When your stomach is upset, the right foods and drinks can ease nausea, calm cramping, and help you recover faster. The wrong ones can make everything worse. The general principle is simple: stick to bland, low-fat, easy-to-digest options and focus on staying hydrated, especially if vomiting or diarrhea is involved.
Start With Fluids
Replacing lost fluid is the single most important thing you can do during a stomach upset, particularly if you’re dealing with vomiting or diarrhea. Water is fine for mild cases, but if symptoms are more intense, you need to replace electrolytes too. The science behind oral rehydration is straightforward: your small intestine absorbs water more efficiently when sodium and glucose are present together. That’s why sipping on a rehydration drink, broth, or even a diluted sports drink works better than plain water alone when you’re losing fluids quickly.
Take small, frequent sips rather than gulping large amounts. A stomach that’s already irritated is more likely to reject a full glass of water than a few tablespoons every 10 to 15 minutes. If plain water sounds unappealing, try sucking on ice chips or freezing a rehydration drink into popsicles.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for nausea, and it genuinely works. In a study of 576 patients, ginger supplements at doses of 0.5 to 1.0 grams per day significantly reduced the severity of nausea. The active compounds in ginger appear to bind to the same receptors in the gut that anti-nausea medications target, while also reducing inflammation and muscle spasms in the digestive tract.
You don’t need supplements to get this benefit. A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger steeped in hot water for five to ten minutes makes a strong tea. Ginger chews, ginger ale made with real ginger (check the label, since many brands use artificial flavoring), and even crystallized ginger all count. Aim for the equivalent of roughly half a gram to one gram of ginger per day, which is about a quarter to half teaspoon of ground ginger or a one-inch piece of fresh root.
Peppermint for Cramping
If your upset stomach comes with cramping or a tight, bloated feeling, peppermint is worth trying. Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract by blocking calcium from entering muscle cells, which is essentially the same mechanism used by certain prescription muscle relaxants. The result is less spasming and less pain.
Peppermint tea is the easiest way to get this effect. Steep a tea bag or a handful of fresh leaves for five minutes and sip it warm. One caveat: if your stomach upset involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can make it worse, because the same muscle-relaxing effect can loosen the valve between your esophagus and stomach, letting acid travel upward.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile is a gentler option that works for both nausea and cramping without the reflux risk. Its benefits come from flavonoids, particularly apigenin and luteolin, which reduce inflammation in the lining of the digestive tract. Germany’s regulatory body for herbal medicine has formally approved chamomile for inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. A warm cup of chamomile tea also has a mild sedative quality that can help if stomach discomfort is keeping you from resting.
The Best Foods When You’re Ready to Eat
Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re actively nauseous. When hunger returns, even slightly, that’s your signal to start with small amounts of bland food.
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 nutritionally it’s incomplete. As Harvard Health notes, there’s no need to restrict yourself to just those four foods. Once your stomach has settled a bit, expand to other easy-to-digest options that also provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover:
- Bananas are alkaline, low in acid, and replace potassium lost through vomiting or diarrhea.
- White rice and plain toast are simple starches that absorb quickly without taxing your digestive system.
- Cooked carrots, sweet potatoes (without skin), and butternut squash are gentle root vegetables that add vitamins without irritation.
- Skinless chicken or turkey, eggs, and plain fish provide protein without excess fat.
- Avocado is calorie-dense and easy to digest despite its fat content, because the fat is primarily monounsaturated.
- Applesauce and melon are low-acid fruits that settle well.
Eat small portions. Five or six mini-meals spread throughout the day are easier on a recovering stomach than three full ones.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Some foods slow down your stomach’s ability to empty and process what’s inside it, which is the last thing you want when you’re already feeling uncomfortable.
Fat is the biggest culprit. It naturally slows stomach emptying, so greasy, fried, or rich foods like bacon, sausage, creamy sauces, and full-fat dairy will sit in your stomach longer and can worsen nausea and bloating. Choose low-fat or nonfat versions of dairy if you want yogurt or milk.
High-fiber foods are also harder to process during acute stomach distress. Raw vegetables, raw fruit with skins, whole-grain bread, bran cereal, nuts, seeds, and dried beans all require more digestive work. Once you’re feeling better, these are great for you, but during active symptoms, go with cooked, peeled, and refined versions instead.
Spicy foods can irritate an already inflamed stomach lining. Caffeine and alcohol both increase stomach acid production and can worsen nausea. Carbonated drinks cause bloating. Acidic foods like citrus, tomatoes, and vinegar-based dressings can aggravate symptoms if acid reflux is part of the picture.
Probiotics for Recovery
If your upset stomach is caused by a stomach bug or food poisoning, probiotics can help shorten the episode. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that probiotics significantly reduced the overall duration of diarrhea from acute gastroenteritis. You can get probiotics from supplements or from foods like plain yogurt (low-fat), kefir, or fermented foods like miso, though supplements deliver more concentrated amounts.
Probiotics are most useful during and immediately after the acute phase. They help restore the balance of gut bacteria that gets disrupted by infection or by the body’s own inflammatory response to whatever caused the upset.
Recognizing Dehydration
Most stomach upsets resolve on their own within a day or two, but dehydration is the real danger, especially with prolonged vomiting or diarrhea. Mild dehydration shows up as thirst, a dry mouth, and slight fatigue. Moderate dehydration brings dizziness, muscle cramps, and irritability. If you notice confusion, very dark urine or barely any urine at all, a rapid heartbeat, or skin that feels cool and clammy, that’s severe dehydration and needs medical attention quickly.
Children and older adults dehydrate faster. For young children who can’t keep fluids down for more than a few hours, or for anyone with bloody stool, high fever, or symptoms lasting beyond 48 hours, the priority shifts from home management to professional care.