When you’re nauseous, the best foods are bland, low-fat, and low in fiber: think plain crackers, white toast, bananas, broth, and applesauce. These foods are gentle on your stomach, easy to digest, and unlikely to make things worse. What matters just as much as what you eat is how you eat it: small amounts, frequently, and ideally cold or at room temperature so strong food smells don’t trigger more nausea.
Best Foods to Reach for First
Start with whatever sounds the least offensive. For most people, that’s something dry and plain. Saltine crackers, plain white toast, dry cereal, or pretzels are all good starting points because they have almost no odor and are easy to digest. If you can handle slightly more, move to bananas, applesauce, plain rice, boiled potatoes, or oatmeal.
Once your stomach settles a bit, you can expand to broth-based soups, eggs, plain pasta, steamed chicken or white fish, and cooked vegetables like carrots or squash. Gelatin, popsicles, and pudding are also well-tolerated options, especially if solid food still feels like too much. The common thread is soft, mild-flavored, and low in fat.
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). It works fine for a day or two, but Harvard Health notes there’s no need to limit yourself to just those four foods. A slightly broader bland diet gives you more protein and nutrients to actually help your body recover.
How You Eat Matters as Much as What
An empty stomach often makes nausea worse. Instead of trying to sit down for a full meal, eat small amounts every one to two hours. This “grazing” approach keeps something in your stomach without overwhelming it. If your nausea is worst in the morning, keep crackers on your nightstand and eat a few before you even sit up in bed.
Cold or room-temperature foods tend to be easier to tolerate than hot ones. Hot food releases more aroma, and cooking smells alone can intensify nausea for many people. A cold sandwich, chilled fruit, yogurt, or a popsicle may go down more smoothly than anything you’d need to heat up. If someone else can do the cooking for you, even better.
What to Drink
Staying hydrated is the single most important thing when you’re nauseous, especially if you’ve been vomiting. Sip small amounts of clear fluids throughout the day rather than gulping a full glass at once. Water, weak tea, diluted fruit juice, and clear broth are all good choices.
If you’ve been vomiting for several hours, plain water alone won’t replace the sodium and potassium you’ve lost. You can buy an oral rehydration solution or make a simple version at home using a World Health Organization recipe: mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt into about 4 cups of water. It doesn’t taste great, but it replaces electrolytes far more effectively than water or soda.
Foods and Drinks That Help Settle Nausea
Ginger has genuine anti-nausea effects. A large clinical trial of 644 cancer patients published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 0.5 to 1.0 grams of ginger per day significantly reduced nausea. You don’t need capsules to benefit. Ginger tea, flat ginger ale made with real ginger, ginger chews, or even grating fresh ginger into hot water can help. A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger is roughly a few grams, so even a small amount in tea gets you into a useful range.
Peppermint is another option. Menthol, the active compound in peppermint, relaxes the smooth muscle in your digestive tract, which can calm that queasy, churning sensation. A cup of peppermint tea or even just inhaling peppermint oil may take the edge off.
Protein-rich foods may also help more than pure carbohydrates. Research suggests protein reduces nausea more effectively than carbs alone, so adding a few bites of plain chicken, an egg, or some peanut butter to your crackers could make a noticeable difference, especially if your nausea is pregnancy-related.
What to Avoid
Fatty, greasy, and fried foods sit in your stomach longer and are harder to digest, which can make nausea significantly worse. Spicy foods, heavily seasoned dishes, and anything with a strong odor are also common triggers. Acidic foods like tomato sauce and citrus can irritate an already sensitive stomach.
Very sweet foods and drinks, including full-strength soda, can also backfire. Carbonation in small sips may feel soothing, but large amounts of sugar can slow digestion. If you want something carbonated, try a few sips of seltzer water or flat ginger ale rather than a full can of cola.
A Non-Food Trick Worth Trying
Acupressure at a point called P-6, located on the inside of your wrist, is a simple technique used even in cancer centers like Memorial Sloan Kettering. To find it, hold your palm facing you and place three fingers across your wrist just below the crease where your wrist bends. The point is right below your index finger, between the two tendons. Press firmly with your thumb for two to three minutes. Sea-Band wristbands work on the same principle and apply constant pressure to that spot.
When Nausea Becomes a Bigger Problem
Most nausea passes within 24 hours, especially when caused by something you ate, motion sickness, or a stomach bug. But certain signs suggest something more serious. Seek emergency care if vomiting lasts more than 24 hours, you can’t keep any fluids down for 12 hours or more, or you notice blood in your vomit or stool. Blood can appear bright red, dark brown, or black.
Dehydration is the biggest risk from prolonged nausea and vomiting. Watch for decreased urination, dry mouth and lips, a rapid pulse, increased thirst, or confusion. These are signs your body needs IV fluids, not just sipping water at home.