When you have diarrhea, the best things to eat are bland, low-fiber foods that are easy to digest, and the most important thing to drink is water or an oral rehydration solution containing both salt and sugar. Most bouts of acute diarrhea resolve within a few days, and what you put in your body during that time can either speed recovery or make things worse.
The BRAT Diet Is Outdated
For years, the go-to advice was the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These foods are still fine choices, but major health organizations no longer recommend restricting yourself to just those four items. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that most experts don’t recommend following a restricted diet or fasting when you have acute diarrhea. Once you feel like eating again, you can generally return to your normal diet.
The shift happened because overly restrictive eating during illness can leave you short on calories and nutrients right when your body needs them for recovery. Children with acute diarrhea should continue eating their usual age-appropriate diet, and infants should keep getting breast milk or formula.
Foods That Help Firm Up Stool
Soluble fiber absorbs water in your gut and adds bulk to loose stool, which is exactly what you want. Good sources include oats, bananas, applesauce, white rice, carrots, and barley. Pectin, a type of soluble fiber found naturally in apples and citrus fruits, is especially effective at thickening watery stool.
For protein, stick with lean options prepared simply. Baked chicken with the skin removed is a reliable choice. Plain scrambled eggs, steamed white fish, and low-fat broth-based soups also work well. The goal is to get some nutrition without overwhelming your digestive system with fat, which can speed up gut motility and worsen symptoms.
Other well-tolerated foods during a bout of diarrhea include plain crackers, white bread or toast, boiled potatoes (without butter or sour cream), and plain pasta. These are all low in insoluble fiber, meaning they won’t push material through your gut faster.
What to Drink (and How Much)
Replacing lost fluids is the single most important thing you can do. Diarrhea pulls water and electrolytes out of your body quickly, and dehydration is the main reason it becomes dangerous rather than just uncomfortable. Sip water frequently throughout the day rather than gulping large amounts at once, which can trigger more cramping.
Oral rehydration solutions (sold as Pedialyte or similar products) are the gold standard because they contain the right balance of sodium, potassium, and glucose to help your intestines absorb water efficiently. Sports drinks are a common substitute, but they have significantly lower sodium content than medical-grade rehydration solutions. If a sports drink is all you have, it’s better than plain water alone, but it won’t replace electrolytes as effectively.
Clear broths (chicken, beef, or vegetable) are another excellent option. They provide sodium naturally and are easy on the stomach. Herbal teas served warm can also be soothing, though you should avoid anything with caffeine.
Foods and Drinks That Make Diarrhea Worse
Some common foods and beverages actively pull more water into your intestines, which is the opposite of what you need. Sugar alcohols, found in sugar-free gum, candy, and many “diet” or “no sugar added” products, are a major culprit. Your small intestine can’t fully absorb them, so they pass into the colon where they increase the water content of stool. When the amount of these undigested sugars entering the colon exceeds its capacity to handle them, the result is watery diarrhea.
Other foods and drinks to avoid while symptomatic:
- Dairy products. Many people develop temporary lactose intolerance during a diarrheal illness because the enzyme that digests milk sugar gets depleted in the inflamed gut lining.
- Fried and greasy foods. High-fat meals speed up contractions in your digestive tract.
- Raw vegetables and high-fiber grains. Insoluble fiber (the kind in raw broccoli, whole wheat, and bran) adds bulk but also accelerates transit time.
- Caffeine. Coffee, energy drinks, and strong tea stimulate your colon and can increase the frequency of bowel movements.
- Alcohol. It irritates the gut lining and has a dehydrating effect.
- Fruit juice in large amounts. The high sugar concentration can draw water into the intestines through osmosis, worsening loose stool. Apple juice and pear juice are especially problematic because of their sorbitol content.
Probiotics Can Shorten Recovery
Probiotics have solid evidence behind them for infectious diarrhea. A large Cochrane review found that probiotics reduced the average duration of diarrhea by about 30 hours and cut the risk of diarrhea lasting three or more days by roughly a third.
Two strains stand out in the research. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG reduced diarrhea duration by about 31 hours on average and was particularly effective against rotavirus-related illness. Saccharomyces boulardii, a beneficial yeast rather than a bacterium, reduced the risk of diarrhea lasting four or more days by nearly 60%. Both are widely available as supplements in pharmacies and grocery stores.
You can also get probiotics from food. Plain yogurt (if you’re tolerating dairy), kefir, and fermented foods like miso contain live cultures. If you go the supplement route, start as soon as symptoms begin for the best effect.
How to Transition Back to Normal Eating
Once your stool starts to firm up and the frequency of bowel movements drops back to normal, you can return to your regular diet. There’s no strict reintroduction schedule you need to follow. Most people find it comfortable to add foods back gradually over a day or two, starting with the items most likely to be gentle: cooked vegetables before raw ones, lean meats before rich or spicy dishes, and small portions of dairy before a full glass of milk.
If certain foods seem to trigger a return of loose stool, back off and try again the next day. Your gut lining may still be healing even after the worst symptoms pass, and temporary sensitivities to dairy or high-fat foods are common for a few days afterward.
Signs That Diet Alone Isn’t Enough
Most diarrhea resolves on its own with proper hydration and reasonable food choices. But some signs indicate you need medical attention. In adults, watch for skin that doesn’t flatten back right away after being gently pinched, sunken eyes or cheeks, confusion, or excessive sleepiness. These are signs of significant dehydration.
In infants and young children, a dry mouth, sunken soft spot on top of the head, sunken eyes, and skin that stays tented after pinching all signal dehydration that needs professional treatment. Seek care if diarrhea has lasted more than 24 hours, if there’s blood or black color in the stool, or if a fever reaches 102°F or higher.