Ginger tea, peppermint tea, clear broth, and small sips of water are among the most effective drinks for settling nausea. The best choice depends on what’s causing your nausea and whether you’re also vomiting, but the single most important rule is the same regardless: sip slowly in small amounts rather than gulping.
Ginger Tea and Ginger Drinks
Ginger is the most studied natural remedy for nausea. Its active compounds work directly in your digestive tract by increasing stomach muscle tone and motility, which helps move things along instead of letting food sit and churn. These compounds also block some of the chemical signals (serotonin and acetylcholine) that trigger the urge to vomit. Studies on nausea from pregnancy and chemotherapy have used daily doses ranging from 600 to 2,500 mg of ginger, roughly the amount in one to two cups of tea made from fresh ginger root.
To make ginger tea, slice a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, steep it in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes, and sip it slowly. You can add a small amount of honey if the taste is too sharp. Store-bought ginger tea bags work too, though fresh root tends to be more potent.
A note on ginger ale: most major brands contain almost no real ginger. A chemical analysis during a 2019 lawsuit against Canada Dry found the ginger content was so low it couldn’t even be tasted, and the company settled for $11.2 million over misleading labeling. Brands like Schweppes and Vernors don’t list ginger on their ingredients at all. If you want ginger ale that actually delivers ginger, look for craft brands like Reed’s (about two grams of ginger root per bottle), Blenheim, or Bruce Cost, which use real ginger in meaningful amounts. Mass-market ginger ale is essentially sugar water with flavoring, and the high sugar content can actually make nausea worse.
Peppermint Tea
Peppermint works through a completely different mechanism than ginger. Its key compound, menthol, relaxes the smooth muscles lining your digestive tract by blocking calcium channels in those muscle cells. This antispasmodic effect can ease the stomach cramping and tightness that often accompanies nausea. Research also shows that peppermint can speed up gastric emptying in the early phase after eating, which helps when nausea comes from food sitting too long in your stomach.
Plain peppermint tea, steeped for at least 5 minutes, is the simplest way to get these benefits. Even inhaling the steam from a cup of peppermint tea before drinking it can start to ease symptoms. If you don’t have tea bags, a few fresh mint leaves in hot water will do.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile has a long history as a stomach-settling drink, and laboratory research confirms why. The flavonoids in chamomile flowers produce a direct, prolonged relaxant effect on smooth muscle tissue, including in the human intestine. This makes it particularly useful when nausea is accompanied by abdominal cramping or spasms. The essential oil in chamomile contributes a similar relaxant effect. Chamomile is milder than ginger and peppermint, so it’s a good option if those flavors feel too strong when you’re already queasy.
Cold Water and Lemon Water
Sometimes the simplest option is the best one. Plain water, served cold, is often better tolerated than room-temperature water when you’re nauseous. A randomized controlled trial comparing different liquid temperatures found that cold beverages consistently produced less nausea and received better tolerance scores than room-temperature drinks. If plain cold water doesn’t appeal to you, adding a squeeze of lemon can help. Research on pregnant women found that even just inhaling lemon scent reduced nausea significantly compared to a placebo, with improvements measurable by the second day of use. A slice of lemon in cold water gives you both the scent and taste benefit.
Clear Broth and Bouillon
Clear broth, whether chicken, vegetable, or bone broth, is a staple of the medical clear liquid diet for good reason. It replaces sodium and other electrolytes you lose if you’ve been vomiting, and the warmth can be soothing to your stomach. Broth also provides a small amount of calories without requiring digestion of solid food. Stick with plain, clear versions. Creamy soups or broths with chunks of food can overwhelm a sensitive stomach.
Electrolyte Drinks for Nausea With Vomiting
If you’ve been vomiting along with feeling nauseous, replacing lost fluids and electrolytes becomes critical. Oral rehydration solutions are designed with a specific balance of sodium and glucose that takes advantage of a transport system in your gut, pulling both sugar and salt (along with water) into your body simultaneously. The formula recommended by the World Health Organization uses a 1:1 sodium-to-glucose ratio for optimal absorption, though commercial products like Pedialyte use a roughly 1:3 ratio and still work well.
You don’t necessarily need a pharmacy product. Diluted apple juice mixed 50:50 with water is a practical alternative, especially for children. Sports drinks can also work in a pinch, though they tend to be higher in sugar than ideal. Avoid full-strength fruit juice, which is concentrated enough in sugar to pull water into your intestines and potentially make things worse.
How to Drink When You Can Barely Keep Anything Down
The way you drink matters as much as what you drink. Start with just 5 milliliters (about a teaspoon) every 5 minutes, then gradually increase the amount as your stomach tolerates it. This approach works even if you’re actively vomiting, because small, frequent sips absorb faster than a large volume, and your stomach is less likely to reject them. Vomiting typically decreases over time with this method.
Temperature makes a difference too. Cold or cool drinks tend to be better tolerated than warm ones when nausea is severe, though warm ginger or peppermint tea can be soothing when nausea is mild to moderate. If even sips of liquid trigger gagging, try sucking on ice chips or a frozen popsicle made from clear juice. These deliver tiny amounts of fluid continuously without requiring you to swallow a full mouthful.
What to Avoid
- Milk and dairy-based drinks. Fat slows stomach emptying, which can intensify nausea.
- Coffee. Caffeine stimulates stomach acid production and can irritate an already sensitive gut lining.
- Alcohol. It’s dehydrating and directly irritates the stomach.
- Sugary sodas and full-strength juice. High sugar concentrations can draw water into your intestines and worsen both nausea and dehydration.
- Citrus juice in large amounts. A squeeze of lemon is fine, but a full glass of orange juice is acidic enough to aggravate nausea.
Carbonation itself isn’t necessarily bad. Flat or lightly carbonated water is fine for most people, but heavily carbonated drinks can cause bloating and gas that adds to your discomfort. If you prefer sparkling water, let it go slightly flat before sipping.