The single most effective drink for stopping diarrhea is an oral rehydration solution (ORS), which replaces both the fluid and electrolytes your body loses with every watery stool. But beyond rehydration, certain teas, broths, and probiotic drinks can help calm your gut and shorten how long symptoms last. Just as important: some popular beverages actually make diarrhea worse.
Oral Rehydration Solution Is the Gold Standard
ORS isn’t just water with a pinch of salt. It’s a carefully balanced mix of sodium, glucose, and potassium designed so your intestines absorb fluid as efficiently as possible. The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends reduced-osmolarity ORS as the first-line treatment for mild to moderate dehydration from acute diarrhea in both adults and children. You can buy premade ORS packets (like DripDrop or Pedialyte) at most pharmacies, or make a basic version at home with six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in one liter of clean water.
The key is sipping steadily rather than gulping large amounts at once. If you’re vomiting alongside the diarrhea, small frequent sips every few minutes are more likely to stay down than a full glass.
Why Plain Water Isn’t Enough
Water replaces volume but not the sodium and potassium you’re flushing out. Drinking only water during heavy diarrhea can dilute your blood electrolytes further, leaving you lightheaded and weak even though you’re technically hydrated. ORS works because the glucose in the solution activates a sodium-transport system in your intestinal lining, pulling water along with it. Plain water doesn’t trigger that mechanism nearly as well.
Broths and Clear Soups
Chicken broth, beef broth, and miso soup are practical choices when you’re not ready for solid food. They deliver sodium naturally, and the warmth can ease abdominal cramping. Bone broth in particular provides a small amount of gelatin and amino acids that may help soothe an irritated gut lining. Stick with low-fat versions, since greasy or heavy soups can speed up intestinal contractions and send you back to the bathroom.
Herbal Teas That Calm the Gut
Peppermint tea contains compounds that relax the smooth muscle in your intestinal wall, which can slow the spasms that drive urgent, watery stools. A 2023 review found that peppermint oil relaxes intestinal muscles, relieves pain, and may help manage irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Chamomile tea works through a similar mechanism, relaxing digestive muscles and easing gas, nausea, and diarrhea. Spearmint tea contains a compound called carvone that also reduces digestive-tract contractions.
Brew these teas weak to moderate and drink them warm, not scalding. Avoid adding milk or cream, which can aggravate diarrhea if your gut is temporarily struggling with lactose (a common side effect of intestinal inflammation).
Probiotic Drinks Can Shorten Symptoms
Certain probiotic strains have been shown to cut the duration of infectious diarrhea by roughly one day. The best-studied strains are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (often labeled LGG) and the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii. An analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials with over 2,400 participants found LGG most effective at a daily dose of at least 10 billion colony-forming units.
You can get these strains through probiotic capsules dissolved in water, certain kefir products, or kombucha, though fermented drinks vary widely in their actual bacterial content. If you’re buying a probiotic specifically to treat diarrhea, check the label for the strain name (not just “contains probiotics”) and a CFU count in the billions. One important caveat: two large clinical trials in young children found LGG performed no better than placebo for acute gastroenteritis, so the evidence, while promising, isn’t ironclad.
What About Coconut Water?
Coconut water is often marketed as a natural rehydration drink, but its electrolyte profile is essentially the opposite of what you need during diarrhea. It’s very high in potassium (250 to 400 mg per 100 mL) and very low in sodium (20 to 60 mg per 100 mL). Standard ORS, by contrast, is high in sodium because sodium is the electrolyte you lose most during watery stools. Coconut water is fine as a supplement alongside other fluids, but it shouldn’t be your primary rehydration source.
Drinks That Make Diarrhea Worse
Some of the beverages people reach for instinctively are the worst choices during a bout of diarrhea.
- Fruit juice and soda: Most contain 10% or more sugar by volume. Beverages with a carbohydrate concentration at or above 8% slow stomach emptying, increase gastrointestinal discomfort, and pull extra water into the intestines through osmosis, making stools even more watery. Apple juice is a particularly common offender because of its high sorbitol content.
- Coffee: Caffeine stimulates colon contractions, speeding up transit time and worsening loose stools. It also acts as a mild diuretic, increasing fluid loss.
- Alcohol: Irritates the gut lining, impairs water absorption, and is dehydrating on its own.
- Milk: During diarrhea, your intestinal lining temporarily produces less lactase, the enzyme that breaks down milk sugar. Undigested lactose ferments in the colon, producing gas, bloating, and more diarrhea.
Sports drinks like Gatorade fall in a middle zone. They contain electrolytes, which helps, but their sugar concentration (around 6%) is higher than ORS and they’re lower in sodium. They’re a reasonable backup if ORS isn’t available, but diluting them with an equal part water improves absorption.
How Much to Drink
For adults, the goal is to replace what you’re losing. A practical rule: drink at least one cup (about 240 mL) of fluid after each loose stool, plus your normal daily intake. For children under 22 pounds (10 kg), guidelines recommend 2 to 4 ounces of ORS after each episode of diarrhea or vomiting. Children over that weight should get 4 to 8 ounces per episode. For more precise replacement in children, the CDC suggests 10 mL per kilogram of body weight for each watery stool.
Signs you’re falling behind on fluids include dark yellow urine, dry mouth, dizziness when standing, and in children, fewer wet diapers or no tears when crying. Dehydration risk is highest at the extremes of age: infants, toddlers, and older adults can deteriorate quickly.
A Practical Drinking Plan
For the first 6 to 12 hours, focus almost entirely on ORS or clear broth, sipped in small amounts every 10 to 15 minutes. Once you can keep fluids down comfortably, add in warm chamomile or peppermint tea between ORS doses for their gut-calming effects. As your stools start firming up, you can gradually reintroduce diluted sports drinks, weak black tea (the tannins have a mild binding effect), and eventually your normal beverages. Avoid coffee, juice, and alcohol until you’ve had at least 24 hours of normal stools.