Yes, a baked potato is one of the better foods you can eat during a bout of diarrhea. It’s starchy, easy to digest, low in fiber (when peeled), and packed with potassium, a mineral your body loses rapidly through loose stools. A medium baked potato with the skin on delivers more than 900 milligrams of potassium, which is roughly 20% of the daily recommended intake.
Why Potatoes Work During Diarrhea
Diarrhea-friendly diets center on bland, low-fiber, starchy foods. Potatoes check all three boxes. The starch in a well-cooked potato is easy for an irritated gut to break down, and it provides calories at a time when you may not feel like eating much else. Stanford Health Care lists potatoes among the potassium-rich foods to prioritize during diarrhea, alongside bananas and coconut water. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends mashed potatoes as a top-tier starchy food for children ages one through five recovering from diarrhea, calling starchy foods “the best” because they’re easy to digest.
Potatoes also fit naturally alongside the well-known BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). While potatoes aren’t part of the original acronym, MD Anderson Cancer Center specifically recommends adding mashed potatoes without the skin as a complementary bland food. The BRAT diet itself is considered a short-term strategy, not a complete nutritional plan, so adding potatoes actually helps broaden your nutrient intake while keeping things gentle on the stomach.
Peel the Skin Off
This is the most important preparation detail. Potato skin is extremely high in insoluble fiber, the type that adds bulk and speeds movement through the intestines. Research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that potato peels contain roughly 24% to 51% insoluble fiber by dry weight, depending on how they’re processed, compared to only about 3% to 5% soluble fiber. During diarrhea, insoluble fiber is the last thing you want. It can worsen cramping and loose stools.
The flesh of the potato, by contrast, is low in fiber and high in easily digestible starch. Peeling the potato before or after baking removes the problematic fiber while preserving the nutritional benefits.
Eat It Warm, Not Cold
When a cooked potato cools down, some of its starch converts into what’s called resistant starch. This type of starch resists digestion in the small intestine and instead gets fermented by bacteria in the large bowel. According to Cambridge University Hospitals, this fermentation produces gas and can trigger bloating, abdominal pain, and even worsen diarrhea in people with sensitive bowels. They specifically note that cooled or reheated potatoes are higher in resistant starch.
So eat your baked potato while it’s still warm. Reheating a cold potato doesn’t fully reverse the resistant starch formation, so freshly baked is your best option.
How to Prepare It
Keep the preparation simple. Bake the potato until soft, peel the skin, and mash or cut it into small pieces. Add a moderate pinch of salt. This isn’t just for flavor. Diarrhea depletes sodium along with potassium, and lightly salting your potato helps replace both electrolytes at once. Alberta Health Services even includes mashed potatoes as a base ingredient in homemade oral rehydration solutions, combined with water, salt, and a potassium-rich salt substitute.
Avoid adding butter, sour cream, cheese, or other high-fat toppings. Fat is harder to digest and can aggravate diarrhea. Skip garlic, onion, and spicy seasonings too. Plain and lightly salted is the goal.
What About Other Forms of Potato
Mashed potatoes (made with water or broth instead of milk) work just as well as baked, and they may be easier to eat if your appetite is low. Boiled potatoes are another good option since boiling keeps the starch soft and digestible.
Avoid fried potatoes, hash browns, and chips. The added fat and oil make them harder on the digestive system. Potato salad is also a poor choice because the potatoes are served cold, raising the resistant starch issue, and the dressing adds fat and acidity.
How Long to Stick With Bland Foods
Most cases of acute diarrhea resolve within two to three days. During that window, starchy foods like peeled baked potatoes, white rice, plain toast, and bananas form a solid nutritional base. Once your stools start firming up, gradually reintroduce other foods. Adding variety back too quickly, especially high-fiber vegetables, dairy, or greasy foods, can trigger a relapse.
For children, the same approach applies. The AAP recommends starchy foods like mashed potatoes along with dried cereals, bread, crackers, and rice. Salty crackers and pretzels are also useful for replacing sodium in kids who won’t tolerate plain salted foods.