When you have a stomach virus, you can eat more than you might think. The old advice to stick strictly to bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (the BRAT diet) is outdated. Most experts now say you should return to your normal diet as soon as your appetite comes back, even if you still have diarrhea. The key is choosing foods that are easy on your stomach while giving your body enough calories and nutrients to recover.
Why the BRAT Diet Is No Longer the Standard
For decades, the BRAT diet was the go-to recommendation. It’s not harmful for a day or two, but there’s no research showing it works better than simply eating a broader range of bland foods. The problem with limiting yourself to just bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast is that those four foods don’t provide enough protein, fat, or variety of nutrients to support recovery. A less restrictive approach gets you back to full strength faster.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases puts it plainly: following a restricted diet does not help treat viral gastroenteritis. Gut rest, meaning deliberately not eating, is also not recommended. Withholding food for more than 24 hours can actually slow recovery by depriving your body of the energy it needs to fight off the infection and repair intestinal lining.
Foods That Are Safe and Easy to Digest
Once you can keep liquids down and feel some appetite returning, you have a wide range of options. The goal is bland, low-fat, and easy to digest. Good choices include:
- Starches: Plain white rice, boiled potatoes, saltine crackers, white bread or toast, oatmeal, plain pasta, dry cereal
- Proteins: Eggs (scrambled or boiled), baked or steamed chicken, white fish, tofu, creamy peanut butter
- Fruits: Bananas, applesauce, canned fruit, melon
- Soups: Chicken broth, vegetable broth, simple noodle soups
- Other: Plain yogurt, graham crackers, popsicles, gelatin, weak tea
You don’t need to eat all of these at once. Start with whatever sounds tolerable. Many people find that broth or a few crackers are the easiest first step, then they add more substantial foods like eggs or chicken within a few hours. The important thing is getting some calories in rather than waiting for a perfect appetite that may not come for a couple of days.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Some foods can genuinely make your symptoms worse. Greasy, fried, or heavily spiced foods are harder to digest and more likely to trigger nausea. Raw vegetables, whole grains, and high-fiber foods can irritate an already inflamed gut. Caffeine and alcohol both promote fluid loss, which is the last thing you need when you’re already losing fluids through vomiting or diarrhea.
The biggest mistake people make is reaching for sugary drinks. Soda, fruit juice, sports drinks with high sugar content, and gelatin desserts in large amounts can all pull water into the intestines through osmotic pressure, making diarrhea worse. If you want juice, dilute it with water by at least half. Plain water, oral rehydration solutions, and clear broths are your best options for staying hydrated.
Temporary Dairy Sensitivity
You may notice that milk, ice cream, or cheese seem to bother you during or right after a stomach virus, even if you normally tolerate dairy fine. This happens because the virus can temporarily damage the cells in your intestinal lining that produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the sugar in milk. Without enough lactase, undigested lactose sits in your gut and causes bloating, cramps, and more diarrhea.
This sensitivity usually resolves on its own within a few days to a couple of weeks as your gut heals. In the meantime, yogurt is often better tolerated than milk because the bacteria in it have already partially broken down the lactose. If dairy seems to be making things worse, skip it temporarily and reintroduce it gradually.
Probiotics May Shorten Recovery
There’s reasonable evidence that probiotics can help. A large Cochrane review found that probiotics reduced the average duration of diarrhea by about 30 hours and cut the risk of diarrhea lasting beyond three days by roughly a third. The most studied strains are Lactobacillus GG and a yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii, both widely available in supplement form and in some yogurts. Lactobacillus GG appeared particularly effective for rotavirus infections in children, reducing diarrhea duration by about 38 hours compared to no treatment.
Probiotics aren’t a cure, but if you’re looking for something proactive to do beyond just riding it out, they’re a reasonable option. You can find them in capsule form at most pharmacies, or get them through yogurt with live active cultures if you’re tolerating dairy.
Feeding Kids With a Stomach Virus
The approach for children is similar but with a few important differences. CDC guidelines emphasize that children should return to their usual age-appropriate diet as quickly as possible during gastroenteritis. This includes complex carbohydrates, meats, yogurt, fruits, and vegetables. The goal is to maintain caloric intake during the illness and then make up for any shortfall afterward.
Breastfed infants should continue nursing on demand throughout the illness. Formula-fed babies should continue their usual formula at full strength right after rehydration. There’s generally no need to switch to a lactose-free formula. For older children eating solid foods, the same principle applies: offer what they normally eat as soon as they show any interest.
One thing to watch carefully with kids is sugary liquids. Large amounts of soda, juice, and sweetened gelatin can worsen diarrhea in children. Small, frequent sips of an oral rehydration solution are far more effective at replacing lost fluids and electrolytes.
How to Spot Dehydration
The biggest risk from a stomach virus isn’t the virus itself. It’s the fluid loss from vomiting and diarrhea. In adults, warning signs of dehydration include extreme thirst, dark-colored urine, urinating much less than usual, dizziness, confusion, and skin that stays tented when you pinch it rather than flattening back immediately.
In infants and young children, look for no wet diapers for three or more hours, a dry mouth, no tears when crying, sunken eyes or cheeks, rapid heart rate, or a sunken soft spot on the skull. These signs mean the child needs medical attention promptly.
For anyone, diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours, inability to keep any fluids down, bloody or black stool, or a fever above 102°F are reasons to call a healthcare provider rather than continuing to manage things at home.
A Practical Timeline
There’s no rigid schedule you need to follow, but here’s roughly how recovery eating tends to look. In the first several hours when nausea and vomiting are at their worst, focus entirely on small sips of fluid: water, broth, or an oral rehydration solution. Don’t force food.
Once the vomiting slows down and you feel even a flicker of appetite, usually within 12 to 24 hours, start with something simple like crackers, plain toast, or broth with noodles. If that stays down, add more substantial food: eggs, chicken, rice, a banana. Most people can return to their normal diet within two to three days, though some foods like dairy or spicy meals may need another week before they feel comfortable again. Let your gut be the guide. If something makes you feel worse, set it aside and try again tomorrow.