going on.
Most noises created in the digestive tract are normal and natural, but it is still a good idea to pay attention to your body and to what it has to say.
Contributor:
Acupuncturist, herbalist, Maya abdominal practitioner, and reflexologist Christina Morris is the founder of Element Natural Healing Arts. Writing about health and wellness gives her an outlet to express her care and concern for her beloved community. She believes everyone can achieve better health and happiness–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.