Status Updates From The Low-FODMAP Diet Step by...

It is important to leave three to four hours between eating, to allow this cleansing wave to take place; otherwise your small intestine can become a petri dish as microbes, food, and debris can accumulate. For this reason, we recommend eating three meals and one snack per day rather than several small meals or a grazing-style eating pattern.

When you eat, your intestine is secreting digestive enzymes and sloshing the food around to break down the nutrients into their digestible form. When you are not eating, your intestine will initiate a repetitive and important housecleaning wave, called the migrating motor complex, to clean up the small bowel and to get it prepared for the next meal.