Get to Know Your Borborygmi: Your Symphony of Stomach Sounds and What They Mean

Some people’s tummies gurgle in the morning or after a meal. Others growl when it’s time to eat. You may have a specific rumble or burble to let you know it’s almost time to skip to the loo. For the most part, the symphony of sounds within our digestive system is nothing to worry about – just part of the business of being human.   

These sounds are called borborygmi, a term the ancient Greeks came up with. It’s an onomatopoeia (a word formed from a sound associated with what is named; others are cuckoo and sizzle). The literal translation of borborygmi is ‘rumble.’ You pronounce it this way: bawr-buh-rig-mahy. Now say it three times fast!

Intestinal noises happen during peristalsis, AKA the normal digestive process. Peristalsis is the process by which the smooth muscles lining the gut do their job: squeezing food through the small and large intestine – which add up to a distance of about 30 feet – until nutrients are absorbed, waste is separated and elimination occurs. 

Some common causes of intestinal noise include the following.

Hunger. A growling stomach often accompanies feelings of hunger, an urge to eat and an absence of food in the stomach. Stomach growling noises can also happen when the stomach is full. The sounds you hear aren’t just coming from the stomach – your small intestine may be contributing its own ‘music’ to the symphony of sounds your digestive tract is making. We associate these sounds with hunger because they are louder when our tummies are empty – there’s no food in there to muffle the sounds.  

Air. Do you sip water from a straw at your desk all day or perhaps enjoy a fizzy water or soda on your break? If so, you’re swallowing a nice amount of air along with your beverage and that will lead to a noisy digestive tract. Smoking is another way folks end up swallowing noise-causing air. (It’s also a tried-and-true way to absorb a vast array of super dangerous chemicals.)

Bacteria. When the bacteria in your gut help your body break down foods you eat, to make them absorbable, byproducts including methane and hydrogen gas are released. These gases generate noises in the gut and can also cause bloating and other gastrointestinal symptoms. All of this happens when your bacteria population is correctly balanced between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria. When ‘bad’ bacteria overgrow (this is called dysbiosis), your gut sounds can become noticeably louder, and discomfort is more likely.  

Foods. Your diet can affect how rumbly your stomach and intestines are. These foods are good ones to eliminate or eat in moderation:

Sorbitol and fructose. Artificial sweeteners such as these can be hard to digest. You’ll find these in more foods than you might expect, so you’ll want to become an avid label reader if you’re not already. Some common sources of sorbitol, fructose and others are sugar-free candies and gum, diet sodas, powdered drink mixes, canned foods, puddings, jams and jellies and baked goods. 

Dairy products. Lactose intolerance (trouble digesting lactose, the predominant sugar in dairy foods) affects about 65 percent of people. If you’re lactose intolerant, you probably know to avoid cow and goat milk, yogurt and cheese. Lactose can also turn up in sneaky places, though, like salad dressings, lunch meat, cereal, bread and cake mixes. 

Beans and legumes. The musical fruit! Beans, peas, lentils and peanuts (legumes, not nuts, as you may know) contain a carbohydrate that many find hard to digest, hence the clever grade-school rhyme, toots and gastric discomfort. 

Cruciferous veggies. Cauliflower, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and other leafy greens are some of the healthiest vegetables you can eat, but they’re also harder for the body to break down thanks to their high insoluble and soluble fiber content. What makes them especially healthy also makes them a culprit when it comes to gurgling and rumbling…and audible flatulence.

Stress. If you are anxious or worried about something, it can make your stomach feel ‘off,’ which in turn can cause you to worry about whether your stomach discomfort is going to throw your day plan off, which can make your stomach discomfort increase…it’s a vicious cycle.

Borborygmi is normal, and the majority of the time it’s harmless. There are some types of sounds, or absence of sounds, however, which may warrant a call to your doctor, who can listen to your abdomen with her stethoscope and see what’s what. 

Ileus is a term for having a lack of intestinal activity. No movement (or less movement than you need) in the digestive tract can be dangerous and can cause the contents of your intestines to build up, eventually potentially breaking through the bowel wall (rupturing).  

Diminished bowel sounds (hypoactive bowels) is not the same as ileus. Hypoactive bowels’ slowed activity can occur normally during sleep, after abdominal surgery or for a short time period after taking certain medications. Hypoactive bowels and constipation often go hand in hand. Overly active (hyperactive) bowels may make themselves heard without a stethoscope. Hyperactive bowels may be more pronounced after eating or in conjunction with gastric upset like diarrhea. 

On their own, temporarily quiet or noisy bowels are not usually a worry. If you’re experiencing hypoactive or hyperactive bowels plus other symptoms that are unusual, check in with your healthcare provider. 

Not sure what an ‘unusual symptom’ might be? That category includes high-pitched noises, bloating, nausea, bleeding from your rectum, vomiting, excessive or unusual gas and/or nonstop (or regularly recurring) diarrhea or constipation. These symptoms could indicate a number of gastrointestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel disease, a malabsorption disorder (like celiac disease), or a motility disorder which happens when the muscles and nerves in the gut aren’t working together as they should.

Want to tame your growling, gurgling stomach and intestinal tract? Try these tips.

Manage your stress. Here are some tips for creating a stress-less morning routine. Stress can trigger our fight or flight response. Part of that response is that the body pushes pause on digestion so it can focus all of your energy on fighting or fleeing. That can lead to stomach upset, stomachache, heartburn and nausea. Breathing exercises, yoga and meditation can also be used throughout the day to keep your emotional state on a more even keel.

Probiotics. Make sure your gut has plenty of favorable bacteria. Eat foods rich in probiotics – fermented foods like kimchi or kombucha and foods with natural probiotic content like kefir and yogurt. You can also add a probiotic supplement to your routine.

Your diet. If you know that specific foods rile up your digestive system, don’t eat them. 

For more health and wellness information, visit the INTEGRIS Health For You blog.