The best things to eat when you’re throwing up are, at first, nothing at all. Your stomach needs a short break before you reintroduce anything. Once the vomiting has paused for a couple of hours, start with small sips of water or ice chips, then gradually work up to bland, easy-to-digest foods like crackers, plain toast, bananas, and applesauce.
The key is a slow, staged approach. Rushing back to normal eating is one of the most common reasons vomiting returns.
Start With Liquids, Not Food
After your last episode of vomiting, wait at least a couple of hours before putting anything in your stomach. When you’re ready, begin with ice chips or very small sips of water every 15 minutes. This tests whether your stomach can hold anything down without triggering another round.
Once plain water stays down for an hour or so, you can move to other clear liquids: clear broth, diluted electrolyte drinks, ice pops, or plain gelatin. Avoid gulping. Small, frequent sips are far easier on an irritated stomach than drinking a full glass at once.
Replacing lost fluids is the single most important thing you can do. Vomiting drains water and electrolytes fast, and dehydration makes nausea worse, creating a cycle that’s hard to break. If you don’t have a store-bought electrolyte drink on hand, you can make a basic rehydration solution at home: 8 level teaspoons of sugar and 1 level teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 liter of water. This follows the formula recommended by the World Health Organization and helps your body absorb fluid more efficiently than plain water alone.
The Best Foods Once You Can Keep Liquids Down
When you’ve held down clear liquids for a few hours and your appetite starts creeping back, begin eating small amounts of bland, low-fat food. The classic choices work well for a reason:
- Crackers or plain toast made with refined white flour. These are low in fiber and gentle on an inflamed stomach lining.
- Bananas. Soft, easy to digest, and a natural source of potassium, which you lose when you vomit.
- Applesauce. The cooked, smooth texture is easier on your stomach than a raw apple.
- Plain oatmeal. Refined hot cereals like Cream of Wheat are another good option.
- Broth-based soup. Delivers both fluid and a small amount of salt.
- Eggs. Scrambled or boiled, they provide protein without much fat.
- Plain rice or pasta. White, not whole grain.
Other options that may surprise you: gelatin, pudding, custard, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, popsicles, creamy peanut butter on toast, and weak tea. Lean meats like baked chicken breast or steamed white fish are fine once you’ve tolerated simpler foods for a meal or two. The goal is to eat small portions frequently rather than sitting down to a full meal.
Foods That Will Make It Worse
While your stomach is recovering, certain foods are much more likely to trigger another round of vomiting. Avoid these until you’ve been eating normally for at least a day:
- Fried or greasy food. Fat slows digestion and sits in your stomach longer, which worsens nausea.
- Spicy food. Irritates an already inflamed stomach lining.
- Whole-fat dairy. Milk, cheese, and ice cream are harder to break down when your gut is compromised. (Plain yogurt in small amounts is sometimes tolerated, but full-fat dairy generally isn’t.)
- Acidic fruits. Oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, and pineapple can increase stomach acid.
- Raw vegetables, especially high-fiber ones. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and raw salads require significant digestive effort.
- Nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Too much fiber too soon can irritate your gut.
- Caffeine and alcohol. Both worsen dehydration and can stimulate stomach acid production.
Ginger Actually Helps
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with solid clinical evidence behind it. Multiple trials have tested it for pregnancy-related nausea, motion sickness, and nausea from chemotherapy, and most show a real benefit. The effective dose across studies is typically around 1,000 mg per day, often split into smaller portions throughout the day (for example, 250 mg four times daily).
You don’t need capsules to get this benefit. Fresh ginger tea works: peel and thinly slice about a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root, steep it in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes, and sip it slowly. Ginger chews, ginger ale made with real ginger (check the label, as many brands use only flavoring), and even ginger biscuits can help settle your stomach. If you do use supplements, doses in studies have ranged from 600 mg to 2,500 mg daily, but 1,000 mg is the most commonly recommended starting point.
How to Progress Back to Normal Eating
Think of recovery in three stages. The first stage is clear liquids only, starting a couple of hours after vomiting stops. The second stage begins once liquids stay down comfortably for a few hours: this is when you introduce the bland foods listed above, in small amounts. The third stage is gradually adding back your normal diet over the next day or two, starting with simply prepared lean proteins and cooked vegetables before reintroducing anything rich, spicy, or high in fat.
Don’t skip stages. Many people feel dramatically better after keeping down a few crackers and immediately reach for something more ambitious. Your stomach lining is still irritated even when nausea fades, and a heavy meal can send you right back to the beginning. Give yourself at least 24 hours of bland eating before returning to your regular diet.
Signs You’re Getting Dehydrated
Mild dehydration from a bout of vomiting is common and usually fixable with the sipping strategy described above. But if you can’t keep any fluids down at all, dehydration can become serious quickly. Watch for dark yellow urine (or very little urine), dry mouth, dizziness when standing, unusual confusion or irritability, and feeling much sleepier than normal. A fever above 102°F, bloody or black vomit, or vomiting that persists beyond 24 hours are signs that something beyond a simple stomach bug may be going on and that you need medical attention rather than dietary adjustments.