When you have the stomach flu, the best things to eat are bland, easy-to-digest foods like bananas, rice, toast, plain potatoes, and broth-based soups. But the first priority isn’t food at all. It’s fluids. Most of the danger from viral gastroenteritis comes from dehydration, and replacing lost water and electrolytes matters more than getting calories in during the first 12 to 24 hours.
Start With Fluids, Not Food
Right after vomiting, give your stomach a break. Skip both food and drinks for a couple of hours, then start with small sips of clear liquids. Water is fine, but it doesn’t replace the sodium and potassium your body is losing through vomiting and diarrhea. Oral rehydration solutions (like Pedialyte or store-brand equivalents) work best because they contain roughly equal amounts of glucose and sodium, a ratio that helps your intestines absorb fluid far more efficiently than water alone.
If you don’t have an oral rehydration solution on hand, clear broth is a solid alternative because it naturally contains sodium. Coconut water provides potassium. You can also make a simple rehydration drink at home with water, a small amount of salt, and a small amount of sugar. The key is to sip slowly. Gulping a full glass at once is more likely to trigger another round of vomiting. Take a few sips every five to ten minutes and gradually increase the amount as your stomach tolerates it.
What to Avoid Drinking
Fruit juice, regular soda, and sports drinks are common choices that can actually make things worse. These beverages are loaded with sugar, and sugar pulls water into your intestines through osmosis, loosening bowel movements and worsening diarrhea. Apple juice is one of the biggest offenders despite its reputation as a “sick day” drink. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol both promote fluid loss, so skip those entirely until you’re fully recovered.
When to Start Eating Again
Once you’ve been keeping liquids down for a few hours, your appetite will likely start creeping back. That’s your signal to try small amounts of bland food. Don’t wait until you feel completely normal to eat. Your body needs fuel to recover, and going too long without food can leave you weaker. Start small: a few bites of toast, a quarter of a banana, a handful of plain crackers.
The Best Foods for Recovery
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s a reasonable starting point for the first day or two, but experts at Harvard Health note there’s no need to restrict yourself to only those four foods. A wider range of bland options provides more of the protein and nutrients your body needs to bounce back.
Good choices include:
- Starches and grains: plain white or brown rice, oatmeal, plain pasta (no sauce), grits, quinoa, boiled or baked potatoes, dry cereal, crackers, toast
- Fruits and vegetables: bananas, applesauce, cooked apples, butternut squash, acorn squash
- Soups: broth-based soups like chicken noodle or plain vegetable broth
- Protein: plain scrambled eggs, skinless baked chicken, or small portions of other lean protein once you’re tolerating starches well
The common thread is that these foods are low in fat, low in fiber, and low in strong flavors. Fat slows digestion and can trigger nausea. High-fiber foods speed things through your gut, which is the opposite of what you want when you already have diarrhea. Spicy, acidic, or heavily seasoned food can irritate an already inflamed stomach lining.
Foods to Avoid Until You’re Better
Dairy is one of the most important things to skip. The stomach flu damages the lining of your small intestine, and that lining is where your body produces the enzyme that breaks down lactose (the sugar in milk). When that enzyme is temporarily reduced, undigested lactose sits in your gut, draws in extra water, and gets fermented by bacteria. The result is bloating, cramps, gas, and more diarrhea. This temporary lactose intolerance can last for days or even a couple of weeks after the infection clears.
Also hold off on fried or greasy food, raw vegetables, beans, whole nuts, citrus fruits, tomato-based sauces, and anything with a lot of added sugar. Alcohol and coffee should wait until your digestion is fully back to normal.
How Quickly to Return to Normal Eating
Most people can start adding more variety back into their meals within two to three days. The transition should be gradual. Once bland starches are sitting well, try adding a small portion of lean protein. Then reintroduce cooked vegetables. Dairy and high-fat foods should be the last things you bring back, ideally waiting until you’ve had normal bowel movements for at least a day.
If a particular food causes your symptoms to flare, back off and try again the next day. Everyone’s gut recovers at its own pace, and rushing it just extends the misery.
Do Probiotics Help?
There’s some evidence that probiotics can shorten the duration of diarrhea, particularly in children. A meta-analysis published in the journal Medicine found that probiotics reduced the duration of acute diarrhea by roughly 17 hours compared to no treatment. That’s meaningful but modest. Yogurt is a common probiotic source, but since dairy can be problematic during stomach flu, a probiotic supplement or a non-dairy fermented food may be a better choice if you want to try this route. The benefit is most likely when you start probiotics early in the illness rather than waiting until you’re already recovering.
Feeding Kids With Stomach Flu
Children get dehydrated faster than adults because of their smaller body size, so fluid replacement is even more critical. Oral rehydration solutions designed for children (like Pedialyte) are the best first step. Avoid giving kids fruit juice or flat soda as a substitute, since the sugar content can worsen diarrhea.
For food, the same bland options apply, adjusted for what your child will actually eat. Small, frequent offerings work better than trying to get a full meal in. Saltine crackers, plain noodles, bananas, and rice are all good starting points. If your child is breastfeeding, continue breastfeeding throughout the illness. Breast milk provides both fluids and nutrients, and there’s no benefit to stopping it. For formula-fed infants, continue formula unless a pediatrician advises otherwise.
Signs of dehydration in kids to watch for include fewer wet diapers than usual, no tears when crying, a dry mouth, and unusual sleepiness or irritability. In very young children, a sunken soft spot on the head is another warning sign.