Several common foods can calm an upset stomach quickly, including bananas, plain rice, ginger, and peppermint tea. The best choice depends on what’s bothering you, whether it’s nausea, acid reflux, cramping, or general digestive distress. Some foods work by absorbing excess acid, others by relaxing the muscles in your digestive tract, and a few by helping repair the gut lining over time.
Bananas, Rice, and Toast
The classic BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) has been recommended for decades during bouts of diarrhea and stomach upset. These foods are bland, low in fat, and easy to digest, which means they’re unlikely to trigger more irritation. But they also do more than just sit quietly in your stomach.
Bananas contain a type of starch that resists digestion in the upper gut, and this starch appears to protect the lining of the digestive tract. In human studies, it has improved symptoms of both peptic ulcers and general stomach discomfort. Bananas are also alkaline, meaning they can help offset strong stomach acid rather than adding to it. Melons and watermelon have a similar buffering effect, partly because of their high water content, which dilutes stomach acid.
Rice has mild anti-secretory properties, meaning it may help reduce the amount of fluid your intestines release during a bout of diarrhea. Rice-based rehydration solutions have been shown to reduce both stool volume and how long diarrhea lasts. Plain white rice is the better option here. Brown rice has more fiber, which can actually make things worse when your stomach is already upset.
Plain toast and applesauce round out the group. Neither will aggravate your stomach, and both provide gentle calories when you’re struggling to keep food down. Skip the butter on the toast. Fat slows digestion and can worsen nausea.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for nausea. Its active compounds are small enough to cross from your bloodstream into your brain, where they appear to act on the pathways that trigger the urge to vomit. One of these compounds has been shown to prevent vomiting in animal studies, and clinical trials in humans have tested ginger in doses ranging from 250 mg to 2 grams per day, typically split into three or four smaller doses throughout the day.
There’s no clear benefit to taking more than about 1 gram daily. The U.S. FDA considers ginger generally recognized as safe, though large amounts can cause mild side effects like heartburn or digestive discomfort, which defeats the purpose if you’re trying to settle your stomach.
For practical use, you can grate fresh ginger into hot water to make tea, chew on crystallized ginger, or use ginger capsules. Fresh ginger tea made with a thumb-sized piece of root steeped for 10 minutes is a reliable option when nausea hits. Ginger ale is less effective because most commercial brands contain very little actual ginger.
Peppermint Tea and Cramping
If your stomach trouble involves cramping, bloating, or that tight, distended feeling, peppermint may help more than ginger. The menthol in peppermint relaxes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract by blocking calcium channels in the gut wall. When those muscles relax, spasms ease and trapped gas can pass more freely.
The evidence is strongest for irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. In one adult trial, 79% of people taking peppermint oil experienced reduced abdominal pain compared to 43% on placebo. Bloating improved in 83% of treated patients versus 29% of controls. Flatulence dropped in 79% compared to 22%. A pediatric study found similarly strong pain relief: 76% of children and teens reported less severe pain after two weeks, compared to just 19% in the placebo group.
Peppermint tea is the gentlest way to try this. If you have acid reflux, though, be cautious. That same muscle-relaxing effect can loosen the valve between your esophagus and stomach, potentially making heartburn worse.
Chamomile Tea for General Discomfort
Chamomile has been used in traditional medicine for centuries as a stomach soother, and while the human research is thinner than for ginger or peppermint, it does have anti-inflammatory properties that may protect digestive tissue. Animal studies suggest chamomile can help control diarrhea and may help prevent stomach ulcers. It also appears to protect cells in the pancreas from inflammatory damage.
Where chamomile really shines is as a warm, caffeine-free drink you can sip when your stomach feels off but you can’t pinpoint the problem. Many people find it calming for nausea and gas, and unlike peppermint, it’s unlikely to aggravate reflux.
Why Fiber Type Matters
When your stomach is upset, the type of fiber you eat makes a big difference. Soluble fiber, found in foods like oatmeal, bananas, and applesauce, dissolves in water and forms a soft gel. It moves through your digestive tract gently and can actually help firm up loose stools. This is the kind of fiber in the BRAT diet foods, and it’s one reason they work.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, is the roughage found in raw vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. It adds bulk to stool and speeds things along, which is great when you’re healthy but can worsen gas, bloating, and cramping during a flare-up. The Mayo Clinic notes that people with conditions like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, gastroparesis, or diverticulitis often need to reduce fiber during active symptoms. Even in otherwise healthy people, adding too much fiber too quickly causes gas, bloating, and cramping.
When your stomach is actively upset, stick with low-fiber and soluble-fiber foods. Save the salads and whole grains for when you’re feeling better.
Bone Broth for Gut Repair
Bone broth is less about calming an immediate crisis and more about helping your digestive tract recover afterward. It’s rich in amino acids like glutamine, glycine, proline, and arginine, all of which support cellular repair and help maintain the integrity of the gut barrier. Together, these nutrients appear to reduce intestinal permeability (sometimes called “leaky gut”) and help regulate inflammation, particularly in people with inflammatory bowel disease.
Bone broth also has the practical advantage of being warm, salty, and easy to sip when solid food feels like too much. It provides electrolytes and hydration, which matter a lot after vomiting or diarrhea. Homemade versions simmered for 12 to 24 hours tend to have higher amino acid content than store-bought cartons, but either works.
Fermented Foods for Long-Term Gut Health
Yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and other fermented foods contain live bacteria that support a healthy gut microbiome. Regular consumption may help counteract the inflammatory effects of an imbalanced gut, since your microbiome plays a central role in digestion, immune function, and intestinal comfort. The key word here is “regular.” These foods build resilience over weeks and months rather than providing instant relief.
If your stomach is actively churning, fermented foods can sometimes make things worse, especially if they’re acidic (like kombucha or sauerkraut) or high in fat (like full-fat yogurt). Plain, low-fat yogurt is the safest bet during mild stomach trouble. For long-term digestive health, rotating through different fermented foods gives your gut a wider variety of beneficial bacteria to work with.
Foods to Avoid When Your Stomach Is Upset
- Fried and fatty foods: Fat slows stomach emptying, which can increase nausea and that heavy, uncomfortable feeling.
- Citrus fruits and tomatoes: These are highly acidic and can irritate an already inflamed stomach lining or worsen reflux.
- Coffee and alcohol: Both increase stomach acid production and can irritate the digestive tract.
- Spicy foods: Capsaicin can trigger pain receptors in the stomach lining, making cramping and burning worse.
- Dairy (for some people): If you’re even mildly lactose intolerant, dairy during a stomach episode can add gas and bloating on top of existing symptoms.
- Carbonated drinks: The gas introduces air into an already distressed digestive system, increasing bloating and discomfort.
Putting It Together
For nausea, start with ginger tea and small bites of banana or plain crackers. For cramping and bloating, try peppermint tea. For diarrhea, lean on the BRAT foods, especially rice and bananas, and focus on staying hydrated. For acid reflux, choose alkaline options like bananas and melons while avoiding peppermint, citrus, and anything fried. For recovery after a rough few days, bone broth and plain yogurt can help your gut lining heal.
The simplest rule: when your stomach is upset, eat small amounts of bland, low-fat, low-fiber food, and sip warm liquids. Your digestive system is inflamed or overworked, and the goal is to give it as little extra work as possible while it settles down.