Bland, easy-to-digest foods are your best bet when your stomach hurts. The goal is to give your digestive system something to work with without making it work too hard. That means sticking to simple starches, gentle fruits, and soothing liquids until the pain passes.
The BRAT Diet Still Works
The classic recommendation for an upset stomach is the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These foods are bland, low in fiber, and easy to digest, which means they’re unlikely to trigger more nausea or cramping. They’re a starting point, not a long-term eating plan, but they can get you through the worst of it.
Each food in the group pulls its weight in a slightly different way. Bananas and applesauce both contain pectin, a soluble fiber that absorbs excess water in the gut and helps firm up loose stools. In studies, people who consumed 24 grams of pectin daily experienced fewer symptoms of both diarrhea and constipation. Bananas also replenish potassium, a mineral your body loses quickly during vomiting or diarrhea. Plain white rice is rich in starch that converts into soluble fiber during digestion, and toast made from white bread adds easy calories without irritating your stomach lining.
Why White Rice Beats Brown Rice
When your stomach is already upset, fiber type matters. Soluble fiber (found in oats, bananas, and applesauce) turns into a gel during digestion and slows things down gently. Insoluble fiber (found in whole grains, wheat bran, and raw vegetables) does the opposite: it speeds food through your system and adds bulk to stool, which can make cramping and diarrhea worse.
That’s why white rice is preferred over brown rice during a stomach ache. White rice is lower in fiber and easier to digest. Harvard Health notes that even people with chronic digestive conditions like IBS are often advised to switch to white rice during flare-ups until symptoms improve. The same logic applies to white bread over whole wheat.
Ginger for Nausea and Cramping
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for nausea and stomach discomfort. Its pungent compounds relax the stomach and help move food through the digestive tract more efficiently. You can use it as fresh ginger sliced into hot water, ginger tea, ginger chews, or even ginger ale (though flat ginger ale with real ginger is better than carbonated versions with artificial flavoring).
Clinical trials have tested doses ranging from 250 mg to 2 grams per day, split into three or four smaller amounts throughout the day. Interestingly, the 2-gram dose didn’t perform any better than the 1-gram dose, so you don’t need much. A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger steeped in hot water for 10 minutes is roughly in that range and is usually enough to take the edge off nausea.
Peppermint Tea for Bloating and Gas
If your stomach ache feels more like bloating, pressure, or gas than nausea, peppermint tea is worth trying. Peppermint acts as a natural muscle relaxant for the digestive tract, which helps ease the cramping and tightness that come with gas and indigestion. One caveat: because peppermint relaxes the muscle at the top of your stomach, it can make acid reflux worse. If your stomach pain comes with heartburn or a burning feeling in your chest, skip the peppermint and try ginger instead.
Probiotic Foods During Recovery
Once the worst of your stomach ache has passed and you’re starting to eat more normally, probiotic-rich foods can help restore the balance of bacteria in your gut. This is especially useful if your stomach problems followed a course of antibiotics or a bout of food poisoning, both of which can disrupt your gut’s natural microbial balance.
Good options include plain yogurt, kefir, miso soup, and cottage cheese. These are mild enough for a recovering stomach while still delivering live beneficial bacteria. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are also probiotic-rich, but their acidity and strong flavors can be too intense if your stomach is still sensitive. Save those for when you’re feeling closer to normal. When choosing yogurt or kefir, look for labels that say “live and active cultures,” since food processing can destroy the beneficial bacteria.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
What you don’t eat matters just as much as what you do. Several common foods and drinks irritate the stomach lining or slow digestion in ways that make pain worse:
- Fried and fatty foods take longer to digest and can increase cramping and nausea.
- Spicy foods irritate the stomach lining directly, especially if there’s any inflammation already present.
- Citrus fruits and tomatoes are acidic enough to worsen heartburn and gastritis symptoms.
- Coffee, caffeinated tea, and soda stimulate acid production and can trigger cramping. Carbonation also adds gas.
- Alcohol irritates the stomach lining and slows healing.
- Chocolate contains both caffeine and fat, making it a double trigger.
- Pain relievers like ibuprofen and aspirin are a common overlooked cause. These medications irritate the stomach lining and can make existing pain significantly worse. If you need pain relief during a stomach ache, acetaminophen is gentler on the gut.
A Simple Eating Plan for the First 24 Hours
Start with clear liquids: small sips of water, broth, or ginger tea. If you’ve been vomiting, wait until you’ve kept liquids down for a couple of hours before trying solid food. Then move to the bland staples: a few bites of plain white rice, a banana, some applesauce, or dry toast. Eat small amounts frequently rather than full meals. Your stomach will tolerate five or six small portions far better than three regular-sized ones.
As you feel better over the next day or two, gradually add back plain proteins like boiled chicken or scrambled eggs, cooked vegetables, and eventually your normal diet. If your appetite is slow to return, that’s normal. Let your stomach set the pace.
When a Stomach Ache Needs More Than Food
Most stomach aches resolve within a day or two with rest and gentle eating. But sudden, severe abdominal pain is a reason to call emergency services or go to an emergency room right away. Ongoing stomach pain that lasts for weeks or doesn’t improve at all should be evaluated by a healthcare provider, since it could signal something beyond a simple upset stomach.