As a registered dietitian I am on a mission to debunk myths that are floating around on the internet. On Instagram @AndreaHardyRD, I discuss about snacking and the migrating motor complex.
Another day, another myth to debunk. 🦸 I’ve seen a lot of whackadoodle things out there saying that snacking ‘destroys’ your migrating motor complex function and ‘damages’ your gut microbiome. If it sounds drama drama, it probably is drama drama. 💁
Let’s get down to business.
What is your Migrating Motor Complex (MMC?)
Your MMC is the cyclic motility pattern in your gut. It has 4 phases, and its function is managed by hormones in our gut. When you eat, hormones are released, triggering a cycling through the 4 phases which include phases of rest, and motility (or movement) to move things through the gut.
You can think of it like the ‘street sweeper’ for your bowels. 🧹 Every time it cycles through, it sends ‘cleansing waves’ of movement to move any leftover food particles through and keep things moving along, to not be fermented by microbes in the small bowel.
A typical ‘cycle’ is about 130 minutes, but eating essentially ‘resets’ the MMC back to rest mode and the cycle re-initiates.
In SIBO, those with an absent or disordered MMC is often seen. A dysfunctional MMC Is believed to be one potential contributor to the development of SIBO.
But… eating isn’t necessarily what creates a ‘dysfunctional’ MMC. It stopping when you eat is normal! 😮What predisposes people to abnormal MMCs include motility disorders, connective tissue disorders, possibly IBS, damage to the vagus nerve (possibly through infection), chronic organ system dysfunction, to name a few.
In SIBO and motility disorders, we can use the knowledge of the MMC to ensure people are making the most of their 130 minute cycles by spacing meals and snacks accordingly, and ensuring we’re getting as many cycles through as possible by avoiding grazing, and reducing snacking. But snacking itself isn’t going to ‘cause’ your MMC to be dysfunctional, it’s simply going to start it back at the first phase.
For people with SIBO or motility disorders, the dysfunction is already likely there, and possibly could be managed through simple dietary strategies (though we don’t have any research on this, it’s based on what we know about the MMC!) and proper medication management.
DOI: 10.1038/nrgastro.2012.57
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