After food poisoning, your first priority is fluids, not food. Most people can start sipping water or an electrolyte drink within a few hours of their symptoms easing, then gradually reintroduce bland foods over the next one to two days. The key is going slow: small sips, small bites, and building back toward a normal diet as your gut heals.
Start With Small Sips, Not Big Glasses
Dehydration is the biggest immediate risk after food poisoning, especially if you’ve been vomiting or had diarrhea for hours. But gulping water can trigger another round of nausea. Take small sips over a couple of hours rather than drinking a large amount at once.
Plain water works, but your body also loses sodium and potassium during vomiting and diarrhea. An oral rehydration solution replaces those electrolytes more efficiently than water alone. The formula recommended by the World Health Organization uses a 1:1 ratio of sodium to glucose, which takes advantage of a specific transport system in your gut that pulls water into your bloodstream faster when both are present together. You can buy premade oral rehydration packets at most pharmacies, or use a sports drink diluted with water if that’s what you have on hand.
Other good early options include clear broth (which provides sodium naturally), diluted apple juice, herbal tea, and ice chips if even sipping feels like too much. Avoid caffeine and alcohol during this phase. Both can irritate your stomach and worsen dehydration.
When and How to Start Eating Again
There’s no strict hour-by-hour timeline. The general rule: once you can keep fluids down without nausea for a few hours, you can try a small amount of food. For some people that’s six hours after symptoms peak. For others it’s the next day.
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). It’s fine as a starting point for a day or two, but there’s no reason to limit yourself to just those four foods. A wider range of bland, easy-to-digest options will give your body more of the protein and nutrients it needs to actually recover. Good choices include:
- Starches: plain rice, mashed potatoes, plain noodles, crackers, oatmeal, unsweetened dry cereal
- Fruits and vegetables: bananas, applesauce, cooked carrots, cooked squash (butternut or pumpkin), sweet potatoes without skin
- Proteins: skinless chicken or turkey, plain fish, eggs, brothy soups
- Other: toast, gelatin, avocado
Eat small amounts frequently rather than sitting down to a full meal. Your stomach is still inflamed, and large portions can overwhelm it. If a food sits well, have a little more at the next meal. If it doesn’t, step back to fluids for a while and try again later.
What to Avoid During Recovery
Some foods and drinks actively irritate an already damaged stomach lining or make diarrhea worse. For at least a few days after food poisoning, steer clear of:
- Fatty and fried foods: these are harder to digest and can trigger cramping or diarrhea
- Spicy foods: they can intensify nausea and make any lingering diarrhea more uncomfortable
- Caffeine: it stimulates your gut and can worsen dehydration (though if skipping your morning coffee gives you a withdrawal headache, a small amount is reasonable)
- Alcohol: irritates the stomach lining and is dehydrating
- Dairy products: milk, cheese, and ice cream can cause bloating and diarrhea during recovery (more on why below)
Why Dairy May Bother You Temporarily
Many people notice that milk and dairy products cause gas, bloating, or diarrhea for days or even weeks after food poisoning, even if they normally tolerate dairy just fine. This happens because the infection damages the lining of your small intestine, which is where the enzyme that breaks down lactose (milk sugar) is produced. Without enough of that enzyme, lactose passes through undigested and ferments in your colon.
This is temporary. Once the intestinal lining heals, your ability to digest dairy returns. For most people that takes a week or two, though occasionally it lingers longer. In the meantime, stick to lactose-free milk or plant-based alternatives if you want something creamy, and reintroduce regular dairy gradually.
Ginger for Lingering Nausea
If nausea hangs on even after the worst has passed, ginger is one of the most well-studied natural options. Clinical trials have used dosages ranging from 250 mg to 1 gram per day, split into three or four doses, with no additional benefit found at higher amounts. You don’t need capsules. Ginger tea made from fresh slices, flat ginger ale, or even ginger chews can help settle your stomach during those first few uncomfortable days.
Rebuilding Your Gut After Infection
Food poisoning doesn’t just pass through. It disrupts the balance of bacteria in your intestines, which can leave you with irregular digestion for a while. Probiotics may help speed up the return to normal. The strain with the most evidence behind it for gut infections is Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and research suggests a dose of at least 5 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) per day is significantly more effective than lower amounts. You’ll find this strain in products like Culturelle, which contains 10 billion CFUs per capsule.
Fermented foods like plain yogurt (once you can tolerate dairy again), kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi also introduce beneficial bacteria, though in less predictable amounts than a supplement. You don’t need to take probiotics forever. A week or two during and after recovery is a reasonable window.
Signs You Need More Than Home Care
Most food poisoning resolves on its own within one to three days. But dehydration can become dangerous if you can’t keep any fluids down. Watch for these warning signs: no urination for eight hours or more, a rapid pulse with low blood pressure, flushed or dry skin that stays “tented” when you pinch it, dizziness when standing, or confusion and slurred speech. Any of those, especially confusion or fainting, warrant emergency medical attention rather than another round of sipping broth at home.