When you have diarrhea, the right foods can help firm up your stools and replace lost nutrients, while the wrong ones can make things significantly worse. The general strategy is simple: stick to bland, low-fiber, easy-to-digest foods for the first day or two, then gradually return to your normal diet as symptoms improve.
The BRAT Diet and Beyond
The BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) has been the go-to recommendation for decades, and for good reason. Bananas and apples contain pectin, a type of soluble fiber that binds excess water in your gut and helps firm up loose stools. Plain white rice is rich in starch that converts to soluble fiber during digestion, doing much of the same work. And all four foods are bland enough that they’re unlikely to trigger nausea or further irritation.
Bananas also replenish potassium, a mineral your body loses quickly during bouts of diarrhea. That potassium loss is partly why diarrhea leaves you feeling so drained.
That said, there’s no clinical evidence that you need to limit yourself to only those four foods. They’re a solid starting point, but you can expand to other gentle options:
- Boiled or steamed carrots, which are another good source of soluble fiber
- Plain oatmeal, cooked with water instead of milk
- Skinless chicken or lean broth, for protein without the fat
- Plain crackers or pretzels, which also help replace sodium
- Boiled potatoes (without butter or cream)
The common thread is soluble fiber, low fat, and minimal seasoning. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like material that slows digestion and absorbs excess fluid in your intestines, which is exactly what you want when stools are watery.
Foods That Make Diarrhea Worse
What you avoid matters just as much as what you eat. Several categories of food actively pull water into your bowel or speed up digestion, both of which worsen loose stools.
Sugar and sweeteners are among the biggest culprits. Sugars stimulate the gut to release water and electrolytes, loosening bowel movements further. Fructose is especially problematic. People who consume more than 40 to 80 grams of fructose per day commonly develop diarrhea. A 16-ounce regular cola contains close to 30 grams on its own, so it doesn’t take much. Artificial sweeteners like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol (found in sugar-free gum, candy, and some medications) are even worse, since the gut can barely absorb them at all.
Dairy products are another common trigger. Milk, soft cheese, and ice cream contain lactose, a natural sugar that many people have difficulty digesting, especially when the gut is already inflamed. Even if you normally tolerate dairy, a bout of diarrhea can temporarily reduce your ability to break down lactose.
Fatty and fried foods can pass through the upper digestive tract without being properly absorbed. When those undigested fats reach the colon, they’re broken down into fatty acids that cause the colon to secrete fluid, triggering more diarrhea.
Caffeine speeds up the entire digestive system. Coffee, tea, chocolate, and most sodas all contain it. This is the opposite of what you want when your gut is already moving too fast.
Spicy foods can irritate the digestive tract and mask high fat content, particularly in curries and Tex-Mex dishes. They can also cause burning on the way out, adding discomfort on top of an already unpleasant situation.
Hydration Matters More Than Food
Diarrhea flushes water and electrolytes out of your body rapidly, and dehydration is the most immediate risk, especially in children and older adults. Drinking plain water helps, but it doesn’t replace the sodium and potassium you’re losing. Oral rehydration solutions, clear broths, and diluted fruit juices (in small amounts) are better choices. Sports drinks work in a pinch, though they tend to contain more sugar than is ideal.
Sip fluids steadily rather than drinking large amounts at once. A stressed gut handles small, frequent volumes much better than a sudden flood of liquid.
Probiotics Can Shorten Recovery
Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods and supplements, 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 still continuing at three days by roughly a third.
The yeast strain Saccharomyces boulardii and the bacterial strain Lactobacillus casei GG (often labeled as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) are the most studied. The latter appears particularly effective for viral stomach bugs in children, where it reduced diarrhea duration by an additional 38 hours compared to no treatment. Interestingly, the same strain didn’t show a benefit for bacterial diarrhea, so probiotics aren’t a universal fix.
You can get probiotics from supplements or from foods like plain yogurt (one of the few dairy products that’s generally tolerated during diarrhea, since the bacteria have already broken down much of the lactose), kefir, and miso. If you choose a supplement, look for one containing at least one of the strains mentioned above.
A Practical Timeline for Eating
During the first 6 to 12 hours, focus almost entirely on hydration. Your appetite will likely be low anyway. As it returns, start with the blandest foods you have: white rice, plain toast, a banana. Keep portions small.
Over the next one to two days, gradually add lean proteins like plain chicken, eggs, or fish. Cooked vegetables like carrots and potatoes are fine. Continue avoiding dairy, caffeine, fatty foods, and anything with a lot of sugar or spice. Most acute diarrhea from a stomach bug or food poisoning resolves within two to three days, and you can usually return to a normal diet by then.
If diarrhea persists beyond four weeks, it crosses into what doctors classify as chronic diarrhea, which warrants investigation. Blood in your stool, unintentional weight loss, or a persistent fever alongside diarrhea are signs that something beyond a simple stomach bug may be going on. For recurring issues, certain food groups (collectively called FODMAPs) including wheat, onions, garlic, legumes, and some fruits are known triggers worth exploring with an elimination approach.