Bland, easy-to-digest foods like bananas, plain rice, oatmeal, and brothy soups are among the best choices when your stomach is upset. But the right pick depends on what’s bothering you, whether that’s nausea, cramping, diarrhea, or just a vague queasiness after eating too much. Some foods calm nausea, others slow down diarrhea, and a few can actually relax the muscles in your digestive tract to ease cramping.
Start With Bland, Low-Fiber Staples
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These foods are gentle on your stomach because they’re low in fat, low in fiber, and easy to break down. They work well for the first day or two of a stomach bug, food poisoning, or traveler’s diarrhea. But Harvard Health notes there’s no reason to limit yourself to just those four foods. Brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and plain dry cereals are equally easy to digest.
The key is keeping meals small and simple. Fat and heavy seasoning both stimulate your digestive system in ways that can make nausea or cramping worse. Plain, starchy foods don’t ask much of your gut, which is exactly what you want when it’s already irritated. Once things settle down, typically after a day or two, start adding back more nutritious options like cooked carrots, skinless chicken, fish, eggs, avocado, and soft squashes like butternut or pumpkin. These provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to actually recover, not just coast.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most reliable natural remedies for nausea. Its active compounds, called gingerols and shogaols, work directly on the digestive tract to reduce queasiness. Clinical trials have used ginger in doses ranging from about 170 mg to 1 gram, taken three to four times daily, for various types of nausea including motion sickness, morning sickness, and post-surgical nausea. Even ginger aromatherapy (inhaling the essential oil) has shown benefit for nausea after surgery or chemotherapy.
In practical terms, this means a cup of ginger tea, a few slices of fresh ginger steeped in hot water, or even ginger chews can genuinely help. Ginger ale is less reliable since many brands contain very little actual ginger and a lot of sugar, which can make things worse. If you’re buying ginger supplements, look for products that list the actual ginger content so you know you’re getting enough.
Peppermint for Cramps and Bloating
If your stomach trouble feels more like cramping or spasms than nausea, peppermint is worth trying. Peppermint oil works as a natural antispasmodic by blocking calcium channels in the smooth muscle of your digestive tract, which reduces the contractions that cause cramping pain. A meta-analysis published in The BMJ found that only 26% of people taking peppermint oil still had persistent symptoms, compared to 65% on placebo. That’s a striking difference.
Peppermint tea is the simplest way to get this benefit. For more targeted relief, enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules deliver the oil directly to the intestines, which is especially helpful for lower abdominal cramping and bloating. One thing to watch: peppermint can relax the valve between your stomach and esophagus, so if heartburn or acid reflux is part of your problem, it may make that specific symptom worse even as it helps with cramping.
Chamomile Tea for General Discomfort
Chamomile has been used for stomach complaints for centuries, and the science backs it up. It has anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties, meaning it can calm both irritation and muscle tension in the gut. A warm cup of chamomile tea is a good option when your stomach just feels “off” without one dominant symptom. It also has mild sedative effects, which can help if stress or anxiety is contributing to your digestive trouble (a more common connection than most people realize).
Soluble Fiber for Diarrhea
When diarrhea is the main issue, soluble fiber can help firm things up. Unlike insoluble fiber (the rough, scratchy kind found in bran and raw vegetables), soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gel-like material in your stomach that slows digestion and adds bulk to loose stools. Good sources include bananas, applesauce, oatmeal, cooked carrots, avocados, and plain white rice. This is part of why the BRAT foods work so well for diarrhea specifically.
What you want to avoid during a bout of diarrhea is the opposite: raw vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. These are all high in insoluble fiber, which speeds up transit through your gut and can make loose stools worse. Save those for when you’ve fully recovered.
Bone Broth and Clear Soups
Bone broth does double duty when your stomach is upset. First, it replaces fluids and electrolytes you lose through vomiting or diarrhea, which is critical since dehydration often makes stomach symptoms feel worse than the original problem. Second, bone broth is rich in amino acids like glutamine, glycine, and proline that support the integrity of your gut lining. Glutamine in particular helps maintain the intestinal barrier and may reduce the kind of inflammation that comes with chronic gut irritation.
If you don’t have bone broth on hand, any clear broth or simple soup works for hydration and gentle nutrition. The warmth itself can also help relax tense abdominal muscles. Sip slowly rather than drinking a full bowl at once, especially if nausea is involved.
Probiotics for Recovery
Probiotic-rich foods like plain yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods can help your gut recover after a bout of illness, particularly diarrhea. The strain Lactobacillus reuteri has been shown to reduce the duration of diarrhea by about 25 hours in clinical trials, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG shortened rotavirus-related diarrhea by roughly two days in some studies (though results have been mixed in larger trials). Saccharomyces boulardii, a beneficial yeast found in some supplements, has also shown benefit for antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
Plain yogurt with live active cultures is the easiest food-based source. Avoid yogurts with a lot of added sugar, since sugar can draw water into the intestines and worsen diarrhea. If you’re lactose intolerant, kefir is often better tolerated because the fermentation process breaks down most of the lactose.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
What you don’t eat matters as much as what you do. While your stomach is recovering, steer clear of:
- Fatty or fried foods, which slow stomach emptying and can intensify nausea
- Dairy (other than plain yogurt or kefir), since lactose is harder to digest when your gut is inflamed
- Caffeine, which stimulates stomach acid production and speeds up your colon
- Alcohol, which irritates the stomach lining directly
- Spicy foods, which can trigger more cramping and acid production
- Carbonated drinks, which introduce gas into an already uncomfortable system
- High-sugar foods and juices, which can pull water into the intestines and worsen diarrhea
Hydration Comes First
Before worrying about food, make sure you’re drinking enough. Vomiting and diarrhea deplete fluids and electrolytes fast, and dehydration amplifies symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Water is fine for mild cases. For more significant fluid loss, an oral rehydration solution or a low-sugar electrolyte drink replaces sodium and potassium more effectively than water alone. Take small, frequent sips rather than gulping, especially if you’re still nauseous.
Once you can keep fluids down for a few hours, introduce small amounts of bland food. There’s no need to force yourself to eat if the thought of food makes you feel worse, but going too long without eating can slow recovery and leave you feeling weaker.