Most stomach upset resolves on its own, but the right combination of foods, drinks, positioning, and over-the-counter options can speed things along considerably. What works best depends on your specific symptoms: nausea, cramping, acid reflux, or diarrhea each respond to slightly different approaches.
Ginger for Nausea and Vomiting
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for an upset stomach, and the evidence behind it is strong. Its active compounds work by blocking serotonin receptors in the gut, the same pathway that many prescription anti-nausea medications target. Ginger also speeds up gastric emptying, meaning it helps food move out of your stomach faster when things feel stuck or heavy.
The effective dose in clinical research is around 1 gram per day (roughly half a teaspoon of ground ginger), taken for at least three to four days. At that dose, people experienced significantly less vomiting compared to a placebo. You can get this from ginger tea, ginger chews, capsules, or even flat ginger ale, though brewed ginger tea and supplements tend to deliver more of the active compounds than most commercial drinks. If you’re dealing with acute nausea, sipping ginger tea slowly rather than drinking it all at once often works better.
Peppermint for Cramps and Bloating
Peppermint relaxes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract, which makes it particularly useful for cramping, bloating, and that general tight discomfort in your abdomen. In a clinical trial of people with irritable bowel syndrome, 75% of those taking peppermint oil capsules saw their total symptom scores drop by more than half after four weeks, compared to 38% on placebo. The benefits also persisted for about a month after people stopped taking it.
For occasional stomach upset, peppermint tea is the simplest option. If you deal with frequent cramping or bloating, enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules deliver the oil directly to your intestines rather than releasing it in your stomach. One caution: peppermint can actually worsen acid reflux, because relaxing that muscle at the top of your stomach lets acid travel upward more easily. If heartburn is part of your problem, skip the peppermint.
What to Eat When Your Stomach Is Off
The classic BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) still has a place as a short-term strategy. These foods are bland, low in fiber, and easy to digest, which means they’re unlikely to irritate an already sensitive stomach. The same approach works for nausea and vomiting, not just diarrhea.
That said, nutritional experts at MD Anderson Cancer Center emphasize that the BRAT diet isn’t nutritionally complete. You should start adding other bland, low-fat foods back in as soon as you can tolerate them: plain crackers, boiled potatoes, broth-based soups, steamed chicken. The goal is to return to a balanced diet as quickly as your stomach allows. Avoid greasy, spicy, or highly acidic foods until you’re feeling closer to normal, since these are the most common triggers for a flare-up during recovery.
Small, frequent meals also tend to sit better than large ones. Eating a big plate of food forces your stomach to produce more acid and work harder mechanically, which can ramp up nausea or cramping. Five or six smaller portions spread throughout the day keeps things manageable.
Over-the-Counter Options
Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) is one of the most versatile options for general stomach upset. It treats diarrhea, heartburn, and nausea by reducing fluid flow into the bowel, lowering inflammation in the intestinal lining, and killing some of the bacteria that cause digestive problems. It’s approved for adults and children 12 and older.
Antacids like calcium carbonate (Tums) or magnesium hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) work differently. They neutralize stomach acid directly, making them a better choice when heartburn or acid-related discomfort is your main symptom. They act fast but wear off relatively quickly. H2 blockers like famotidine (Pepcid) take longer to kick in but suppress acid production for hours, making them a better fit if your symptoms tend to linger or return overnight.
Choosing the right one comes down to your symptoms. Watery stool with general queasiness points toward bismuth subsalicylate. Burning in your chest or upper stomach calls for an antacid or H2 blocker. If you’re purely nauseous without other symptoms, ginger or bismuth subsalicylate are both reasonable first choices.
How You Position Your Body Matters
If your stomach trouble includes acid reflux or heartburn, body positioning can make a real difference. Lying flat lets stomach acid pool at the entrance to your esophagus. Propping your upper body up with a wedge pillow (not just extra pillows, which tend to bend you at the waist) creates a gravity-assisted slope that keeps acid where it belongs.
Research from Harvard Health found that sleeping on your left side clears acid from the esophagus significantly faster than sleeping on your right side or your back. The number of reflux episodes was about the same regardless of position, but acid didn’t linger as long on the left side, which means less burning and less tissue irritation. Combining left-side sleeping with upper body elevation is the most effective positioning strategy for nighttime reflux.
For general nausea without reflux, sitting upright or reclining at a slight angle tends to feel better than lying completely flat. Avoid bending over or compressing your abdomen, which increases pressure on your stomach.
Simple Habits That Help
Staying hydrated is essential, especially if you’ve been vomiting or having diarrhea. Small sips of water, clear broth, or an electrolyte drink are better than gulping large amounts, which can trigger another wave of nausea. Room temperature or slightly cool liquids tend to be easier on the stomach than ice-cold drinks.
Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages while your stomach is upset reduces acid production and prevents gas from adding to bloating. If you smoke, nicotine relaxes the valve between your stomach and esophagus and increases acid secretion, so it can prolong symptoms.
Loose clothing sounds trivial, but tight waistbands genuinely increase abdominal pressure and can worsen both nausea and reflux. If you’re at home trying to ride out an upset stomach, swapping into something with an elastic waist removes one unnecessary source of discomfort.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most stomach upset passes within a day or two. Certain symptoms, however, signal something more serious. Vomiting that looks green or yellow (bilious), blood in your vomit or stool, severe abdominal pain with a rigid or distended belly, high fever, or feeling faint or losing consciousness all warrant prompt medical evaluation. These can indicate conditions ranging from bowel obstruction to internal bleeding that won’t resolve with home remedies.
It’s also worth knowing that heart problems sometimes masquerade as stomach trouble. Pain or pressure in the upper abdomen, nausea, and unusual fatigue can be signs of a cardiac event, particularly in people over 50 or those with known heart disease. If your “stomach upset” came on suddenly, feels different from your usual digestive issues, or is accompanied by chest tightness or shortness of breath, treat it as a potential emergency.