Why does your stomach growl?
Well, Mexican food could do it, but doctors call it "borborygmi,"
which sounds a bit like the sound you hear.
It happens when your stomach walls squeeze together in an attempt to
mix and digest food and there's no food there. Gases and digestive
juices slosh around in your empty stomach and before you know it -
borborygmi.
Yet hunger really has nothing to do with an empty stomach but,
instead, is a product of certain nutrients missing in the blood. Our
brains contain a "hunger center," which functions as an accelerator,
or as a brake, for our stomachs and intestines. Once necessary
nutrients are lacking from the blood, the dinner bell is rung, and the
stomach and intestines come rumbling.
The now active stomach and intestine aren't picky as to what foods
will satisfy them, and will grab anything they can. It is the role of
the appetite to rein them in, and to ensure that the growling duo are
satisfied, but with a healthy balance of the proper nutrients.
If ever in a situation where borborygmi kicks in, and there is no food
in sight, remember to remain calm. The calmer you are, the more slowly
your body will metabolize the protein it has stored, and the longer
you will live!
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