Bland, low-fat foods like bananas, plain rice, broth, and toast are some of the best choices for settling an upset stomach. The right food depends on what’s going on: nausea, diarrhea, bloating, and cramps each respond to slightly different approaches. But across nearly all types of stomach distress, the same core principle applies: keep things simple, stay hydrated, and avoid anything that forces your digestive system to work hard.
The BRAT Diet: A Starting Point, Not a Finish Line
Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (the BRAT diet) have been the go-to recommendation for decades, especially for diarrhea, food poisoning, and stomach flu. These foods are gentle, low in fiber, and easy to digest. White rice and white toast in particular help firm up loose stools because they lack the insoluble fiber that speeds things through your gut.
That said, there’s no clinical research comparing the BRAT diet to other options, and most experts now consider it too restrictive for anything beyond a day or two. Harvard Health Publishing notes that brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereal are equally easy on the stomach while offering more nutritional variety. Once you’re feeling better, adding cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs gives your body the protein it needs to actually recover.
Best Foods for Nausea
When you feel nauseous, eating is often the last thing you want to do. Sometimes giving your stomach a rest is the right call. If you do eat, keep portions tiny and focus on hydration first. Electrolyte drinks or diluted sports drinks help replace the sodium and potassium you lose through vomiting, and they’re absorbed more efficiently than plain water.
Ginger is one of the most well-supported natural remedies for nausea. Its active compounds interact with chemical signals in your nervous system that trigger the urge to vomit, and they also help regulate how quickly food moves through your digestive tract. Research on pregnant women found that eating less than 1 gram of ginger daily (roughly half a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger) for four days reduced nausea and vomiting fivefold. You can get this through ginger tea, ginger chews, or small slices of fresh ginger steeped in hot water.
Best Foods for Diarrhea
Diarrhea strips your body of water and minerals fast, so rehydration matters more than food choices in the first few hours. Commercial oral rehydration solutions like Pedialyte contain a precise balance of water, sugar, and salt that helps your body absorb fluids more effectively than water alone. If you don’t have one handy, you can make a basic version by mixing 12 ounces of unsweetened orange juice with 20 ounces of cooled boiled water and half a teaspoon of salt.
When you’re ready to eat, the BRAT foods are a solid choice. Bananas are particularly helpful because they contain pectin, a type of soluble fiber that helps regulate digestion, plus potassium to replace what you’ve lost. Ripe yellow bananas have the highest potassium content. Plain white rice, applesauce, and dry toast round out the basics. Avoid anything with fat, dairy, caffeine, or heavy seasoning until your stools return to normal.
One common suggestion you can skip: probiotics. A large study from Washington University tested the widely sold probiotic strain found in Culturelle on children with stomach viruses and found it had no effect whatsoever. Kids who took probiotics and kids who took a placebo recovered at the same rate, with diarrhea lasting about two days in both groups. The researchers tested every subgroup they could think of (infants vs. toddlers, viral vs. bacterial causes, early vs. late treatment) and reached the same conclusion every time.
Best Foods for Bloating and Cramps
If your stomach trouble feels more like pressure, bloating, or cramping rather than nausea, the fix may be different. Peppermint is a well-established option here. It relaxes the smooth muscles in your digestive tract, which eases spasms and helps trapped gas move through. Peppermint tea is the simplest way to try it, though peppermint oil capsules are available over the counter for more persistent symptoms.
For cramps tied to constipation, fiber is your best tool. Soluble fiber absorbs water in your digestive tract and acts as a natural stool softener, making bowel movements easier. Good sources include oatmeal, beans, carrots, broccoli, apples, pears, and berries. Prune juice works well too, with the added benefit of keeping you hydrated.
Why Broth Deserves a Spot on the List
Brothy soups and bone broth show up in nearly every recommendation for stomach trouble, and for good reason. They deliver hydration and sodium simultaneously, which is exactly what your body needs when it’s been through a rough stretch. Bone broth in particular is rich in amino acids like glutamine and glycine that support the cells lining your intestinal wall and help maintain the gut barrier. Research published in the European Medical Journal found that these nutrients reduce intestinal permeability and help regulate inflammation, particularly in people with inflammatory bowel conditions.
Plain chicken broth or vegetable broth works well too. Keep it simple: skip cream-based soups and anything heavily seasoned until your stomach has fully settled.
Foods That Make an Upset Stomach Worse
What you avoid matters as much as what you eat. High-fat foods increase inflammation in the stomach lining and force your digestive system to work harder. Fried foods, fatty meats, and rich sauces are among the worst offenders when you’re already feeling rough.
Beyond fat, several common foods and drinks actively irritate the stomach:
- Coffee and caffeine stimulate acid production and can worsen nausea
- Alcohol directly irritates the stomach lining and can trigger or worsen gastritis
- Carbonated drinks introduce gas and increase bloating
- Acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus fruits, and fruit juices can aggravate an already inflamed stomach
- Spicy foods are a common trigger, though sensitivity varies from person to person
- Pickled and fermented foods can increase acid levels
Eating patterns also play a role. A 2022 study found that people with gastritis symptoms were more likely to eat at irregular times and to rely on leftover foods. Eating smaller, more frequent meals at consistent times puts less strain on your stomach than large, unpredictable ones.
A Practical Eating Timeline
In the first few hours of an upset stomach, focus entirely on fluids: small sips of water, electrolyte drinks, ginger tea, or clear broth. Don’t force food if you’re actively nauseous or vomiting.
Once you can keep liquids down, start with the blandest foods you have: plain crackers, white toast, or a few bites of banana. Eat small amounts and wait 20 to 30 minutes before eating more. If that sits well, move to slightly more substantial bland foods like plain rice, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, or brothy soup.
After a day or two of bland eating, gradually reintroduce cooked vegetables, lean proteins like chicken and fish, and eggs. These foods give your body the nutrients it needs to recover without overwhelming your digestive system. If any food brings symptoms back, pull back to the simpler options and try again later.