Plain white rice is one of the easier foods to tolerate during a bout of diarrhea. It’s low in fiber, bland, and unlikely to irritate an already upset stomach. But rice alone won’t resolve diarrhea, and relying on it too heavily can actually cause problems.
Why White Rice Is Easy on Your Gut
White rice has had its bran and germ removed during processing, which strips away most of the fiber. A cup of cooked white rice contains roughly 0.6 grams of fiber, compared to about 3.5 grams in the same amount of brown rice. During diarrhea, your intestines are already moving things through too quickly. Low-fiber foods slow that process down and give your gut less work to do. Harvard Health Publishing notes that white rice is easier to digest specifically because of its lower fiber content, and that people with digestive conditions like IBS or inflammatory bowel disease often benefit from choosing white rice during flare-ups.
Rice is also a starchy food, and starches are among the most efficiently absorbed nutrients in your digestive tract. Unlike fatty, spicy, or heavily seasoned foods that can stimulate your intestines further, plain rice is neutral enough that it rarely makes things worse.
The BRAT Diet Isn’t What It Used to Be
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. For decades, it was the go-to recommendation for diarrhea, especially in children. But medical thinking has shifted significantly. No clinical trials have ever been conducted to prove the BRAT diet actually speeds recovery from diarrhea. And a review published in Practical Gastroenterology found the diet lacking in energy, fat, protein, fiber, and several important micronutrients.
The concern isn’t that rice or bananas are harmful. It’s that eating only these foods for days can leave you malnourished at a time when your body needs resources to recover. The review described cases where children placed on the BRAT diet for extended periods developed severe malnutrition, including one child who developed a serious protein deficiency after just two weeks. Current guidance from pediatric and gastroenterology organizations recommends returning to a normal, age-appropriate diet as soon as you can tolerate it, rather than restricting yourself to a handful of bland foods.
So rice makes sense as part of what you eat during diarrhea, not as the only thing you eat.
How to Prepare Rice for an Upset Stomach
The simpler the preparation, the better. Plain boiled or steamed white rice with no butter, oil, or seasoning is the standard approach. Cooking rice with extra water to make it softer, almost porridge-like, can make it even gentler. This is essentially what congee is: rice cooked slowly in five or more times the usual volume of water until it breaks down into a smooth, easily digestible porridge. Because nothing about it is raw, cold, hard, or dry, it presents almost no challenge to a weakened digestive system.
Stick with white rice rather than brown, wild, or other whole-grain varieties. The extra fiber in those options is normally a health benefit, but during active diarrhea it can push food through your intestines faster and worsen symptoms. You can switch back to whole grains once your digestion has settled.
What About Rice Water?
Rice water, the starchy liquid left over after boiling rice, has a long history as a home remedy for diarrhea. The idea is that the starches released during cooking help bind stool and provide some calories and hydration. Some research has tested rice-based oral rehydration solutions (essentially rice water with added salts) against standard sugar-based rehydration formulas. A study of 460 children hospitalized with acute diarrhea found that the rice-based solution performed no better than the standard version. In fact, once feeding resumed, children receiving the standard glucose-based solution had lower stool volumes and shorter duration of diarrhea.
Rice water won’t hurt you, and it does provide fluids. But it’s not a substitute for proper rehydration with water, broth, or an electrolyte solution. Diarrhea strips your body of water and minerals like sodium and potassium far faster than rice water can replace them.
What to Eat Alongside Rice
Rather than limiting yourself to rice alone, aim for a mix of gentle, tolerable foods. Good options to pair with rice include:
- Lean proteins like baked chicken or scrambled eggs, which provide the amino acids your body needs to repair intestinal lining
- Bananas, which are soft, easy to digest, and contain potassium lost through diarrhea
- Broth-based soups, which deliver fluids, salt, and some calories together
- Cooked vegetables like carrots or peeled potatoes, which are low in fiber when cooked soft
Avoid dairy (except yogurt, which some people tolerate well), fried foods, raw vegetables, caffeine, and alcohol until your stools return to normal. These can all stimulate your intestines or draw more water into your bowel.
When Rice Isn’t Enough
Rice helps you eat something tolerable while your gut recovers, but it doesn’t treat the underlying cause of diarrhea. Most acute diarrhea from a stomach bug resolves on its own within two to three days. The bigger risk during that window is dehydration, not hunger. Prioritize fluids first, food second.
If diarrhea lasts more than three days, contains blood, comes with a fever above 102°F, or you notice signs of dehydration like dark urine, dizziness, or dry mouth, those are signals that something beyond home care may be needed.