After a stomach ache subsides, the best foods to reach for are soft, low-fiber, and mildly flavored: think plain rice, bananas, broth, boiled potatoes, eggs, and toast made from white bread. You don’t need to starve yourself or follow a strict protocol. Most experts now say you can eat as soon as your appetite returns, choosing gentle foods and expanding from there as you feel better.
Why the BRAT Diet Isn’t the Full Answer
For years, the go-to advice was the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These four foods are still fine choices, but there’s no research showing they work better than other bland options. Harvard Health notes that restricting yourself to only those four foods makes less sense than eating a wider range of easy-to-digest meals that also deliver protein and nutrients your body needs to recover.
A better approach is to use BRAT as a starting point, then quickly branch out. Brothy soups, oatmeal, crackers, boiled potatoes, cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, eggs, and cooked squash like butternut or pumpkin are all gentle on your stomach while giving you more to work with nutritionally.
Foods That Are Easiest on Your Stomach
What makes a food “safe” after a stomach ache comes down to three things: it’s soft, it’s low in fiber, and it’s not spicy or acidic. High-fiber foods, raw vegetables, and heavily seasoned dishes force your digestive system to work harder, which can restart the discomfort you just got rid of.
Good options include:
- Starches: White rice, plain pasta, white bread, crackers, Cream of Wheat, boiled or mashed potatoes
- Fruits: Bananas, applesauce, canned fruit, melons
- Proteins: Eggs, tofu, steamed or baked chicken, whitefish, creamy peanut butter
- Soups: Broth-based soups, chicken broth, miso
- Soft extras: Pudding, custard, gelatin, popsicles, graham crackers
- Drinks: Weak tea, diluted fruit juice (avoid citrus if you have acid reflux)
Low-fat or fat-free dairy is generally tolerated, but if your stomach ache involved nausea or diarrhea, dairy can sometimes make things worse. Test with a small amount first.
What to Avoid While Recovering
Fried, greasy, and heavily spiced foods are the biggest culprits for re-triggering stomach pain. Fatty meals slow digestion and can cause bloating or cramping when your gut is still sensitive. Caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and citrus juices can all irritate your stomach lining. Raw vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds are healthy in normal times but their high fiber content makes them harder to process right after a stomach ache.
Very hot or very cold foods can also be jarring. Room-temperature or warm meals tend to sit better.
Hydration Matters More Than Food
If your stomach ache came with vomiting or diarrhea, replacing lost fluids and electrolytes is the single most important thing you can do. Plain water alone doesn’t replace the sodium and potassium your body lost. A simple homemade rehydration drink, based on a formula used at the University of Virginia, calls for 4 cups of water, half a teaspoon of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until dissolved and sip throughout the day.
If that sounds unappetizing, chicken broth works well too: mix 2 cups of regular (not low-sodium) liquid broth with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Sports drinks like Gatorade G2 can also work if you add half a teaspoon of salt per 32-ounce bottle to bring the sodium level up. The key is small, frequent sips rather than gulping large amounts, which can trigger nausea again.
Ginger and Peppermint for Lingering Nausea
If your stomach still feels unsettled even after the worst has passed, ginger is one of the most well-supported natural options. Studies on nausea show that around 500 to 1,500 milligrams of ginger root per day can meaningfully reduce nausea and vomiting. That’s the equivalent of a ginger supplement or freshly grated ginger steeped in hot water. Store-bought ginger ale and ginger teas contain far less of the active compounds, so they’re comforting but less effective.
Peppermint works differently. It relaxes the muscles in your intestinal wall, which helps with cramping and bloating. One important caveat: peppermint can worsen heartburn and acid reflux by relaxing the valve between your esophagus and stomach. If your stomach ache involved acid or burning, skip the peppermint and stick with ginger.
How Quickly to Return to Normal Eating
You don’t need to follow a strict timeline. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that research does not support fasting or following a restricted diet after viral gastroenteritis, and recommends eating what you normally eat as soon as your appetite comes back. For most people, this means a day or two of bland foods before gradually returning to your regular meals.
A practical approach: start with broth, crackers, or plain rice when hunger first returns. If that stays down comfortably for a few hours, move to something with more substance like eggs, chicken, or cooked vegetables. By the second or third day, most people can eat normally again. If certain foods still bother you after several days, your gut may need more time, and it’s worth paying attention to which specific foods cause problems.
Rebuilding Your Gut After Diarrhea
A bout of diarrhea disrupts the balance of bacteria in your intestines. Probiotics can help restore that balance and shorten recovery. A large Cochrane review of clinical trials found that probiotics reduced the duration of diarrhea by about 30 hours on average and cut the risk of diarrhea persisting beyond three days by roughly a third. The strain with the strongest evidence is Lactobacillus GG (often sold as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG), which was particularly effective in cases caused by viral infections.
You can get probiotics through supplements or through foods like plain yogurt with live cultures, kefir, or fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut. If your stomach is still sensitive, yogurt is usually the gentlest option. Look for products that list specific bacterial strains on the label rather than just saying “live cultures.”
Signs Your Stomach Ache Needs Medical Attention
Most stomach aches resolve on their own within a day or two. But certain patterns point to something more serious. The American College of Emergency Physicians recommends seeking emergency care if pain is sudden and severe, doesn’t ease within 30 minutes, or is accompanied by continuous vomiting. Severe pain in the lower right abdomen with fever, nausea, and loss of appetite can signal appendicitis. Pain in the middle upper abdomen that worsens after eating, lasts for days, and comes with fever or a rapid pulse may indicate pancreatitis. If you notice blood in your vomit or stool, or if you can’t keep any fluids down for more than 24 hours, those are reasons to get evaluated promptly.