irritable bowel
dr. dolittle | January 23, 2017 Asian house shrew image by W.A. Djatmiko (Wie146) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The stomach and small intestine of many species moves rhythmically during fasting, something called the rhythmic 'migrating motor complex', or MMC. The MMC has 3 phases: no contraction, intermittent small contractions followed by regular large contractions. These contractions are thought to help clean the GI tract by moving along debris and bacteria as well as preparing our guts for the next meal. They are also the cause of 'stomach rumbles' when we are hungry. If the time between contractions is too long or…