When your stomach is upset, the best things to eat are bland, low-fat foods that are easy to digest: bananas, plain rice, toast, crackers, brothy soups, oatmeal, and boiled potatoes. But what you eat matters less than how and when you eat it, and what you avoid. Here’s a practical guide to getting through it.
Start With Fluids, Not Food
If you’ve been vomiting, don’t eat or drink anything for a few hours. Let your stomach settle. Then start with small sips of water every 15 minutes, or suck on ice chips. Once you can keep water down, move to other clear liquids like clear broth, diluted electrolyte drinks, ice pops, or gelatin.
Plain water is fine for mild upset, but if you’re dealing with diarrhea or repeated vomiting, you’re losing salt along with fluid. Your intestines actually absorb liquids better when the drink contains both sugar and salt. That’s the principle behind oral rehydration solutions you can find at any pharmacy or grocery store. Sports drinks work in a pinch but are higher in sugar than ideal. Avoid fruit juice, which can make diarrhea worse.
The Best Foods for a Sensitive Stomach
Once you’ve kept liquids down for a few hours, your appetite may start to creep back. This is when you introduce small amounts of bland food. The classic BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) has been recommended for decades, and it’s a reasonable starting point for a day or two. But there’s no clinical evidence that you need to restrict yourself to only those four foods.
Other well-tolerated options include:
- Brothy soups (chicken broth, miso), which also help with hydration
- Plain oatmeal, cooked soft
- Boiled or baked potatoes without butter or cheese
- Saltine crackers or plain pretzels
- Unsweetened dry cereal like plain Cheerios or Rice Chex
The common thread is low fat, low fiber, and minimal seasoning. These foods give your digestive system something to work with without demanding much effort. Eat small portions slowly, and eat more frequently if you’re hungry rather than sitting down to a large meal.
Why Fat and Dairy Make Things Worse
Greasy, fried, or high-fat foods are the single worst category to eat when your stomach is off. Fat in the small intestine slows gastric emptying, meaning food sits in your stomach longer. This triggers the release of gut hormones that can intensify nausea. If you’re already queasy, a fatty meal will almost certainly make it worse.
Dairy is the other major category to skip. During a bout of stomach flu or food poisoning, your body’s ability to break down lactose (the sugar in milk) drops temporarily. This means milk, ice cream, cheese, and creamy sauces can trigger cramping, bloating, and more diarrhea. The American College of Gastroenterology recommends avoiding dairy for at least 24 to 48 hours. Yogurt is sometimes better tolerated because its bacteria have already partially broken down the lactose, but play it safe and wait.
Ginger and Peppermint Actually Help
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with solid evidence behind it for nausea. A systematic review of clinical trials found that taking 1 gram or more of ginger daily for at least three days significantly reduced vomiting. You don’t need supplements to get there. A simple ginger tea, made by steeping a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger in hot water, delivers a meaningful dose. Ginger chews, ginger ale made with real ginger (check the label), and even ginger candy can help settle your stomach between meals.
Peppermint works through a different mechanism. It relaxes the smooth muscle in your digestive tract by blocking calcium channels in the gut wall, which eases cramping and that tight, uncomfortable feeling. A cup of peppermint tea between meals is a simple way to use this. If your main symptom is nausea, ginger is the better choice. If cramping or bloating is the bigger problem, lean toward peppermint.
A Simple Recovery Timeline
Here’s roughly what recovery looks like for a typical stomach bug or food poisoning episode:
First few hours: Nothing by mouth. Let your stomach rest completely after vomiting stops.
Hours 2 to 6: Small sips of water or ice chips every 15 minutes. If that stays down, add clear broth or an electrolyte drink.
Hours 6 to 24: Introduce bland solids in small amounts. Bananas, plain toast, crackers, rice. Keep portions small and eat slowly.
Days 2 to 3: Gradually expand your diet. Add plain chicken, steamed vegetables, and cooked fruit. Continue avoiding fatty foods, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, and spicy food.
Days 3 to 5: Most people can return to their normal diet. If dairy still bothers you, give it another few days. Temporary lactose sensitivity after gastroenteritis can linger for a couple of weeks in some cases.
Probiotics May Shorten Recovery
Certain probiotic strains can help your gut recover faster. The yeast-based probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii has the strongest track record, showing benefits for antibiotic-related diarrhea, traveler’s diarrhea, and infections caused by C. difficile bacteria. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains also show promise. You can find these in capsule form at most pharmacies, or in fermented foods like kefir and kimchi once your stomach can handle them. Probiotics aren’t a replacement for proper hydration and rest, but they’re a reasonable addition.
Signs Your Stomach Upset Needs Attention
Most stomach bugs resolve on their own within a few days. But dehydration is the real danger, especially in children and older adults. Watch for dark-colored urine, urinating much less than usual, extreme thirst, sunken eyes, confusion, or skin that stays “tented” when you pinch it instead of flattening back immediately. In children, look for a lack of tears when crying, unusual crankiness, and sunken soft spots on the skull.
Diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours, a fever above 102°F, bloody or black stool, or an inability to keep any fluids down are all reasons to seek medical care rather than trying to manage things at home.